Brenda asked:

Maybe I sped through this too quickly in excitement but what is up with Nick's parents? What was the purpose of the flashbacks to their fights and problems? Are they divorced? Does Nick have a stepmother? What did I miss?

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8 years ago
25 answers

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Susan

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Yen Awaiting other's thoughts, but what does his Dad need to forgive his mother for? And that has to be the reason why he prefers his solitary life in Australia.

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prinzheinelgirl In Book 1, it was clear that Philip does not like the dramas in the family that's why he moved to Australia. In Book 3, Victoria Young accuses (in her thoughts, at least) her brother of moving to Australia to live out his Crocodile Dundee fantasies. Philip also wanted to be buried in Australia or any place other than Singapore. Philip and Eleanor do not seem to lead separate lives - in their conversations, Philip is still quite affectionate to his wife (even when she was angry at him) and he chose not to attend Nick's wedding, showing loyalty to his wife (who was not initially invited), and not to their only child.

As for Nick being closer to his grandmother than mother, it was Eleanor's doing (see Book 1).

It was Eleanor who strayed and it seems one of her excuses was how she was treated by her in laws ("What I've had tro put up with all these years from your family!").

On the money side, Philip may be from a more distinguished family but it is Eleanor who has the money, not him (aside from 30% of Tyersall Park). Books 1 and 2 are clear about that and while Philip may have inherited from his father (Nick did), he was never interested in growing his assets, unlike Eleanor.

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Ally I was really hoping this would get revisited later in the book! I wanted to know what their backstory was and why his dad moved to Australia. Alas we may never know.

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Jeanne In a flashback a woman comes to Nick's parents' house who has been beaten by her father and says to Phillip (Nick's father) "You Youngs think you can f... anybody" or something to that effect. It is fairly clear that Phillip has had an affair with her and that her husband beat her. I decided that it was Eleanor (Nick's mother) who told the father about the affair for revenge. Thus, in my reading of it, Phillip would need to forgive Eleanor for revealing the affair taking her revenge on the woman.

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Beatrice I think the main purpose of the flashbacks was to show how Su Yi protected and loved Nick. I do wish there was more on Phillip and Eleanor though.

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Shari

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Michelle Dee It wasn't mysterious to me, but maybe that's because my Chinese parents are separated too and living apart. They dated for less than a year and married from family pressure/obligations to start a family (even though my grandmother never liked my father). I know other people who live separately, but they're not legally divorced because that would destroy the family structure. Eleanor could have been involved in a scandal (hence the soap!), but there doesn't need to be any reason other than incompatibility for them to live apart. I think the main reason for the flashback was to show how Nick became close to his grandmother.

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Sheila Picinich

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Marsha Douglas I wondered the same thing too. Su Yi favored arranged marriages, so I assume Phillip married Eleanor against his mother's wishes. Another thing I don't understand (and don't recall being explained in any of the books) is why Nick is an only child.

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Kim

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Melissa

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Nancy Braford

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Kristen Lesperance

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Adean I don't think either strayed, from book one when Nick confronted both Su YI ( Grandmother) and Eleanor (mother) when they spoke on the man in jail who they thought was Rachel's father. He stated he now understood why his father left. I don't think he's father liked all the family drama, and Eleanor began immersing herself into it when Nick was born.

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Aprilmagic

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Lizzy It is made clear in the earlier books the Nick's parents are separated, that his dad moved to Australia, and that he was mainly raised by his grandmother. None of them really go into the reason for the separation but maybe that will be revealed in a future book.

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Natalie Nick's background is more fully laid out in book 1 of the series, Crazy Rich Asians. There are few spots in Rich People Problems that assume readers have read the previous 2 books.

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Romzs I need to know this, too! Why does he live in Australia!

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Lindsey Davis

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Tessa I am also still waiting for some confirmation on the answer. It really seems something went down the night Nick ran away as a kid. Like something was revealed that was pretty dramatic and Su Yi held a grudge over it.

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