Lee Hyori opened up about her past relationships

Singer Lee Hyori looked back on her own past relationships to give a young couple some down-to-earth advice. The moment came on JTBC's dating show "Love War" (Yeonae Jeonjaeng), in an episode that aired on Oct. 19.

The episode featured a couple with a familiar Korean backstory. The woman had waited for her boyfriend while he completed his military service, and the two had even promised to get married. However, after he was discharged, his feelings changed.

In Korea, couples in this situation are often referred to as “gomsin couples,” a term for couples who maintain their relationship while one partner is away serving in the military.

The boyfriend, Se-hoon, said his trust in his girlfriend, Na-hyun, was shaken during his service. She went to a festival, and he couldn't reach her for four hours on the first day and eight hours on the second.

TV personality Seo Jang-hoon strongly criticized Se-hoon's reaction. "Don't treat people like criminals," he said, clearly angry.

Lee took a different approach. She said she understood where Se-hoon was coming from because she had experienced similar feelings herself.

"I think because Se-hoon was in the military at the time, all of this felt really big to him, even though it was really nothing," she said.

She then opened up about her own experience. "I'd be up all night shooting music videos and working," she said. "If my boyfriend back then went out with anyone, I'd get really angry and jealous for no reason."

Lee said she couldn't bring herself to admit she was jealous, so it came out in other ways. "Since I couldn't say I was jealous, I'd start picking at little things," she said. "I'd say, 'Why didn't you get in touch? I'm someone who's relaxed about that kind of thing, so why didn't you get in touch?'"

She pushed Se-hoon to look honestly at how he really felt at the time. Lee brought up a time when Na-hyun took part in a club battle in Europe.

"If you had just said honestly, 'I'm stuck here alone and I'm really lonely. I wish you'd think about me a little more,' the two of you would have actually grown closer," she said.

Lee ended her advice with a gentle suggestion. "I don't think Se-hoon, deep down, really believes Na-hyun did anything that wrong," she said. "You're both still young. Maybe set marriage aside for now and get to know each other through more honest conversations."

Later in the episode, Lee introduced DAYOUNG as "the second Lee Hyori." DAYOUNG then shared a concern about her own love life.

"I'm the secure type, so I tend to have long relationships," she said. "I wonder if we break up because I'm boring."

Lee seemed surprised. "But you look like the insecure type," she said.

"That's why I'm trying to become a smiling b****," DAYOUNG said.

Lee had the last word. "You'll never top me," she said. "I'm the original b****." The line drew laughs in the studio.

On a show built around couples in trouble, Lee's most useful input didn't come from judging who was right. It came from owning up to her own mistakes and suggesting that a little honesty can do more than a long list of complaints.