What Happened To Her? — The Legendary Woollim Entertainment Trainee Who Never Debuted With Lovelyz

Yoo Jia was a household name for many early fans of Woollim Entertainment and Infinite. She starred in the music video for “Be Mine,” the song which propelled Infinite to fame. Although she was only in a few scenes, fans already began asking about her.

Later on, she starred in Baby Soul‘s first solo release, “Stranger.” Her innocent looks captured the attention of many.

The company decided to release singles for a couple of trainees that had already been revealed. Yoo Jia was given a duet with Baby Soul called “She’s a flirt.” Infinite’s Dongwoo even featured in it. The song was a huge hit, and the two seemed to be poised for debut with Woollim Entertainment’s girl group.

There was no news about the girls for two years, until the company subsequently released solos for Yoo Jiae and Jin. Fans were getting anxious for the girl group to debut. Finally, in 2014, Lovelyz debuted. While Baby Soul, Yoo Jiae and Jin were all in the lineup, Yoo Jia was no where to be seen.

So what on earth happened to Yoo Jia? In 2012, netizens uncovered photos of her and her alleged boyfriend.

While some argued that it could be a brother, others refuted that no one would be kissing their brother like that.

The photos were pretty undeniable.

Photos of her drinking and smoking were also found.

Back then, the standards were much stricter for trainees and for girl groups. Fans considered this a blip on the image of Woollim Entertainment’s upcoming girl group. No one knew for sure if this was the reason for her to be left out of debut, but it definitely shook things up.

It was said that she left the company in 2013, a year before Lovelyz’s debut. It was also alleged that the photos were uploaded by Yoo Jia herself to her blog. This could indicate that she either did not care about the rules, or wanted to leave the company to become a regular person again. There were rumors that she got married in 2015, but this is unverifiable.

Now, she runs her own online shopping mall called Hi Bling. She turned 31 in 2024! She still has the same cat-like features as in her youth.

She does not seem to be following any Lovelyz member and has completely distanced herself from the celebrity life.