Estranged EXO member Tao became emotional to the point of crying while recounting his hardships as a Chinese idol living in Korea.

During an interview as a guest for a Chinese show, Tao (real name Huang Zitao) admitted that he was very lonely and could only depend on himself.

"I was alone for four years, and there was no one to help me. I had to do everything by myself," said Tao, according to a translation from Allkpop.

He also said during the interview that he missed his family, and was brought to tears at one point.

Tao is currently an inactive member of the South Korean boy band EXO, and has been recently focusing on launching a solo career in China as Z.Tao.

Z.Tao just released a new solo album with the debut track "T.A.O" gaining attention for its lyrics that reveal the idol's feelings about EXO and agency, SM Entertainment.

"The things I want to say are all recorded in the lyrics, I hope everyone likes it. Thank you to everyone who has been beside me and devoted to me," Tao previously said.

Lyrics of the song include: "I believe in my persistence, I believe in my choice, it has come to the time to leave, I understand what is freedom, as I leave by myself, I understand the reason why, I'm back."

Fans have been interpreting this as a confirmation that Z.Tao has no plans of returning to EXO despite SM Entertainment's insistence that talks are ongoing to reconcile with the idol.

SM Entertainment later had YouTube take down Z.Tao's music video for copyright infringement.

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Mickey is a writer and digital content creator based in Manila. He is a co-founder of ZAVI App and editor of the small business blog IndieMickey. He has also been bitten by the K-pop fashion bug - follow him on Instagram @mickjami.