NOC Co-Founder Ryan Has Left The Company, Sylvia's Brother Posts Shady IG Story, Aiken Also Moving On

By Rachel Yohannan on 20 Jan 2022

Senior Digital Editor

Crazy cat lady who loves afternoon tea, kawaii Japanese fashion, and all things Sanrio.

It’s been a long roller coaster ride for those of who have been following the Night Owl Cinematics saga surrounding co-founders. They first broke news of their divorce in 2020 after 10 years of being together, but that wasn’t the end of the drama. Later on came an expose on Sylvia with incriminating screenshots showing alleged staff abuse, which unleashed a whole other avalanche of other events including a big hooha involving her and Samantha Tan.

Then, Sylvia had a 1h 40min interview with influencer queen Xiaxue, during which she gave a no-holds-barred confessional on the whole situation, in addition to detailing Ryan’s cheating incidents, depression, and how he was allegedly a bad dog owner towards Porky.

Few months on, the dust has finally settled and it looks like one chapter is closing for good; Ryan Tan has just publicly announced him leaving NOC. Host Aiken Chia is also moving on. Meanwhile, Sylvia’s brother, Sichen, took the opportunity to post a shady Instagram Story, while The Thirsty Sisters podcast seems to be making a comeback. Here's the scoop.

Read on to find out more about Ryan Tan’s departure from Night Owl Cinematics!

Photo from Sylvia Chan

A little background info: Ryan Tan first co-founded YouTube channel Night Owl Cinematics with his then-wife, Sylvia Chan, back in 2013. The last we heard, the pair were fighting over the settlement of NOC and its assets, with Sylvia claiming that Ryan wanted her to buy over his shares of the company for millions so that he would be able to leave - a hefty amount that would render the company unable to survive.

We don’t know what went on between the two and their lawyers since then, but it looks like they’ve come to an agreement, since Ryan has taken to Instagram to officially proclaim his departure from NOC with a goodbye post.

Ryan Tan has officially left Night Owl Cinematics

Photo from Ryan Tan

The post in question is an image carousel that was uploaded on 19 January 2022, of which the first image of Ryan’s iconic watermelon helmet laid on the ground with a simple “Thank you and goodbye”. The rest of the images feature him at various points of his NOC journey, together with his treasured crew mates, accompanied by pensive text captions. Here’s a transcript of the text:

“As many know, I am no longer with the company that I set up 3274 days ago. It’s Chinese New Year and, while I’m no Steve Jobs, here is my emo-as-I-look-back speech”

“What started by accident became an opportunity to make Singaporeans laugh time and again. We worked tirelessly day after day and year after year to make the best videos we could. In fact, we spent much blood, sweat, and tears (literally at times) to get a giggle or two from our followers.”

“P.S.: I once fell off a hill and start[ed] rolling down with the camera and was kickced by my crew really hard to break my fall.”

“I went to places that I never imagined I would see, met wonderful people who I hope to meet again, and experienced things that I would never trade for anything else.”

"Trying to make people laugh while depressed was not the easiest. At some points, I gave up and didn't care anymore."

Photo from Ryan Tan

“I recall fondly the amazing memories I made while producing Food King videos. I will never be able to explain how important these moments were - how they allowed me to escape the harsh realities and expectations that I felt I had to live up to. I don't know if you will ever see the trio again. But I hope so.”

“I would like to thank each and every person that I have had the privilege of knowing. I pray that you will cherish our memories together as you move on to purse other treasured moments. I just think we were pretty lucky that the brief moments that our lives crossed paths have been immortalised in a video.”

“So, after all the whining and complaining, I guess I can say that, yes, I am finally happier. While I am trying to catch up with the time I've lost, I will continue to protect and care for those who are still in my life. For those who left, I sincerely hope that you can find it in your heart to let go and move on too.”

“Thank you so much :)”

Photo from Food King

The “trio” that Ryan mentions consists of himself, Food King co-host Aiken Chia, along with Dee Kosh.

Dee Kosh has, unfortunately, been charged for inappropriate behaviour involving minors, and has not appeared in NOC’s videos since then.

Sylvia appears in 2 out of 9 photos in Ryan’s carousel post, however she has not been tagged.

Food King has a new logo without Ryan’s face

Photo from Food King

Food King has since gotten a fresh new logo, in wake of Ryan being out of the picture - quite literally. Their old “Watermelon King” logo, an illustration of Ryan in his trademark helmet lying in a giant rice bowl, has since been replaced with a simpler one bearing the name of the foodie sub-channel with 3 stars.

Food King is a brand under Night Owl Cinematics, so in leaving the company, Ryan has also left this F&B sub-channel behind.

The last Food King video thus far was posted on 8 October 2021.

Sylvia’s brother Sichen posts shady Instagram Story

Photo from Chan Sichen

The Food King Instagram page posted a video of the new logo sticker being handed out to various hawkers, and pasted over the old Ryan logo, with a caption reading “Something new is coming your way”.

While fans' reactions were a mix of excitement over anticipated new content and sadness over Ryan’s departure, Sylvia’s brother Sichen had his own thoughts to share. Reposting this Instagram video reel, he added the caption, “Yummier tastier not so salty food incoming?” accompanied by a salt shaker sticker labelled “SALTY”. Oof, the shade. We’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that.

Aiken Chia has also left NOC, feels like he “just came alive”

Photo from Aiken Chia

As for Aiken, he, too, has called it quits with Night Owl Cinematics, and wrote his own announcement post on 31 December 2021. Here’s an excerpt:

“This year was the first time I experienced anxiety attacks, and though mental health is now thankfully much talked about, I couldn't say I really knew much till it happened to me. I've now learned the very painful lesson of drawing boundaries (and sticking to them), necessary confrontation and conflict, and not trying to please others at the expense of myself."

"Yes, I've resigned from Night Owl Cinematics, I will always be thankful for the last 5 years and I have expressed my gratitude sincerely for the last 5 years sincerely - not just through Instagram post and words but through my work, and events that the cameras will never capture, but my time there has come to an end."

Aiken says that although being part of Food King was “a dream come true” he will not be returning to the channel. He ends the post by celebrating the 11th year in the industry, and holds hope for the new beginnings that will come his way.

“What's next? I don't know, but I feel like I just came alive."

Of unfollowed Instagram accounts and deleted images

Photo from Aiken Chia

Aiken and Food King’s Instagram accounts are no longer following each other. At time of writing, the Food King IG account is still following Ryan, but Ryan has since unfollowed them. He has also stopped following NOC’s Instagram account and vice versa - talk about a clean break.

Sylvia has been embracing her single life, having clearly moved on from Ryan. Every single photo of him and the both of them together have been wiped out from her Instagram page.

Ryan has more or less done the same, with only the breakup post, a Valentine’s day post, and a small handful of group shots with other people remaining. He’s also deleted a ton of older photos, and if you were to scroll all the way down, you’ll see that the earliest ones only date back to 2020 - film shots of Grace and Isabelle that were snapped during their trip in Taiwan.

Guess they no longer plan on being in each others’ lives, despite previously saying that they would remain friends - family, even - after the heart-wrenching divorce.

The Thirsty Sisters is likely making a comeback

Photo from The Thirsty Sisters

After a long hiatus, it appears that The Thirsty Sisters podcast under the NOC brand is about to make a comeback - or at least that’s what we gather from a teaser post in December 2021 asking fans if they were “thirsty for more”.

The Thirsty Sisters is helmed by Sylvia and Nina Tan, the latter of whom happens to be Ryan’s cousin. Understandably, Ninas has been put in a tough spot due to her close relationship with Sylvia while being Ryan’s relative. She has been keeping low key on social media for the past couple of months, with her last Instagram post dated October 2021, but fans are hoping for her to return to the spotlight.

Who else is still with Night Owl Cinematics?

Photo from Night Owl Cinematics

While there has been a mass exodus of Night Owl Cinematics talents including Rao Zijie, Nicole Chen (Nicole Liel), Samantha Tan, and Isabelle Quek, many of the company’s key talents still remain. These include familiar faces Anna En, Sherri Ashlee, and Aiman Haikal - not to mention Sylvia herself, of course.

We wish Ryan, Sylvia, Aiken and co. the very best in their separate endeavours and hope that they will be able to find true happiness wherever the road may take them.