No, Regine Velasquez-Alcasid has not turned lifestyle coach or practicing guru. But she has grown older, has had a thoroughly blessed life, is very happy with the way things are in her life. She has learned a thing or two about living and now speaks with wisdom about her experiences.
Is there anything in your past that you regretted doing and would want to change?
“I made mistakes. There are things I regretted doing and might want to change. But I will not. Because whether good or bad, I learned something from experience. Besides if I went back in time and changed something in my life, I might not have Ogie and Nate today and I cannot let that happen.” (Ogie is her husband, Ogie Alcasid. Nate is Nathaniel James Alcasid, Regine’s six-year-old son.)
Was there ever a time in your life when you felt like giving up show business?
“Never. Para sa mga bata lang yan. Duon sa napagod sa maraming trabaho at nagsasabing, ayoko na. I am happy I am a singer. This is what I do. This job has been very good to me. We were very poor but thanks to my singing, I was able to give my family a good life. I was able to send my siblings to school. Singing opened a lot of doors for me. I became an actress and a TV host. I will never give this up. I stopped working after I gave birth to Nate for two years and by the end of that time, I was itching to go back to singing. I missed it so much.”
Aside from becoming a mother, what major changes in your life did you have to cope with these past 30 years?
“One is when I lost my father (Gerry Velasquez). He was my first manager, my vocal coach. He trained me as a singer. We call him the Leader of the Band. He was always there for me. It was very hard for me not having him around. Another one is losing my voice. (Regine was referring to her concert at the Mall of Asia Arena last 2012 when she lost her voice and left the stage in tears.)
“My voice was always there. It had never failed me. And then it happened. But I have accepted the fact that my voice has changed and I can lose it. This is a natural thing that happens after you give birth and with age. I am not young anymore. I take care of my voice. That is why I am preparing for this concert with singing lessons and by loading up on vitamins. (The concert is R3.0 which will be held on Oct. 21 and 22 at the MOA.)”
Are you active in social media? How do you cope with bashers?
“Things have changed a lot since I started in show business. In the early days it was just the press. If they came up with something that was not nice, you could talk to them and correct what they wrote and it would be OK. Chances are they might even say, mabait naman pala siya. Things are different nowadays. The problem is you do not know the bashers. They will post something and you can’t do anything about it. If it is something wrong, I would usually post a correction. If not, I just ignore it. If it is really bad, I would complain and then block the person.”
How is it that you get along so well with the first family of your husband Ogie?
“We make the effort. You have to because although the relationship is there, you have to work on getting along together. The lives of Ogie’s daughters, Leila and Sarah, are not normal because their parents are separated. I do not want to add stress to that. So, it is up to us adults to make a good life for them.”
To what would you attribute your continued success these past 30 years?
“The talent is there. It came from God. Then, I was fortunate to have a very supportive family. Everybody, my parents and my siblings, all supported me in what I wanted to do with my career. They still do. Then, I was fortunate to meet people who helped me become what I am today like my former manager Ronnie Henares and his wife; director Freddie Santos, who taught me a lot as a performer; Boss Vic del Rosario, who has been my concert, record and movie producer for many years; and so many others, composers, arrangers, directors, co-stars, the crew, ang dami nila. I owe all that I am to so many. I am grateful.”