How Aga and Charlene raised their twins Atasha and Andres

How Aga Muhlach and Charlene Gonzalez raised their kids — Atasha and Andres — might surprise you.

The STAR got a glimpse into the upbringing of the celebrity couple’s children, through the point of view of one-half of the Muhlach twins, Atasha.

During a recent interview before the 21-year-old left for the United Kingdom for her graduation over the weekend at Nottingham Trent University (she earned her Business degree with honors and gave a speech on behalf of her graduating batch), Atasha shared what she and her brother learned from their parents — from managing finances, being independent to even navigating romantic relationships.

According to her, they were taught to “live simply” while growing up in Batangas. She and her brother weren’t given cellphones until they reached the age of 16, which should also explain why they don’t share that much on social media.

“My parents taught me that simple is always better, you don’t need something extravagant. Everything has its purpose, you don’t need to spend so much on this and that,” she told The STAR.

“The only thing you should prioritize spending for, and this is really what’s close to my heart, is experiences. That is what you should really invest in. Not on materialistic things but more so the experiences that you have in life.”

‘We’re just super close,’ Atasha says of her family. ‘We actually spend most of our time with each other.’

“As a whole family, we’re just super close. We actually spend most of our time with each other. Whenever we embark on a new activity, we do it as a family,” she shared about how her family invests in experiences. “They (my parents) were actually the ones who taught us wakeboarding. We did it as a family — basketball, golf, badminton — that’s why we’re all very athletic.”

Living simply, on the other hand, came in handy when they chose to study abroad — she in the UK, Andres in Spain.

She said, “Growing up, our parents never spoiled us. Especially about being independent, we would always have to practice budgeting.”

Living and studying abroad trained her to be more self-reliant. “Laundry, cleaning and cooking were all done by myself. If I had a medical emergency, it would be me handling insurance and everything there. Even applying for my visa was done without help. It taught me about skills, it taught me that you’re actually capable of doing a lot of things,” she shared of her learnings.

“I actually also learned how to manage my own money and budgeting. I found ways and hacks around it, like meal prepping. I would walk for three kilometers to the cheapest grocery so I could make tipid for the weekend.”

Aga with Atasha.

When asked by The STAR about Aga and Charlene’s advice on love, she said her parents “trust my judgment.”

“They really do. In terms of love, they always said, no matter where they come from, who they are, it doesn’t matter, because at the end of the day, it boils down to what kind of person they are (their character), what kind of intentions they have, and as long as they have a good heart,” said Atasha.

“If anything, the kind of guy that I’d be looking for is someone like my dad because he’s the kindest, the most humble and most down-to-earth,” the self-confessed “daddy’s girl” added.

Now that Atasha is done with school, she has decided to follow in her parents’ footsteps and pursue a showbiz career as a newly signed talent of Viva Artists Agency, which was also the reason why the press got to talk to her recently. She “passed with flying colors” her first-ever media presscon even as she was pressed about the pressure and expectations of being a “showbiz scion.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s hard. If anything, actually, I really look up to (my parents). Growing up, it didn’t feel like that. We had a very normal childhood. They made sure to make us experience a normal life, going to school, playing sports, and even my friends and the people around me, they never treated me as such.

“Because growing up, we lived in the province, in Batangas, so we really got to experience all these things with my brother. So it never really felt any different until recently, when we got older, when they would take us to the premiere night, it was like, ‘Whoa, this is what it’s like,’” she said.

Charlene with Andres.

When she declared her intention to enter the entertainment industry, she never faced any objection from her mom and dad. “They were very supportive and they were always saying, ‘If this is what you want to do, then go pursue it,’” said Atasha, who has dreamt of performing since she was cast in the musical Sound of Music as a 10 year old.

In college, she did take up Business to try and see if the corporate world was for her. But the desire to perform “never went away.” “I realized, wait, I’ve always been creative growing up, I might actually just pursue that and try my best in that field,” she said.

While Atasha “officially” joined showbiz relatively late — officially because she and her brother previously dabbled in commercials and endorsements — “I never think of any opportunity in life as too late.”

“As long as you put in the work, you put in the effort, and you take every opportunity, which is truly a blessing, and really learn from them. The process of learning, just the ups and downs, is always the best part of things so it’s never too late to do whatever you set your mind on,” she further said.

The next big question now is, will her twin follow suit? Atasha is leaving it up to Andres to address the question. “If my brother does join, I’d really love to share it with him, he’s been my best friend since Day 1. It would be amazing to work with him as well.”

It’s the same answer Aga gave during a separate interview at the Viva headquarters for his upcoming film Forgetting Canseco.

The veteran leading man said of the possibility of Andres joining showbiz, “Tingnan natin kung ano gusto nila. Bahala siya. Hindi talaga namin napag-uusapan talaga sa bahay. Parang iba ang takbo sa bahay talaga, it’s really normal. Very normal...”

Aga stressed he has no plans of meddling in his children’s career choices.

“Parang ‘di ako pwede manghimasok sa buhay nila talaga. If they really wanna make it on their own, hindi ako pwedeng manghimasok talaga sa kanila. But I’m right there behind them. Kung ano gawin nila, dumapa sila, masugatan sila, parang sige lang, kaya niyo yan.”

As for his daughter, the former matinee idol’s prayer is that “she flies.”

“I’m happy that she’s gonna be working soon. She started already. Nag-presscon na siya. First photo she sent me, she texted me and said, ‘Hey dad, guess what, I have my name sa parking lot.’ Tuwang-tuwa siya na may name sa parking. Yun lang.”

But besides that, Aga is hands-off. “She’s of age. Work it! As she said, ‘Slay!’ Basta masaya siya. Magtatrabaho siya.”

He, nevertheless, admitted he would always find it hard to express his thoughts and feelings about his kids joining his field. “Kaya nahihiya ako to talk about them now… Like she’s entering — I really don’t know how to answer it. ‘Di ko alam basta natutuwa ako. Of course, at the same time, meron akong (oh my god moment) kasi kilala ko yan, anak ko yan, ‘pag pu-mo-pose, sabi ko, ‘Whoa! Meron ka ha. Parang aba!’

“But I saw it in her really,” the proud father said of Atasha. “When we did our commercials before, when they were growing up, ang dami naming ginawa, nakikita ko sa kanyang mukha talaga, pag-tumitingin talaga siya. Tapos ‘pag-sinabi ng director, ‘Atasha, look to your left,’ she knows… Parang she has it…

“And gusto niya yan. School niya siya namili, saan niya gusto mag-aral, ano gusto niya gawin. Then she said she wanted to work already. So, I told her, go, para maramdaman mo, makita mo.”