Bela Padilla opens up on personaL struggles while filming ‘Life After You’
MANILA, Philippines — What really happened to the friendship of Bela Padilla with Kim Chiu and Angelica Panganiban?
Bela, however, declined to comment when asked about the state of her relationship with long-time friends.
“I won’t talk about it. Thank you,” Bela said when asked about the matter during an interview at the presscon for “Life After You,” a film she co-stars in with Diamond Star Maricel Soriano.
Her remark came amid fan speculation that AngBeKi — the trio of Angelica, Bela, and Kim — may have had a falling-out, although none of the three has ever confirmed the speculation, to date.
Prior to filming “Life After You,” Bela admitted that she was going through a lot, dealing with work-related matters and health issues that had her going in and out of the hospital.
“I moved to a new house. Parang nagsunod-sunod, like I was doing a lot of things. Nothing specific. I also felt bad and I also had health concerns when I started doing this project. Hiyang-hiya ako kila direk (Marla Ancheta) kasi parang pabalik-balik ako ng hospital and then I had to update them constantly,” she shared.
Despite everything she was going through, Bela said she did not want to let go of the project, especially since it marked her first collaboration with Maricel, whom she fondly calls “Inay.”
“Hindi ko rin naman siya bibitawan but I need to find a way for me to be OK or like in a way, siguro to start feeling better. But Inay, direk Marla and the whole production were so helpful because I was also in and out of the hospital. It was starting to affect my health. When I was stressed out, I started losing so much weight like I dropped to 48 kilos and it was starting to affect me on a physical level. But everybody here was so kind,” she said.
Bela furthered that she had been going through “several things” at the time.
“I’m not gonna lie. I’m also not gonna tiptoe around it, but it was mostly work stuff. I was reading a lot of things and, you know, hearing a lot of things that I could have easily refuted or spoken about, but at that time, I was also still part of the project. Parang I didn’t want to do anything. And honestly, I lost my fight. Parang I felt like, ‘This is so unfair,’ so I didn’t wanna say anything,” she said, although she did not elaborate further on the issue.
“I’m usually vocal for other people. I’m vocal for other people who don’t have a voice. I’m vocal about situations where I feel I need to speak up for people who can’t speak up for themselves,” she continued.
“So siguro nga dahil nga yun I always care for other people, I always look out for other people. Baka nung time na yung ako na yung mahina, naghihintay naman ako na somebody would help me in that moment. And a lot of people din, my support system supported me in their own way. So it might not be the way I do it. They don’t have the same platform that I do or they’re not as vocal as I am but I got the support that I needed.”
VIVA Films’ “Life After You,” which opens in cinemas today, stars Bela as Joey, a loving and devoted sister and aunt who is forced to put her dreams on hold to care for her niece, played by Dani Zee.
Meanwhile, Maricel Soriano portrays Bella, a widow, mother, and grandmother who will do everything she can to show her granddaughter how much she loves her.
The family drama centers on the emotional journey of women who grow into maternal figures by stepping up — not because they are expected to, but because they choose to.
For Bela, the role was a “perfect” fit because she could relate to her character.
“Marami akong inaanak, pamangkin, but I feel that I don’t have a motherly instinct. So bumagay yung character. I love kids, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve never experienced taking care of a child talaga, na yung nakatira sa bahay ko,” she explained.
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