Kapuso actor Richard Yap tackled his experience and struggle as a family man during a virtual press conference, Thursday, June 16.
Yap is of Chinese blood. But his wife, being a Filipina, there were hardships in their relationship. One of them was the actor’s family objecting to their relationship. But luckily, they got through it. And he realized that he will not let his children experience what he had experienced when falling in love.
“Sa family ko before, we were not accepted fully by my family. And I’m not going to do that to my kids. Because I know how hard it was for us.”
That is why as early as now, Yap is introducing his children to both Chinese and Filipino heritage, letting them enjoy the best of both worlds, so to speak.
“But of course, we want them to learn about the heritage and the customs and traditions of a Chinese family also. So we expose them to both cultures para they can have the best of both worlds,” he added.
A father of two, Yap has always been proud of how his children are growing up. The actor is always happy to see how well he and his wife Melody raised their kids.
“It’s when your kids do something that you can be really proud of. Nakakataba talaga ng puso and that really makes me happy to see that they’ve been raised well,” said the actor.
And as a dad, Yap was not much of a disciplinarian. According to him, he was not that strict with his children. What he does is try and make them realize the weight of their action and hope to serve as a lesson for them.
“Hindi ako disciplinarian. I try to talk to them as much as possible and tell them the pros and cons of what they’re doing. Pero ayoko ng sobrang strict.”
Although, he did spank his children once.
“Ginawa ko lang once in their loves para lang matuto sila. Pero isang beses lang talaga. Kasi we believe that you can’t spare the rod than spoil a child. So they have to go through it at least once in their lives,” recalled the actor.
During the start of his career, Yap admitted that he actually lost time for his family. And this made his son sad. Despite that, his family was very understanding. And now that he is already at the height of his acting career, he makes sure that he spends quality time with his wife and children.
“I’m just lucky that my family was very supportive especially when I shifted careers. But naawa ako sa anak kong lalaki kasi he was still very young at that time, about seven years old. So medyo nawala ang oras ko sa kanya because I was taping most of the time.
“Parang nakita ko na he became a little bit sad that I was always away. Pero there’s no choice kasi trabaho yun eh. Kaya as much as possible, gusto ko silang bawian especially now na medyo may oras tayo.”
Yap is currently preparing himself to be locked in for the taping of his upcoming teleserye under GMA Network titled, I Left My Heart in Sorsogon together with Heart Evangelista. They will start the show’s production this coming month.
