Behind Alden Richards’ smile and success is a story of silent struggle.
In a rare moment of vulnerability, the Asia’s Multimedia Star opened up about hitting rock bottom in 2024 — a year he described as the lowest point in his life.
In an interview aired on GMA Network’s ’24 Oras’, the actor revealed that he went through a deep emotional slump that took him six months to recover from.
“Kung meron pang mas mababa sa rock bottom, I was there,” Alden admitted.
He described the experience as depression, even if it was never clinically diagnosed.
“That was depression at its finest. That was depression. Ang galing nga, eh, hindi lang siya masyadong halata.”
Alden said very few people knew what he was going through at the time. For the longest time, he avoided talking about it, fearing it might expose his weakness.
“Before kasi, hindi ko siya kayang pag-usapan, kasi hirap ako, eh. Ayokong magpakita ng weakness.”
A large part of his emotional exhaustion, he explained, came from always putting others first — to the point of losing himself in the process.
“Inuuna ko muna lahat ng tao bago sarili ko… paglingon ko do’n sa timba ko, wala na palang natira sa ‘kin. And then that broke me to a million pieces.”
Now, Alden is choosing to prioritize self-love and wellness. He’s rediscovering joy in personal activities like biking and running, slowly rebuilding his mental and emotional balance.
When asked about his love life, Alden didn’t hide his frustration with the public’s fixation on it.
“‘Di ko alam, hindi ko gets. Bakit ganu’n ang mindset natin palagi? Na ang basis ng kasiyahan ng isang tao, eh, lovelife.”
He emphasized that happiness doesn’t always have to revolve around romance — especially for someone who has been in the industry long enough to carve his own narrative.
“It’s just this is my story and this is how I want my story to be told, not based on the presumption of other people. I’m so done with that.”
“I’ve been here long enough. I know I’ve done so much for the industry and I would like to do more for the industry right now.”
