In an interview with journalist Julius Babao on his ‘Unplugged’ YouTube vlog, Rea Reyes, mother of actress Carla Abellana, expressed her solidarity with Marjorie Barretto over the latter’s longstanding rift with ex-husband Dennis Padilla—revealing her own emotional connection to the situation.
“That’s why I understand Marjorie Barretto,” Rea declared during the interview, drawing a direct comparison between her own experience and Marjorie’s. “It’s exactly what happened to me. I understand completely what she’s going through.”
When asked if she considers herself “Team Marjorie,” Rea answered without hesitation, “Very much. Whatever she went through, I went through the same thing. And it’s hard because people judged her. No! I think she did the right thing.”
Carla, who sat beside her mother throughout the interview, nodded in agreement and added, “And she’s protecting the children, she did the right thing.”
Rea’s support stems from her own past relationship with actor Rey “PJ” Abellana, Carla’s father. She recalled how she raised Carla alone and noted that father and daughter were never close, even before Rey spoke publicly about the actress’s breakup with Tom Rodriguez.
“They didn’t see each other even before that,” Rea clarified. Carla also shared that while she holds no resentment toward her father, they simply haven’t had the chance to see each other. “I greet him during occasions like his birthday,” Carla said.
Rea emphasized how difficult it was raising Carla on her own, mirroring Marjorie’s experience with her three children with Dennis—Julia, Claudia, and Leon. “Even her own children spoke about it,” Rea noted. “If Carla were brave enough to speak out, I believe she would say the same things Marjorie’s kids have said.”
The interview also touched on Carla’s highly publicized separation from Tom Rodriguez. Rea confirmed there was no physical abuse, but cited “emotional, mental, and psychological” abuse.
Looking back on her own youth, Rea shared that her mother, the late screen icon Delia Razon, had been against her relationship with Rey Abellana from the beginning. “When we eloped, she was even more against it. Three years later, we separated and she said, ‘I was right!’” Rea recalled.
Interestingly, while Rey Abellana went on to have three relationships, he is now still with his third partner. Dennis Padilla, on the other hand, has reportedly parted ways with all three of the women he had children with—including Marjorie and Linda Gorton.
