BARBIE Imperial clarified that there is no bad blood between her and Sarah Lahbati, amid persistent online speculation linking her to the latter’s separation from Richard Gutierrez.
Imperial recently sat down with showbiz reporter, Ogie Diaz, to stress that she was not the reason behind the breakup of Lahbati and Gutierrez, who were together for over a decade.
“‘Yung dalawa (Richard and Sarah) share 11 beautiful years, kung netizen ka, magtataka ka rin. Pero kung ano man po ‘yung naging rason ng hiwalayan nilang dalawa, masasabi ko po at alam ng Diyos po na hindi po ako ‘yon […] Kung ano man po ‘yon syempre hindi ko po istorya ‘yon, respeto ko po ‘yon kay Sarah at Richard, at sa dalawa po nilang anak,” said Imperial.
Imperial also pointed out that Lahbati’s actions toward her indicate that there is no animosity between them.
“Feeling ko kung inagaw ko talaga si Richard kay Sarah magagalit talaga siya sakin. May sasabihin siya about me. Babae siya. Kung ako rin inagawan ipo-post ko. Pero si Sarah naman alam niya kung ano ‘yung reason so kapag nagkikita kami sa Aivee, nagsa-smile naman kami sa isat-isa,” she explained.
The 27-year-old actress admitted that the backlash surrounding her relationship with Gutierrez took a toll on her mental health, prompting her to stay silent at the height of the controversy.
“Pinaka malalang bashing sa’kin itong relationship ko with Chard. Dito po ‘yung medyo na-depress talaga ako. Hindi po ako makagpasalita nung time na ‘yon kasi syempre ayoko rin po makakuha ng reaction from Sarah. Ayoko po magtriggeran po kami. Saka hindi po ito simpleng relasyon na kami kami lang, may mga batang maapektuhan. Ayoko rin po mag-iba ‘yung tingin ng mga bata sakin,” Imperial reasoned.
Imperial also shared that she has a good relationship with Gutierrez and Lahbati’s two sons, Zion and Kai, as well as the actor’s mother, Annabelle Rama.
“Maayos po sila napalaki ni Chard and ni Sarah. Sobrang mabait po ‘yung mga bata. Sobrang marespeto (Chard and Sarah raised them well. The children are very kind. Very respectful),” she said. (Jessica Ann Evangelista © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
