Coleen Garcia (MNS photo)
Before becoming one of the most talked about celebrities today, Coleen Garcia had to go through a lot of hardships.
In an interview, Garcia addressed misconceptions by some people that life has always been easy for her.
“It’s because I’m mestiza… That’s really all it is. ‘Pag maputi ka, mayaman ka. Alam mo ‘yun?” she said, noting Filipinos’ common notion of fair-skinned people like her.
She shared some of her struggles growing up, from acting as a co-parent to her two younger brothers at age nine after her parents separated, to fending for herself without a diploma or a steady job at 19 years old.
Her savings from her modeling and showbiz gigs covered the rent of her apartment which, she said, had no furniture and air conditioning. So, she slept on the floor.
She took a cab from Quezon City to Alabang during her hosting stints without any personal assistant, and even had a distressing experience with dubious drivers.
“I said [to myself], ‘you know what, God will provide for me. God will take me wherever I’m meant to be,” she said, recalling her hardships.
Three months later, Garcia became a regular host on “It’s Showtime,” and eventually entered into a relationship with co-host Billy Crawford.
While she had a stable job, her name was always dragged into controversy. Fans were saying she is the reason behind the breakup of Crawford and his then girlfriend of five years, singer Nikki Gil, who is now married to businessman BJ Albert.
“It was frustrating because there were so many things I could have said to erase all of it, but I couldn’t because I wanted to protect Billy,” Garcia said.
She added: “I believed I wasn’t what they were calling me, what they were telling me I was, so I just kept proving it to myself… I am someone brave, someone who cares about other people, but does not care about what the people who step all over me have to say.”
Garcia is no longer part of “It’s Showtime” but her relationship with Crawford remains stronger than ever. The two recently flew to the United States for a much-deserved break.
She is set to star in a movie along with Piolo Pascual and Dawn Zulueta. (MNS)