MANILA, Philippines — The Barretto family has been in the spotlight for decades, courtesy of sisters Marjorie, Claudine, and Gretchen.
It was Gretchen’s name that first made waves, though, with a pretty face that quickly launched her into showbiz stardom in the ‘80s. Her younger sisters, Marjorie and Claudine, followed in her footsteps, and both would go on to make their own mark, too, in the industry.
Even the next Barretto generation tread the same showbiz path, with Marjorie’s daughter, Julia, currently the most active.
Their popularity, however, seems entwined with controversy, with each Barretto having her own share of infamy over the years. When each sister wasn’t navigating their own personal controversies, they were likely embroiled in a feud with each other — one that would last over a decade, and would remain highly publicized.
While it was Marjorie and her ex-husband Dennis Padilla who earlier made headlines for the latter’s outbursts during their daughter Claudia’s wedding, it’s Gretchen who’s now back in the news cycle.
Adding to her long list of controversies is a new, perhaps more chilling incident: her alleged involvement in the missing sabungeros case.
Although Gretchen maintained her innocence, let’s look back on the actress-socialite’s life, past issues, relationships, and ties with key people to understand what led her to be tagged in this case.
Not born into wealth
Gretchen, dubbed “La Greta,” is the fifth-born child of Estrella “Inday” Castelo Barretto and the late Miguel Alvir Barretto.
The Barrettos, however, hail from humble beginnings in San Felipe, Zambales.
Miguel, the quiet and mild-mannered patriarch, has roots in the coastal town and once worked in a hotel before serving as a board member of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. His wife Inday, meanwhile, is originally from Iloilo.
Despite not being born into wealth, Inday took pride in raising her children with dignity and comfort. As the mother once told Metro Magazine in 2002, they worked hard for everything they had. The couple ensured their children never had to take public transport, always had food on the table, and grew up in air-conditioned rooms with closets full of clothes.
In 2014, Gretchen Barretto revealed in an interview that the dysfunction within her family the public witnessed was nothing new to her as it reflected the toxic environment she grew up in.
She recalled a childhood marked by shouting and belittling, contrary to the life Inday described, saying she never knew the comfort of running to a parent for support.
Sisters Gretchen and Claudine reconciled in 2019, though, with the youngest expressing her admiration to her older sister through birthday greetings posted on Instagram.
However, tensions remain with their sister Marjorie, as both Claudine and Gretchen were notably absent from Marjorie’s daughter Claudia’s wedding in April 2025.
The making of ‘La Greta‘
Gretchen Barretto started her career by modelling at an early age of 12 as a “way to escape” the chaos within the Barretto clan. She was the first among her siblings to venture into the entertainment industry.
In 1984, she was introduced as a Regal Baby for Regal Films’ 14 Going Steady, alongside Janice De Belen and Nadia Montenegro. Her first single, “Going Steady,” served as the movie’s official soundtrack.
Following her acting debut, Barretto went on to cement her name in Philippine television and cinema with roles in Miguelito: Ang Batang Rebelde (1985), Tukso, Layuan Mo Ako! (1991), Johnny Tinoso and the Proud Beauty (1993), Matakot Ka sa Karma (2006), Magkaribal (2010), The Diplomat Hotel (2013) and Princess and I (2013).
She also took on hosting duties for shows like GMA Supershow, Show & Tell, The Buzz, and ASAP.
Gretchen earned the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) Star Award for Television’s Best Single Performance by an Actress for two consecutive years for her Maalaala Mo Kaya roles in Salamin (2009) and Larawan (2010). She bagged her third consecutive PMPC award as the Best Drama Actress for her portrayal of Victoria Valera in Magkaribal (2010).
She also won Best Supporting Actress on Gawad Tanglaw for her performance in The Trial (2014), starring John Lloyd Cruz, Jessy Mendiola, and Richard Gomez.
The actress was also a whistleblower in the infamous 1994 Metro Manila Film Festival. An award presenter then, Gretchen had uncovered plans to change the Best Actor award results in favor of Gabby Concepcion and his co-star Ruffa Gutierrez, prompting an investigation by then-Manila mayor Alfredo Lim.
Gretchen’s tumultuous love life
Just like her rift with her family members, Gretchen’s love life was very much a subject of public interest.
In the ’80s, she was linked to retired PBA player Joey Loyzaga of Ginebra San Miguel, the brother of actresses Bing and Teresa Loyzaga. The ex-basketball player, however, has since relocated to Australia.
In 1994, she then began dating business tycoon Antonio “Tony Boy” Cojuangco. Their relationship was often referred to as “an open affair,” as Tony Boy was (and still is) legally married to equestrienne Denise Yabut Cojuangco.
Despite this, in 1995, the pair welcomed their daughter, Dominique. To this day, Gretchen and Tony Boy remain together, with the actress even shutting down rumors of their split in late 2024.
In 2007, Gretchen found herself in the midst of a cheating scandal with actor John Estrada. She was photographed kissing Estrada on the lips on the couch at Rufa Mae Quinto’s birthday party in 2007.
Estrada was already dating beauty queen Priscilla Meirelles then. Gretchen, meanwhile, confirmed through her then-manager Boy Abunda that she was the woman in the viral photos.
Twelve years later, in 2019, Gretchen was pulled into yet another scandal involving another viral photo, but this time, with businessman Atong Ang. The two were photographed dozing off on an airplane while holding hands and cozying up to each other, leading the public to speculate that the nature of their relationship was more than just for business purposes.
In an interview with broadcaster Noli de Castro, Atong attested that he merely had a “business relationship” with Gretchen and Tony Boy in the cockfighting and casino landscapes.
But Atong had significant ties with another member of the Barretto clan: Gretchen’s niece, Nicole.
In October 2019, Marjorie took to Instagram to allege that Gretchen’s boyfriend is “powerful in a very bad way,” adding that she wasn’t referring to Tony Boy.
It all started during the wake of the Barretto patriarch, Miguel. At the wake, Gretchen and Marjorie had reportedly gotten into a fight in front of then-president Rodrigo Duterte.
Eyewitnesses then reported that Nicole had later allegedly lunged at Gretchen while she was talking to friends, prompting her to grab her niece by the hair. Their fight reportedly had to be broken up by members of the Presidential Security Group. Marjorie alleged, however, that Nicole’s actions were an attempt to protect her, as Gretchen was supposedly planning to charge at Marjorie.
According to Marjorie, Gretchen then proceeded to beat up Nicole — stemming from a supposed love triangle involving Atong.
Marjorie alleged that Gretchen had snatched Atong away from Nicole, whom the businessman had been dating, and would subject her to “mental torture” on a daily basis.
When Atong himself came forward to explain what happened, he appeared to dodge the subject of whether or not Nicole really was his girlfriend, saying, “Siyempre hindi naman tama sa lalaki, ako pa magsasabi girlfriend ko siya (It wouldn’t sound right for me, the man, to say if she was my girlfriend or not).”
Gretchen, Atong, and the missing sabungeros
The controversial connection between Gretchen and Atong’s names doesn’t end there, however.
On July 3, businessman Atong filed multiple criminal complaints against the accused who tagged him in the missing sabungeros case. Suspect Julie “Alyas Totoy/Dondon” Patidongan in a GMA News interview, claimed that Ang was the alleged mastermind behind the sabungeros’ abductions. He also tagged actress Gretchen in the case.
Aside from Ang, Patidongan, a former chief of security at Ang’s cockfighting operations, also identified Celso Salazar and Eric Dela Rosa as the “masterminds” behind the abductions. Patidongan said Dela Rosa monitored cockfights for cheating and reported violators to Ang, with the matters then discussed with Salazar.
The former chief of security implicated the actress in connection to the disappearances of the sabungeros from 2021 to 2022, with the number of victims allegedly rising from 34 to over 100.
Ang has denied the allegations, and his lawyer claimed that the businessman was being extorted of P300 million by Patidongan.
Similarly, Barretto’s camp denied her involvement in the case and stated that she was also being asked to pay in exchange for removing her name from the list of suspects.
Gretchen’s lawyer also clarified that she had no involvement in the e-sabong operations that were suspended two years ago, and her only connection to Atong was her being a “mere investor.”
However, in March 2022, Gretchen Barretto publicly challenged Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa over his alleged e-sabong bets, despite his denial. She claimed, in a now-deleted Instagram post, to have evidence of his involvement.
Dela Rosa is leading the Senate investigation into the missing sabungeros.
Coincidentally, the screening of GMA Public Affairs’ the Lost Sabungeros documentary, directed by Bryan Brazil, was canceled by the organizers of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival in August 2024 because of “security concerns.”
At the helm of the Cinemalaya Foundation, Inc.? None other than Tony Boy, Gretchen’s husband.
Several family members of the missing sabungeros were even unsurprised by the alleged involvement of Ang and Barretto in their relatives’ disappearances over three years ago, saying they had already heard rumors linking the two even before the abductions took place.
Whether Gretchen will manage to put her gravest controversy yet behind her remains unclear — especially now that it involves the loss of human lives. – Rappler.com
Blaise Rellata is a Rappler intern from Mapua University.
Content shared from www.rappler.com.