MANILA, Philippines – Marjorie Barretto has come forward to refute Dennis Padilla’s claims about their children, following the wedding of their second daughter, Claudia.
In a rare interview with Ogie Diaz published on the evening of Friday, April 11, the former actress-politician clarified that her kids Julia, Claudia, and Leon are estranged from their father because he would continue to do interviews where he would air out their personal matters. This, Marjorie says, hurts their children, as each of them receive public backlash every time Dennis speaks out.
“We have common friends that I always tell, ‘Tell Dennis, the sooner he stops agreeing to interviews, the faster the reconciliation will be,’” Marjorie said in a mix of English and Filipino.
She also denied claims that she “brainwashes” her children into thinking negatively of Dennis, alleging that it is actually the other way around.
“Mula nung bata pa mga anak ko, bago kami maghiwalay, 18 years ago, tuwing hinihiram niya mga anak ko, para sa kaalaman ng lahat ng tao and as God is my witness, ako ang sinisiraan niya sa mga anak ko. Dennis, huwag mo ‘tong i-dedeny, ever, because ang lagi mong sinasabi tuwing susunduin [mo] mga anak ko, ‘Paglaki ‘nyo, I will tell you what your mom did to me,’” she shared.
(From when they were still kids, before Dennis and I separated 18 years ago, every time he would borrow the kids from me, for everyone’s information and as God is my witness, it was me that he would speak badly about to my kids. Dennis, don’t ever deny this, because what you always say every time you pick the kids up is, ‘When you grow up, I will tell you what your mom did to me.’)
Marjorie also alleged that Dennis never fought for joint custody of the kids. She also said that she shouldered all of the kids’ finances in the 18 years that she and Dennis have been separated.
Alleged physical abuse
While it’s long been public knowledge that Dennis was short-tempered, Marjorie revealed for the first time that he would physically abuse her.
“He was physically abusive to me. He was, Ogie. I have been quiet for 18 years. Dennis, you were physically abusive. He has a very bad temper,” she said.
She shared that when Julia was just a few days old, Dennis had slapped her so hard that years later, she had to undergo surgery to recreate an eardrum.
Marjorie went on to say that it was when Julia started her showbiz career that he began granting press interviews, where he would speak badly about his children. Because of this, Julia would allegedly lose endorsements.
The mom of five then said that Dennis was her kids’ anxiety trigger; they would supposedly tremble in fear every time they’d hear his voice. She added that they underwent years of therapy to heal.
She also said that every time Dennis would do public interviews, her kids’ progress would go back to zero, as all the pain would come rushing back to them.
“Ang gusto ni Dennis, hindi relasyon sa mga anak niya. Ang gusto niya, atensyon,” she said.
(What Dennis wants is not a relationship with his children. What he wants is attention.)
She shared that Dennis has the tendency to exaggerate his claims, which has led to their kids to be on the receiving end of severe bashing.
Claudia’s wedding
Claudia — Dennis and Marjorie’s second daughter together — is supposedly the most distant from their father.
Marjorie explained that Claudia wanted to keep her wedding under wraps, and didn’t even share when she got engaged. She also didn’t want to publicize the wedding. However, she convinced Claudia that the right thing to do would be to invite Dennis. She said this would sometimes cause friction between her and Claudia, but she eventually agreed one day, on the condition that he would not walk her down the aisle.
“I hope my daughter is not judged here. Ano bang ibig sabihin ng ‘walking the bride down the aisle?’ (What does ‘walking the bride down the aisle’ mean?). It’s a father who raised you, provided for you, nurtured you, protected you, was your safe space. You’re handing over your daughter now, after raising her, to the man who’s going to be in charge of her. So, why would he hand over Claudia? She doesn’t even know anything about him. He doesn’t even know anything about her,” Marjorie attested.
Marjorie said she didn’t want to walk Claudia down the aisle to prevent Dennis from causing a scene, as she claimed that she knew how explosive his temper could get when things didn’t go his way.
March 18 dinner
She then said that Claudia only had two requests for Dennis: don’t divulge the details of the wedding, and that she would walk herself down the aisle.
Marjorie revealed that when Dennis, Julia, Claudia, and Leon reunited over a meal on March 18, it was so Claudia could “set boundaries” and tell her father she would walk herself down the aisle. He allegedly agreed to both requests, with Marjorie saying that had he disagreed, he wouldn’t have been invited to the wedding at all in the first place.
Marjorie then said that her children were ecstatic after the reunion, believing that this would signal the start of their healing from all the trauma they’ve received over the years.
Dennis’ behavior during the wedding
Marjorie said that as soon as she saw Dennis at the church where Claudia’s wedding was held, he was already looking at her in a way that she could only describe as “maangas (arrogant).”
She also shot down Dennis’ claims that everybody had ignored him and his family during the wedding. However, Marjorie presented photos proving that he was “warmly greeted” by her family. In one of the photos she showed, Leon even had his arm around him.
Marjorie went on to clarify the issue with the seating arrangement. Dennis had earlier complained that he was seated at the back, and that the coordinator told him he could transfer to where the godparents were when he asked about it. Marjorie said that from the start, Dennis was really assigned to sit at the front row, but he had chosen his own seat at the back of the church.
She also claimed that Dennis was accompanied by his assistant, who was supposedly filming and taking photos the entire time.
Marjorie also clarified that Claudia indeed did walk herself down the aisle, and that she merely met her halfway so she could lift her veil when they got to the altar.
“I was seated at the front row, where the mother and the father of the bride should be, and I will not say sorry for that. I raised my child single-handedly, Dennis. I raised her. From the last day of her single life, I was there with her. I took care of her, I did everything for that daughter. I deserved that seat in the front,” Marjorie declared.
She also alleged that the night after Claudia’s wedding, he kept calling her up at 6 am.
Claudia tied the knot with her longtime partner Basti Lorenzo on April 8. On April 10, Dennis did an interview with Ogie to talk about the wedding, and said that his relationship with Claudia and her siblings Julia and Leon was over from that point on.
– Rappler.com
Content shared from www.rappler.com.