Alex Diaz moves on, forgives Miguel Chanco: ‘He was struggling with his own demons’

After fitness instructor Miguel Chanco posted a photo of himself and Alex Diaz together last week, netizens were quick to assume that the two men have moved on after the former accused Alex of sending him an indecent proposal through social media. Alex admitted it was just a chance encounter. “Hindi kami nag-workout magkasama. Nagkita lang kami kasi gimik, gimik. Nagkita lang kami tapos ayun nagkaayos kami. Actually maraming nagagalit, may mixed reactions. Pero para sa akin, God teaches how to love and also I’ve never been the kind of person na mag-ho-hold ng grudge kasi when you carry a grudge, ikaw nagbubuhat nun eh. Kasi when you forgive somebody, it’s not for them, it’s for you. You set yourself free. So I figured, kuwento nga niya even his own mom was telling him mali yung ginawa niya and sabi niya sa akin it was really a lapse in judgment and he was struggling with his own demons,” he explained.

Instead of feeling angry, Alex said that he chose to be more understanding of his former accuser who forced him to reveal his true sexual orientation as a bisexual. “Para sa akin enough na yun kasi hindi mo alam pinagdadaanan ng ibang tao eh. If somebody does wrong to you, iisipin mo muna, ‘Ano ba yung meron sa buhay nila, ano yung mali sa buhay nila, ano problema sa buhay nila at yun yung naging reaction nila?’ So it was easy for me to forgive him because I forgive myself and naging catalyst din siya sa kung ano yung mental health ko ngayon. Kumbaga chess piece din siya ni God so I was like, ‘You’ve learned your lesson and I learned my lesson. It’s water under the bridge now,’” he shared.

Alex admitted that coming out as bisexual was not his choice and happened only after Miguel posted their chat online last October. “But before that, years leading up to that, in high school pa lang, pag hindi ka belong ramdam mo eh. So there was just a lot of that going on in my life. Kasama na dun yung biglang pumasok ka sa showbiz tapos meron silang hinahanap eh, yung cookie cutter na talent, and I think sometimes when the pressures of showbiz, where you want to feel like you belong, it makes you feel suppressed and you start to act out in unhealthy ways and I think that what was happening to me. A bunch of self-loathing and self-hate. Tapos naging paramount siya nung October and I think nag-step in si God, nag divine intervention si God, and he really made this happen because after that, gumanda yung mental health ko, yung buhay ko, yung career ko, yung relationship ko sa family ko and I think as a person, as a actor, and as a friend, I can be better to the people around me and in my craft and to the people who love me,” he said.

Even before the issue broke out, Alex said he was never trying to hide his sexuality. “Sa totoo lang hindi ako nagtatago, sa mga fans lang kasi utos ng management to protect me, but sa loob ng showbiz halos alam din ng lahat kasi hindi ako nagtatago. I’m glad it happened because it shows all of my fans na sumuporta na you don’t have to hate yourself. You can love yourself regardless kasi kung anong binigay ni Lord sa ‘yo, yun na yun. Mahalin mo yun and people will see that,” he explained.

Now that he is back in the country and starring in the new iWant series Oh My, Mando, Alex is looking forward to a better year ahead. “I’m doing really well right now. In the beginning, it was hard. I flew away for a bit because I was having trouble mentally and it was manifesting sa katawan ko. Now everything’s good. I’m working and my mind is in a good place. You know it’s true what they say that the people who matter, they stick around and that’s all that matters. You love yourself when you wake up and you give that love to the world. When your cup is full, you can fill other people’s cups ‘di ba?” he said.