With her immense acting brilliance shown in previous projects “Viral Scandal” and “Linlang” and her graceful portrayal in the currently airing Kapamilya teleserye “Can’t Buy Me Love,” Kaila Estrada has easily become the internet’s newest apple of the eye.

As she takes center stage, she also learns to open up about her life, unravelling both the scarred and beautiful parts. In this interview on Bernadette Sembrano's vlog channel, Kaila and elder sister Moira Estrada talked about their healing journey after their parents’ separation, as well as shared a bit about their goals and lives outside the limelight, guaranteed to make you admire them more.

The video commenced with a little tour of the de Belen abode where the siblings spent their childhood. Kaila mentioned that they previously moved out and decided to go back, “Kasi sayang, it’s a big house.” Their mom, Janice de Belen, had the house renovated, making sure that a big portion would cater to their family's love for cooking and baking. The kitchen was made to be more spacious, and just by a glance, one would know it’s a busy place.

Kaila, Moira, and their other two siblings grew up with their half-brother, Luigi Muhlach, Janice’s son with Aga Muhlach. But Luigi has moved out to start his own family.

Bernadette got to know the sisters more. In this part of the episode, we learn that Moira has a corporate job, which she likes better because it’s out of the limelight, “I think compared to Kaila and my siblings, parang I am more shy in terms of being in public.”

“I want to step out also of my parents’ name. I don’t want that to be what people think of me only, so that’s why I took a lot of different jobs that aren’t veered towards showbiz or anything. I don’t want people to think of me as just my parents’ kid,” Moira opened up.

The two might have chosen different career paths but they’re both creatives. Moira expresses her creativity through social media content, while Kaila through cooking and baking. Kaila also dabbled into modelling in college. She eventually progressed into content creation for beauty and skincare, until she finally ventured into acting in 2020. She signed up for a Star Magic casting, thinking there’s no harm in trying.

“Sabi ko, hindi ko idadaan kay Mama at saka kay Dad. Kasi meron akong pinapatunayan sa sarili ko. Kung para sa akin talaga ‘to, then magagawa ko siya nang mag-isa lang,” she mused. “Parang, if I’m going to do this, I want to be able to do it by my own two feet. I want to be the one to call the shots for myself. Para at the end of the day, alam kong pinaghirapan ko siya. I’ll cherish it more and para wala ring sisihan.”

“Mga anak ni Janice,” as netizens would fondly call them, in allusion to Janice’s iconic movie “Tiyanak,” the siblings have learned to ride along the punchlines. Kaila, for instance, amused netizens when she uploaded a photo of herself with a ‘tiyanak’ doll for Halloween.

Jokes aside, they’re very much proud to be called Janice’s daughters. Asked what they remember about their mom’s struggle in raising them singlehandedly when they were kids, the sisters said that they were lucky to have had solid support from their relatives. Kaila was only 5 and Moira was 8 when their parents, Janice and John Estrada, separated. And they remember they would spend time with their grandparents, aunt, and cousins a lot.

“Sometimes if Mama had work, we would stay with our Lola or we would stay with our Tita Gelli [de Belen] and spend time with our cousins,” recalled Kaila. “We just got used to the setup na we see our dad some days but then we live with our mom. Parang naging routine siya.”

When parents decide to separate, there’s surely no escaping the hurt even for the kids. For the de Belen-Estrada family, the process wasn’t easy, especially since Kaila and her siblings were then too young to comprehend things. But as they grew older, they also learned to understand the situation.

“You start to understand that, you know, your parents aren’t perfect. They’re just humans. They make mistakes,” Kaila imparted. “Siyempre it’s different ‘cause as children, you hold your parents in such high regard. So, tendency n’un is you expect a lot from them.”

She continued, “Though [the separation] had an effect on us, parang collateral damage din kami, we have to, I guess, take responsibility rin for our own traumas... At saka okay talaga kami. We’re happy kasi whatever happened in the past, though it caused us a fair amount of pain, it really was for the best.”

Moira seconded, “Looking back at the past, you really can’t control things that happened,” adding that acceptance and forgiveness helped her move forward. “If you keep lingering sa past, it’s not going to help you move on to whatever is coming.”

Asked if Janice and John have been good parents individually, Kaila answered, “I would say si Mama, absolutely, from the beginning pa lang. Si Dad, ngayon.” She smiled, the kind that radiates contentment and forgiveness. “I would say we have such a great relationship with our Dad now.”

Moira added that learning to communicate better has helped restore their relationship with their dad. “Maybe it was a little bit difficult when we were younger because he didn’t know us as much. But now that we are able to spend more time with him, it’s better now.”

Time heals all wounds, they say. This pretty much encapsulates the siblings’ reconnection journey with their dad, as there was a time when they were estranged from him.

“There was a time na parang it was difficult for us to allow him back or let him in. Kasi, personally, sa akin, I feel like at some point naging ma-pride rin ako, eh. ‘Kaya ko naman ‘yung sarili ko nu’ng wala, bakit ngayon,’ yung gano’n,” confessed Kaila. “Pero after that, sabi ko, where will this pride get me. Wala namang patutunguhan ‘yung pride ko. I mean, this is my chance to rebuild my relationship with my dad na alam kong I was longing for.”

“When we got older, we realized that they were so young. They probably did not even know what they were doing. So, we need to give them the grace also to learn from that and make bawi,” Kaila said of her parents’ separation.

By letting go of pride, anger, and pain, Kaila and her siblings managed to get over their parents’ failed relationship. And instead of rebelling and blaming, they took it as an opportunity to grow as better individuals. That being said, they even give credit to their parents for raising them right and instilling good values in them.

As a piece of advice to children of broken marriages struggling to forgive and move forward, Kaila imparted, “I hope you know that you’re going to be okay. And it’s really up to you how you’re going to live your life and how you’re going to heal.”

“And I hope that this situation doesn’t dim your shine or make you lose hope of having the life that you want. You’re responsible for your own life. You’re responsible for your own dreams and your own goals.”

Bernadette closes the episode by asking the sisters their message to their mom. With all sincerity, Kaila said, “We appreciate you, Ma, super. We’re super grateful for everything that you’ve done for us and that you continue to do for us. And wish ko lang din kay Mama is matupad niya lahat ng pangarap niya.”

Moving on from a painful past might be long and chaotic but once fully healed, that’s when a happier and better life truly begins.