Flonique Guimary

Angelica Panganiban opens up about learnings after undergoing multiple surgeries

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Push Team

Angelica Panganiban says she has no desire to return to the body she had before — and after everything she has been through, it is easy to understand why.In Alyssa Valdez&#x27;s vlog, the actress was asked about a line from her hit film Beauty in a Bottle: &quot;Come back to the young and beautiful you.&quot; Angelica said she would not change a thing about it, and used it as a jumping-off point to talk about her relationship with her body today.While she once had a physique that fit conventional showbiz standards, she said she has come to accept that version of herself is gone, and that she is at peace with it. &quot;After giving birth, parang minahal mo &#x27;yung sarili mo sa capacity niya, at kung ano &#x27;yung capabilities niya. Of course, dumaan ka dun sa stage na parang ang ganda ng katawan ko noon. Makekemback ko ba &#x27;yun? Kaya mo kung katulad ka nung iba na to begin with, athletic ka or talagang ganu&#x27;n &#x27;yung lifestyle mo. Eh ako, hindi naman talaga ako ganu&#x27;n,&quot; she said.That acceptance runs deeper than postpartum body image. Angelica opened up about the medical ordeal she went through in 2024, which included three surgeries stemming from a diagnosis of avascular necrosis (AVN), a debilitating bone condition that causes bone tissue to die due to a lack of blood supply.Her first procedure was a hip core decompression in July 2024, a seven-hour surgery aimed at relieving pressure in her hip bones. Three months later, in October 2024, she underwent a hip replacement to address her deteriorated hip joints. Looking back, Angelica said she still finds it hard to believe what her body endured and ultimately survived. &quot;Parang since hindi rin naman sikreto sa mga tao na tatlong surgeries ang pinagdaanan ko, so parang doon ako na-surprise na kung ano &#x27;yung kayang gawin ng katawan ko, ng katawan ng isang babae,&quot; she said. &quot;Nakagawa ka ng isang buhay dun, tapos dinudugtungan niya &#x27;yung quality of life mo dahil nga na-hip replacement ako.&quot;Rather than mourning what her body used to look like, she said she now holds it in higher regard precisely because of what it has been through.&quot;Mas gugustuhin ko kung ano &#x27;yung katawan ko ngayon. Mas i-embrace ko siya, dahil ito ang pinagdaanan niya. I-a-admire mo kung ano &#x27;yung pinagdaanan niya kasi ang strong niya,&quot; she said.She was equally direct about why she has no wish to go back. &quot;Hindi mo gugustuhin na babalikan ko &#x27;yun. Kasi kung babalikan ko &#x27;yun, babalikan ko &#x27;yung sarili ko na mas mahina. Mas gugustuhin ko &#x27;yung katawan ko ngayon na nakapagbigay ng buhay. At nalagpasan ko &#x27;yung isang pinakamalaking struggle ng buhay ko. At 36, nagkaroon ako ng bone death. For two years, nahirapan ako, nag-struggle akong labanan &#x27;yung disease ko. Then, nag-survive ako, &#x27;di ba?&quot; she said.Angelica, now 39, has been in showbiz since the age of six and remains one of the most recognizable faces in Philippine entertainment.Angelica is a proud mother to her daughter, Amila Sabine, affectionately known as Bean. She is also happily married to Gregg Homan.<div> </div><div>—By Paolo Lim</div>