Aside from being the happily married wife to actor Gary Estrada for the past 25 years, actress Bernadette Alyson is also a hands-on mom to their three daughters: Icee, Gabbi and Gerri. Now that the two older girls have joined showbiz, Bernadette shared why it was not that hard a decision for her and Gary to allow them to follow in their footsteps in the industry. Icee and Gabbi were both officially launched as part of the Viva Artists Agency family earlier this year.
“It was kind of an easy decision. For my eldest daughter, she really wanted to get into showbiz through singing. So siya talaga ang nagsabi sa amin. But then now, we’re letting her take her time kung kailan niya gusto ipakita yung kanyang sinigng talent. Kasi she got into showbiz through acting. So now she’s enjoying her stint with Viva One where she will do her second teleserye na. And she’s enjoying. Not much pressure. Tapos sabi niya she enjoys acting. So ako naman, pinu-push ko talaga yung singing niya kasi yun yung gusto niya from the start. So we just let her. Meron talaga siyang talent sa singing. I just remind her na I hope when she’s ready to show the poeple her talent, to let us know right away kasi sayang,” she shared with PUSH ABS-CBN in an exclusive interview during the launch of Marie France’s Go Lose Pounds weight management program in Makati City.
“Our second daughter, Gabbi, she was into modeling. Parang boss Vic (Del Rosario) saw her and persuaded us, persuaded her also, to get into acting. Sabi namin sa kanya, ‘You try it. If you enjoy it, you can stay. If you don’t then wala naman pumipilit sa ‘yo. But the opportunity is there.’ The choice to get into acting and not just modeling was given to her, so she grabbed the opportunity naman,” she added.
READ: Meet the pretty daughters of Gary Estrada and Bernadette Allyson
Careful not to meddle too much in her daughter’s careers, Bernadette shared that she and Gary try to just give their children good guidance and support.
“As much as possible, we also want to let them go a bit para they find their way. Kasi alam mo naman ang mga bata ngayon eh. Of course it’s a blessing that they were born into our family, pero for my daughters, they have this notion that they really want to make it on their own based on their talent. I really give it to them kasi hindi naman nila choice na ipanganak na Estrada or Ejercito. I just tell them to treat it as a blessing. And also, as a challenge for them to really do good and show them your skill and your talent para they wouldn’t call you a nepo baby lang. Wala pa naman tumatawag sa kanila ng ganun pero di ba medyo uso yung term eh. And coming from a showbiz family, hindi natin maiiwasan yun. So I also tell them, kung papasukin niyo yung showbusiness, you really have to have yung malakas na loob and to really have your values intact. You can’t please everybody so meron at meron diyan na hindi ka gusto, who finds you maarte or hindi magaling umarte. You know, yung pipintasan ka just because. So sabi ko sa kanila na kailangan ready kayo,” she explained.
The longtime Marie France celebrity ambassador also shared with PUSH ABS-CBN how close she is to her daughters, who are the first to tell her when she is losing weight.
“Pagka kunyari tumataba ako, pumupunta lang ako dito sa Marie France. Siyempre, treatment, treatment. But other than that, I’ve always been active talaga. The EDM is my favorite treatment. That’s Endermologie cellulite treatment And then their Thermo Magnetic Pulse Treatment kasi parang radio frequency and Ultrasound. Non-invasive lahat. And then it shapes you. So kung may problem area ako, puro yun. At saka yung Celluform. Lahat ng tao sinasabi ko yung Celluform para sa cellulites ko sa thighs. Sabi nila it will only lessen the appearance of cellulites, nothing to do with panmpaliit. Pero when I finished the ten sessions, there really was a difference. Not only with the cellulites, but nag-shape siya. So nag-sa-cycling shorts na ako ngayon, nag-le-leggings na ako ngayon. Even my daughters sabi, ‘Oy mom ha, your thighs are thinner!’ she said.
READ: EXCLUSIVE: Bernadette Allyson, inaming hindi sila mag-on ni Gary Estrada nung ikasal
Having both been teen idols during their younger years in showbiz, Bernadette shared her children’s reaction whenever she and Gary talk about their heyday in showbiz.
“Parang feeling namin yung tatlong girls namin, ayaw kami mapanuod (laughs). Parang cringe, na-ki-cringe sila. Lalo na sa daddy nila. Parang iba yung pagkakakilala nila sa daddy nila eh. Gary kasi is, like kung ano yung tingin ng mga tao sa kanya, parang very family man siya ngayon. Eh kinukuwento ko sa mga girls na during his time, it was kind of different. Hindi sila makapaniwala. Actually, hindi sila naniniwala. With me naman, I would show them my pictures with TGIS. Sabi ko, ‘O, sikat kami nung araw ha. May mga mall show, may mga ganyan. At saka sikat talaga kami.’ Kasi they like watching the show Friends so sabi ko, ‘Medyo ganun yung level namin dito sa Pilipinas ha, so huwag mo akong okrayin’ (laughs),” she said.