Moira Dela Torre has finally spoken about the falling out with her showbiz friends, more than a year after a wave of unfollowing on Instagram turned her into the subject of weeks of online speculation.
She was asked about it point-blank at the press conference for her concert Where It All Started, happening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on October 4, 2026. Reporters wanted to know why she and her friends stopped following each other, and whether she had done something to cause it.
The issue goes back to late January 2025. Netizens noticed that Moira had unfollowed everyone on her Instagram account, and that several fellow artists – among them Sam Milby, Yeng Constantino, Erik Santos, and TJ Monterde, all of them Cornerstone Entertainment talents – no longer appeared to be following her. The timing was hard to ignore. It came only weeks after showbiz vloggers reported that Moira had parted ways with Cornerstone, her management of many years. Neither Moira nor the agency confirmed the split at the time.
At the press conference, Moira did not name anyone. But she was clear about what did not happen.
Asked if she had said anything to those people that might have caused them to unfollow her, she answered: "No, I didn't."
She also shot down talk that she had spoken against her friends behind their backs.
"I opened up to a close friend of mine, but I didn't backstab anyone. Not in that way. I wouldn't do that. They're all safe with me. So, it was just one close friend, one. But it wasn't that way. Not that way," she told PUSH ABS-CBN.
What she did own up to was a misunderstanding with her former management – one that, according to her, was never talked through.
"I know that a lot of the things that happened had something to do with a lot of misunderstandings. And we never got to talk about it," she said.
Even then, she made sure to thank the people who helped build her career.
"And it was with my previous management, whom I'm very, very grateful for. And I wouldn't be where I am now without them. So, I'm very thankful for them," she said.
"And whatever happened between all of that, I would like that to be between us. Because I still believe that, I still love them very much. And I'm very happy for all of their successes," she added.
Moira admitted she lost a lot of friends along the way. But she does not believe the doors are closed for good.
"For me, I'm still hopeful that none of us really burned bridges. And a lot of us just need a little bit of time. I think a lot of us just hurt differently. And ako po, I acknowledge that there were things na nagawa ko po when I was hurting na hindi ko po sinasadya. And there were things na hindi ko po sila masisisi for how they reacted, and that's okay," she said.
"But I know that what we all had was real. They're all good people, and I'm really, really grateful for the memories that we all had and shared," she continued.
She was firm that none of the blame should fall on the people she drifted apart from.
"Huwag din po natin ialis sa kanila na nasaktan ko sila. Kasalanan ko po. Kunin na natin 'yan," she said.
"Wala po silang ginawang masama [about] all the unfollowing," she added.
Asked if she has since made peace with them, Moira said yes, but chose not to say more.
"Yeah. But I think it's just very hard to be in the middle. I just, I don't wanna say so much," she said.
What she is sure of is that she wants those friendships back.
"And I'm so hopeful for reconciliation someday," she said.
She also thanked the friends who stayed. Moira named Regine Velasquez, Ogie Alcasid, Erik Santos, and Angeline Quinto as among those who were there for her.
Moira, 32, first caught the public's attention as a jingle singer and a contestant on The Voice of the Philippines in 2013, then broke through with her 2018 debut album Malaya under ABS-CBN's Star Music. That record gave Filipinos "Tagpuan," "Malaya," and "Torete," and went on to earn an eight-time platinum certification.
In November 2022, she signed with Republic Records Philippines, a division of Universal Music Group Philippines, in a deal made in partnership with Cornerstone. She released I'm Okay, her fourth album, in November 2024, describing it as her most honest and confessional work yet.
The unfollowing issue dragged on into February 2025, partly because it got tangled up with a separate showbiz story.
In an interview with MJ Felipe on ABS-CBN's On Cue on February 18, 2025, Sam Milby confirmed his split with former fiancée Catriona Gray and denied that Moira had anything to do with it, saying there was never a third party in the relationship.
In the same interview, Sam admitted that he and Moira were no longer friends and confirmed that he had unfollowed her. He also recalled how close the two used to be, saying he treated her like a younger sister and supported her early in her career.
Moira's October 4 concert is named after Where It All Started, the opening track of I'm Okay. It comes on the heels of the album's deluxe edition, released on July 2, 2026, which featured acoustic versions and collaborations with Ben&Ben, Parokya ni Edgar, Adie, Johnoy Danao, and AJ Rafael. The show, produced by Ovation Productions, will be her first headline concert at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.