MANILA, Philippines — Behind Liza Soberano’s angelic face and innocent smile that captured audiences when she first broke out in the entertainment scene was a traumatic childhood marked by abuse from her foster parent and her parents’ struggles with drugs and crime.
‘I don’t feel pain for some reason. I just feel fear of bringing shame to my mom. Even though I know she was the one that did me wrong.’ SCREENGRAB FROM YOUTUBE/SARAHBAHBAHOFFICIAL
In Sarah Bahbah’s podcast-film hybrid Can I Come In?, Soberano shared that her mother was addicted to crystal meth, even while pregnant with her younger brother, and her father — a chemist — was jailed for manufacturing drugs and illegal possession of firearms.
“They were still children when I was born. My mom was 18 and my dad was 22. I feel like I’m giving giving them excuses right now and that’s what I always do, but they just they literally didn’t know what to do.”
After her father’s imprisonment, her mother entered an abusive relationship with a man who kidnapped them before being arrested. Her mother was later jailed — for reasons Soberano didn’t elaborate on — leaving Soberano and her brother without parents.
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“I don’t feel pain for some reason. I just feel fear of bringing shame to my mom. Even though I know she was the one that did me wrong,” she said, admitting she felt like she had to protect her mom.
They were placed in the care of her mother’s best friend, Melissa, who turned abusive.
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She described being excluded from family activities and being called the “family dog.”
The abuse escalated and the punishments were degrading, including being forced to clean dog feces with her tongue.
Soberano initially hid the abuse from social workers, but a surprise visit revealed bruises, scratches, and swelling. Her paternal grandparents in California later adopted her and her brother, giving them a more stable home.
Still, financial difficulties and her grandfather’s illness eventually led her to live with her estranged father in the Philippines at age 10, an arrangement she described as “uncomfortable.”
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“It was so uncomfortable because he demanded so much from me as a daughter, and I felt it was unmerited because he wasn’t around,” she said.
Reflecting on her past, she said, “I would want baby Liza to know that it’s not her fault.”
Soberano’s life turned for the better when she started acting and meeting her on-screen, and later off-screen, partner Enrique Gil.
She described her love team as not just a source of friendship and first love, but also a safety net that protected her from past violence and abuse.
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“I gained a lifelong best friend, my first love [Gil], but also it’s when all the violence and abuse stopped because I started also earning more and being able to pay for things by myself. I was able to take myself out of poverty,” she ended.
