Janella Salvador on being a single mom: ‘Alam kong kaya ko naman siya’

MANILA, Philippines – Janella Salvador seems to have confirmed that she and Markus Paterson have parted ways, after she called herself a single mom to their son Jude. 

In a vlog released by Bernadette Sembrano on Saturday, September 3, Salvador first talked about how she relates to Regina, the alter-ego of her character Valentina in the teleserye Mars Ravelo’s Darna: The TV series. 

“Si Regina, she’s a lawyer and vlogger. She’s very intelligent and her heart is in the right place. She fights for justice… Kapag meron siyang ipinaglalaban, as long as alam niyang nasa tama siya, ilalaban niya talaga,” she said. (When she’s fighting for something, as long as she knows she’s right, she really fights for it.) 

The actress was then asked to give a recent circumstance in her life where she was a fighter, to which she replied, “Being a single mom.”

“Talagang nilalaban ko ‘yun. At the end of the day, alam kong kaya ko naman siya. As much as I love the people around me, who are always there to help me, I always want to know na kaya kong gawin… I don’t want it to sound bad… I can rely on myself na hindi ko kailangang humingi ng tulong sa iba. I like being independent” she said. 

(At the end of the day, I know that I can do it. As much as I love the people around me, those who are always there to help me, I always want to know if I can do it. I don’t want it to sound bad… but I can rely on myself and that I do not need to ask for help from others.)

Salvador also mentioned that being independent is something she might have picked up from her mom, singer-actress Jenine Desiderio, who also raised her on her own. 

“Siguro kasi I saw my mom growing up, kung paano siya (Maybe because I saw my mom while I was growing up), she was able to raise us on her own. So siguro na-embody ko rin kung paano siya (Maybe I embodied how she did it). I wanted to be independent as well,” she said. 

Speculations about her split with Markus first surfaced when she was notably absent from his birthday celebration, with netizens also pointing out that the two have not been posting photos of each other on their respective social media accounts. 

In separate interviews in June, the two addressed the rumors. Paterson said that they have a “good relationship with each other” but did not confirm nor deny whether they’re still together, while Salvador said that they’re “okay,” but appealed to fans to the respect their privacy first.

Paterson and Salvador first confirmed that they were a couple in September 2020.  In January 2021, they introduced to the public their son Jude Trevor, who was born in October 2020. – Rappler.com