‘There’s nothing to hide’: Sarah Lahbati confirms split with Richard Gutierrez

MANILA, Philippines – Sarah Lahbati and Richard Gutierrez are officially no more, as confirmed by the Swiss-born Filipina actress on Friday, March 1.

In an ABS-CBN interview with MJ Felipe, Sarah was asked for confirmation if she was single.

“Yeah, there’s nothing to hide. It’s pretty clear to the public, ‘no? Both of us are – I think,” she said. This is the first time the ex-couple publicly confirmed their break-up.

A few days prior, Sarah told Frontline Pilipinas that she and ex-husband Richard are “not on speaking terms” but are co-parenting their two young sons Zion and Kai together.

Speculations that Sarah and Richard’s relationship was on the rocks started making rounds in November 2023 when the model-actress was absent from mother-in-law Annabelle Rama’s birthday celebration. The rumors were further fueled by Sarah’s Instagram display name changes from Sarah Lahbati-Gutierrez, SLG, and finally to Sarah Lahbati.

Prior to this, Sarah appeared in the finale episode of the ABS-CBN teleserye The Iron Heart in October 2023. The series starred her husband. 

While neither Sarah nor Richard had made an official statement then, Annabelle revealed in a December 2023 interview with ABS-CBN News that her son Richard has been living with her for a month already. In the same interview, Annabelle refused to confirm or deny if the two had gone their separate ways, only saying that the public will know their status soon. 

In December, Sarah denied the rumors that she was speaking ill of Annabelle, advising those planning to get married to get to know their future in-laws first to avoid ending up in a situation like hers. 

In January, eagle-eyed netizens noticed that Sarah and Richard were no longer following each other’s Instagram accounts.

Sarah and Richard welcomed their first child Zion in 2013 when the former was 19 and the latter was 29. They later welcomed their second son Kai in 2018. The couple eventually wed in 2020. – Rappler.com