The Tears Behind the Warrior: Kylie Padilla and the Battle She Never Chose
Y
ou think you know Kylie Padilla. The face of strength. The woman who once ruled the realm of Encantadia with unwavering command.
But in our interview for GMA Integrated News, Kylie revealed something far more compelling than any scripted storyline: A reckoning with her past, and the personal cost of stepping away from a role she wasn't ready to let go of.
What began as a conversation about her present work, the new Afternoon Prime series, "My Father's Wife," quietly drifted to a memory she still carries with visible weight: her brief return to Encantadia, and the heartbreak of watching her character, Amihan, continue without her.
'Bittersweet,' she said, without hesitation.
'Kasi I know my role in the whole series. Super ganda ng mangyayari kay Amihan, especially sa birth ng new Sang'gres. Kasama si Amihan doon. But then also sad, kasi patay pa rin si Amihan and she's still an Ybtre. Sad nga whenever I watch… and I watch my three sisters nang wala si Amihan. I'm heartbroken every time I watch it.'
She didn't dress it up. There was no attempt to package it as a professional sacrifice. It was pain, plainly spoken.
K
ylie built her version of Amihan with care and conviction. Then, in the middle of it all, she got pregnant. "It was unexpected. I didn't know how I'd still handle it. Siguro nagulat lang din 'yung mga creatives, writers, how to adjust the story. Sobrang malaking — not just regret, it was huge," she said, emphasizing how much she worked hard for her role.
She wasn't ready for marriage. She wasn't prepared to walk away.
'Sobrang pinaghirapan ko para lang magustuhan 'yung Amihan ko, 'yung version ni Amihan," Kylie said, adding, "feeling ko kailangan ko pa talagang bumawi. Sana. 'Yun ang expectation ko dito… Dream kong makumpleto kami nang hindi patay si Amihan. Pambawi lang sa mga kapatid ko. It's really painful to see them not complete because of me.'
There was no bitterness in her tone, just a lingering ache. A sense that something important was left unfinished. She spoke of it not like a career detour, but like a wound she had long kept tucked away.
'Actually, we never talked about it. Siyempre, kinongratulate, 'happy for you,' pero hindi na namin napag-usapan 'yung—hahaha—'you know' how they felt after I left. Siyempre ako rin may fear ako, baka may disappointment.'
That fear—of being the one who left, of being remembered as the one who broke something sacred—still lingers.
A
nd yet, Kylie's greatest battle isn't onscreen. It's in her day-to-day life as a single mother of two, living with depression, trying to be present for her children while quietly managing what she herself doesn't always understand.
'Ayoko kasing masanay sila ng ganoon. Sometimes, nagtatago na talaga ako because it's not fair for them. Hindi ko pa kasi sila ma-explain, 'cause they're very young. But then again, may reward naman, kasi napaka-caring ng mga anak ko. They're very empathetic. They know now. They write me letters. Ayun nga, niyayakap nila ako.'
COURTESY: NELSON CANLAS
Then she showed me her tattoo. A red heart, drawn by her son Alas. A child's drawing, handed to her during one of her lowest days. No words, just a simple act of noticing.
''Yun nga 'yung nakatulala lang ako sa bed, tapos nag-do-drawing sila. Wala lang, binigay lang ni Alas. 'For Mama,' sabi niya. 'Open this, Mama.' May heart, tapos 'yun na. Naramdaman niya na malungkot ako.'
That image—her son wordlessly offering a drawing to comfort her—says more about love than most grand gestures ever could.
"R
ight now, I might be struggling. Kasi it's hard to have depression while raising two kids. Kasi minsan, inaatake ako and nandiyan sila and may kailangan sila. Kailangan mong isantabi 'yung nararamdaman mo. And I don't have a partner to help me. So iiyak mo na lang. Wala akong sagot eh. Tago ka sa CR. Iyak mo. Isang hinga lang. And then… 'yes, 'nak, what do you need?' Ganoon. It's my reality.'
There's something deeply human about that image of a mother stealing a few seconds in the bathroom to cry, only to step out and resume the role that matters most.
And yet, even in the midst of all this, Kylie has found space for something new. Not escape. Not distraction. Something steadier.
Right now, she is thankful and hopeful… and admitted she has finally found love again.
She didn't elaborate. She didn't need to. The way she said it—with clarity, not urgency—was enough to suggest that maybe, just maybe, she's beginning to make peace with the chapters she never got to finish.
And perhaps that's the real story—not the one written in scripts, but the one written in scars, red hearts, and all the small ways we choose to keep going. — LA, GMA Integrated News
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