Diana Zubiri emotionally recounted the challenges her son King went through due to his cleft lip and palate. Such as his father’s inability to accept him immediately, and the bullying he experienced at school.

In “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” on Thursday, Diana looked back on when she gave birth to King in the hospital, who was not immediately accepted by her late husband Alex Lopez.

“Of course, we are all shocked, especially me. In denial. Because we really didn’t expect it to be like that. But then, of course, as a mother, you will accept it. And he, he didn’t accept it right away. The acceptance was hard. But, well, it was okay after a while, Tito Boy,” said Diana.

“Of course, when you give birth, the first things you see are physical. So we didn’t expect him to be like that. So, I, I just cried. But, of course, I have to face what’s going to happen,” Diana continued.

Diana was grateful for her support system during her ordeal. However, she admitted that Alex’s rejection and “giving up” on their son was painful for her.

“I understood. I don’t remember exactly what he said. But, of course, he couldn’t accept it. Yes. Even I, I think I understood that feeling because I feel it too. But, of course, we both need each other. We support each other. But he let go first,” said Diana.

This is the reason why Diana did not make her pregnancy public at the time.

“That’s why at that time, it was like I had it, it was like a lot of people were asking why I didn’t come out about my first pregnancy. So, of course, that was the reason. Because I also had to protect my child and then I was having marital problems too,” she explained.

Diana said that the child’s situation was also the reason for her and Alex’s divorce. But she chose to forgive and not dwell on the past.

“So, that was actually the main reason why we broke up. And then I got my son back. He didn’t see it. He only saw it when I was able to forgive him, Tito Boy,” said Diana.

“We were fine again. He saw that the child was okay, that he had surgery. And at that time, I had to let go of all the pain. Because even I, maybe I did something wrong to him that’s why. I didn’t think about it anymore,” he added.

The opportunity also came when he introduced King to Alex.

“I just have to, because it’s so heavy to carry. Of course, every time I see the child, I don’t want him to look for his father in me at that time, he didn’t see him, he wasn’t with him. So, I introduced him to him, he saw him before he disappeared,” the actress said.

Alex passed away in 2010.

Experienced bullying

Diana also told King about her condition and the bullying she experienced when she regained consciousness.

King once saw a billboard about charity work for people with cleft lips and palates.

“He said, ‘Mommy, why does the kid on the billboard look like that?’ Then I said, ‘You know, son, you used to be like that too.’ But I’ll explain to you when you’re older what happened,” Diana said.

Later, Diana also explained her condition to her daughter.

“Because at school, he’s starting to gain a little bit of consciousness. Because, of course, he looks different. His operation isn’t over yet, he has another one. I asked him why he’s asking me this now. Then he said, ‘mommy,’ he said he has a classmate who’s bullying him,” said Diana.

“Of course, I was like, how can I explain? I had already prepared myself on how to explain it to him. But, my son is smart. It was like he just told me, ‘You don’t need to explain’ because it was over. And then, I apologized to him for having to go through what he went through,” he emotionally recounted.

“Think about it, Tito Boy, he was only three months old, operation. Six months old, operation. Until now, it’s still not over. So, I’m happy to be in Australia, because in Australia, that’s really the best place for his operation,” he shared.

Diana is now married to Andy Smith and they have two children.