Claudine Barretto and Raymart Santiago. Image: screengrab from YouTube/Karen Davila, Instagram/@raymartsantiago
Claudine Barretto said that she and estranged husband, actor Raymart Santiago, were already on speaking terms when he suddenly “started being not a good father again” and has tried to get custody of their children.
Barretto opened up about this after she was asked about her learnings from her marriage with Santiago, as seen in an interview vlog on broadcaster Karen Davila’s YouTube channel on Thursday, Aug. 10.
“Oh my God. I’m still learning. It’s a process. It’s been going on for years and years of so much pain and betrayal,” the actress said, noting that they are not yet annulled. “My life was just parang—I wasn’t living, I was just existing.”
“We’re going through the process now of annulment,” she continued. “Everything was OK na—we would talk and all—then I don’t know, for some reason, he started being not a good father again. He was trying before e.”
Barretto added that although Santiago can visit her house anytime and is in touch with their son Santino, the father and son “hardly see each other.”
“Anytime or any day that he wants to see the children, even nung bata pa sila, OK lang—alam niya ‘yon. Actually, we even told the judge that and the mediator,” she told Davila. “That’s why I don’t understand why he is trying to get custody of my children up to now.”
Barretto then revealed that she battled depression, anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after her separation from the actor, and that she took medication for them. She also recalled an instance when she locked herself in her van, broke down in tears and questioned God why she had to suffer such fate.
“We all know what happened sa amin ni Raymart—that he withdrew all the money and financially, I was really, really struggling. ‘Yun ‘yung nilalaban ko ngayon ulit, to get back my money,” she disclosed. “Pinaghirapan [ko ‘yun] since I was 13 years old.”
Barretto reiterated as well that she does not want to remarry and that she has not dated anyone for the past 11 years.
Barretto and Santiago were married twice: first in May 2004 then in March 2006. The pair were seen together last May after they attended the graduation and recognition ceremonies of their children Sabina and Santino.
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