In perhaps one of the most famous and shocking controversies in Philippine show business, online personality Xian Gaza expressed his insights in a Facebook Live video following his sentiments regarding the breakup of KathNiel, way before the former couple confirmed the rumors via Instagram post.
A lot of rumors have already circulated online prior to any confirmation from big personalities. An anonymous Twitter user posted a long thread revealing the incidents only using the initials of the celebrities involved.
Netizens, because of Xian’s statement about the issue way before the confirmation, regard him as a reliable source, hence the noise his Facebook Live made both on the internet and various news outlets. It is important to note that none of these allegations are confirmed to be true, save for the breakup itself that was affirmed by Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla. To summarize his live video, here is everything that went down.
He first defended Ogie Diaz’s credibility in the show business industry due to his veteran status, shutting down people who questioned what he had to say about current issues. He then proceeded to talk about the long-standing infidelity of Daniel Padilla to Kathryn Bernardo.
According to Xian, in the span of the 11 years they spent together as a couple, he has cheated multiple times despite Bernardo having forgiven him and given him a lot of chances to act right. However, she was never in the position to cut ties with him due to their contract, and as she mentioned in her Instagram post, she truly did love Padilla.
Touching on the involvement of Andrea Brillantes, Xian mentioned how she and Padilla have seen each other a lot despite still being in a relationship with Ricci Rivero. It was said that this was Bernardo’s breaking point to finally cut ties with him, and ultimately unfollowing Brillantes on social media. Even if it was never confirmed whether or not Bernardo and Padilla were still together when Brillantes came in, it was still a big issue for Bernardo considering their history of working with Brillantes, with the latter having been considered a little sister to them in past projects. Padilla showed no hesitation to come over to her place after her breakup with Rivero.
He added that Padilla had encountered multiple women inside a decade and a year, however, the women had no interest in saying anything considering his star status as well as his powerful family.
One of these women happened to be Gillian Vicencio who talked about her underwhelming intimate encounter with Padilla to her friend Sue Ramirez. Ramirez passed it onto Sofia Andres, who is one of Bernardo’s best friends.
The Facebook Live went on more about Brilliantes’ history of cheating with men in relationships, including Rivero whom she allegedly entertained while being with Seth Fedelin.
One of the biggest takes one might have regarding this whole controversy is perhaps something Liza Soberano has already mentioned. The hyperfixation of the Philippine industry on love teams definitely has a lot of downfalls—from indefinitely tying two people together for commercial success, to how this ultimately impacts their personal relationships and decisions. The internet’s reaction is divided; some blaming Brilliantes for being a third party, some blaming both her and Padilla for doing Bernardo wrong.
Some people do defend Brilliantes. Not in a way that is condoning everything she is accused of in this particular situation, but in a way that paints her as a vulnerable individual who at a very young age encountered a very well-known public figure who is almost a decade older than her. Minority of the people point out the power imbalance that occurred in the situation. They also point out the misogyny at play considering how inferior the callouts and name-calling Padilla is receiving compared to her.
Ultimately, the controversy only clearly shows the partiality of an audience, and how as watchers, we truly have no idea what goes on behind the cameras, even and especially with powerful male figures that have established themselves so well in the industry.
