Patrick Garcia finally addressed claims that he abandoned his former girlfriend, Jennylyn Mercado, during her pregnancy with their child, asserting it was the actress who supposedly did not want him to be involved at the time.
Garcia broke his silence through an interview with Ogie Diaz, which was shared on the latter’s YouTube channel on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
The actor delved into the topic as he spoke about being a father to his five children-Jazz, his son with Jennylyn; and Michelle Celeste, Nicola Patrice, Francisca Pia and Enrique whom he shares with his wife, Nikka Martinez.
‘With the four kids with my wife, syempre it’s easy kasi we live in one house. With Jazz, medyo challenge ‘yun,’ he said, revealing he has not seen his firstborn since December 2017.
Garcia said he has since been reaching out to Mercado but that he receives no response from the actress. He added that the last time they spoke was over the phone in 2021, when the actress reached out to Martinez to talk to Garcia about plans of Mercado’s husband, actor Dennis Trillo, to adopt Jazz.
‘Wala siyang (Jazz) Garcia sa birth certificate niya, so pinapaalam lang niya (Mercado) sa akin,’ Garcia clarified. ‘Wala naman akong say do’n. Pumayag naman ako pero kadikit no’n, [sabi ko], ‘Can I still see Jazz?’ and sabi niya, ‘Oo, yea.”
Garcia then spoke about the bashing toward him and his family over his past with Mercado, revealing it was his eldest daughter, Michelle, who prompted him to speak up. He revealed Michelle opened up to him about how her social media posts always get bombarded with comments from netizens bringing up claims that the actor had abandoned Mercado and Jazz.
‘Kaya I’m in front of you right now not just to talk about that but anything you want to talk about…to tell the truth,’ Garcia told Diaz.
Mercado’s pregnancy
Garcia began by recalling the time he and Mercado learned about her pregnancy, admitting he initially had fears but was ‘ready to face it.’
Garcia said they immediately revealed it to the public after Mercado’s medical checkup. He further disclosed that, following the direction of the actress’ manager, Becky Aguila, they made the announcement at a Makati court to show that they had the ‘intent to get married.’
‘After announcing, medyo naging magulo kasi ang daming chismis. Kesyo hindi raw sa akin, kesyo nakita raw si Jen sa condo ni actor; I think meron ding politician-I don’t know,’ he said. ‘For me, it’s part of show business. It’s bothersome pero gano’n talaga ‘yung show business.’
Following such rumors, Garcia had an interview with late columnist Jobert Sucaldito where he was asked: ‘Paano kung malaman mo na hindi pala sa’yo ‘yung dinadala ni Jen?’
Garcia said he had refused to answer the question but that Sucaldito insisted, which prompted the actor to respond.
‘Sabi ko, ‘Mamahalin at tatanggapin ko pa rin ‘yung bata kahit na hindi akin.’ ‘Yun ‘yung naging sagot ko sa question, para matapos na,’ he recalled.
This, he noted, became the source of his misunderstanding with Mercado. He said the actress confronted him about his statement, and asked why he was saying that their child was not his. Garcia defended himself, stressing that he was just answering a hypothetical question.
‘I don’t know how the conversation ended but it ended na hindi kami ok. Unresolved,’ he recalled.
Communication was cut off
After their quarrel, Garcia said he could no longer reach Mercado and that he was barred from entering her home. Despite this, Garcia noted he was still ‘optimistic’ about their relationship at the time.
However, Garcia recounted being informed weeks later that Mercado was already in a relationship with his friend, actor-broadcaster Andrei Felix. While this ended Garcia’s hopes of reconciliation, he said he still reached out to Mercado and asked to accompany her to her pregnancy checkups, but that the actress refused.
A few months after their last conversation, Garcia flew to the United States to ‘rest.’ He said that he was abroad when Mercado gave birth to Jazz in 2008, admitting he didn’t reach out to the actress when their son was born. Garcia also added that Jazz’s first name, Alexander, was taken from Felix’s first name.
”Yun ‘yung storya ko. So sa mga bashers na bina-bash ako; they hate me so much because they’re saying na iniwanan ko si Jen-no, that’s not true,’ he said.
‘Sa ibang bashers na nagsasabi na I was never there for Jen sa pregnancy niya, that’s true. I was never there for Jen during her pregnancy not because I didn’t want to be there, but because she didn’t want me to be there,’ he asserted. ‘This is the story I’ve been holding for 18 years.’
Garcia emphasized that he chose not to speak up for so many years but that Mercado’s words still ‘haunt’ his family to this day.
‘People are hating on us too much and I think it’s unfair,’ he said. ‘For me, hindi ako masamang tao.’