Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of physical abuse.
Marjorie Barretto has spoken up about Dennis Padilla’s allegations in line with their daughter Claudia’s wedding and explained why she didn’t want to sit with him during the ceremony. She also accused him of physically abusing her when they were still together and denied claims that she’s brainwashing their children.
In an interview with talent manager Ogie Diaz, Marjorie noted that while Claudia wanted her wedding to be “very private and peaceful,” she was the one who convinced her that “the right thing to do was invite the father” even though they were estranged for years.
She shared that after praying about it for days, Claudia agreed to invite Dennis to the wedding with the condition that she would walk down the aisle by herself.
“Ano ba ibig sabihin ng walking the bride down the aisle? It’s a father who raised you, provided for you, nurtured you, protected you, your safe space. You’re handing over your daughter now after raising her to the man who is now gonna be in charge of her,” Marjorie explained. “Why would he hand over Claudia? She doesn’t even know anything about him. He doesn’t even know anything about her.”
According to Marjorie, Claudia and her siblings Julia and Leon had lunch with Dennis ahead of the big day to let him know about her two requests: for him not to share her wedding details and not to walk her down the aisle.
Marjorie claimed that their reunion turned out so well that their kids “believed it was the beginning of healing,” and that Dennis said yes to both of Claudia’s requests. “Mamatay man mga anak ko, sinabi niya ‘yun because that was the main reason for the lunch meeting—that they were able to talk about boundaries,” she stressed. “If he did not agree to those requests ng anak niya, hindi na matutuloy ‘yung invitation.”
But on Claudia’s wedding day, Dennis began ranting on social media about being allegedly treated as a “visitor” instead of the father of the bride, which he also detailed in an interview with Diaz. Marjorie denied this claim and noted that he was “supposed to sit in the front row with the ninongs,” but he decided to stay at the back. “Nagdrama na eh,” she said, alleging that his assistant “was already documenting everything for social media.”
Marjorie confirmed she was “seated at the front row where the mother and the father of the bride should be.” She added, “And I will not say sorry for that. I raised my child singlehandedly. Until the last day of her single life, I was there with her, I took care of her, I did everything for my daughter, I deserved that seat in the front.”
“And I didn’t want to be with Dennis because maangas ka, Dennis. Maangas ka, Dennis Padilla. Hindi ka mabuti sa akin,” she emphasized.
The local star also noted that she decided not to walk Claudia down the aisle to avoid any conflict, and only had to meet her daughter halfway to follow a common wedding tradition of putting on the daughter’s veil.
She claimed that Dennis “caused a commotion” at the wedding over how he was allegedly treated. “He was pacing, walking and walking, complaining, tumataas ang boses mo, Dennis, they had to ask you to please lower your voice, and when you could not be controlled, they told you, ‘Can we take this discussion outside?’”
Marjorie also shut down his allegations that no one was minding him at the wedding venue. “He was warmly greeted by the family. Kung si Dennis fell out of place, nobody made you feel like that. You were just really not part of our lives.”
In the interview, she reminded Dennis that their daughter’s wedding was not about him.
“Ang mga guests dun nagiiyakan, mga kapatid, you know, like, ‘Wow, Claudia’s getting married.’ Bakit ang iniiyak mo ‘yung hindi ka nakalakad? This is not about you. You should be ‘Wow,’ crying because ‘Oh my god, ang ganda ni Claudia nung pumapasok ng simbahan,'” she said.
“Binigay mo na sana ‘yung araw na ‘yun sa bata,” she emphasized. “Bigay mo na yung happiest day of her life sa kanya.”Related ArticleDennis Padilla says he’s ending his relationship with Barretto children following alleged incident at daughter Claudia’s wedding
Abuse claims
Per Marjorie, their children were aware that she and Dennis didn’t have a good relationship then. She also alleged that he was “physically abusive” to her during their marriage.
“I have been quiet for 18 years. Dennis was physically abusive. He has a very bad temper. Kung gaano siya nakakatawa sa mga tao, ‘yun ang opposite niya. My kids saw that,” she stressed.
According to her, the worst physical abuse she experienced was when Julia was only a few days old. “I complained about something, naglalakad ako papasok ng kwarto from the back, he hit me so hard in my ear, lumipad talaga ako,” she said.
She claimed that the incident affected her eardrum significantly. “Up to this day, I suffer that. Wala akong eardrum,” she said. “I had to go through a surgery that they had to recreate an eardrum. They had to get a portion of my skull, to make it an eardrum.”
Marjorie also slammed Dennis’ allegations that she’s brainwashing their children. She claimed that when their kids were younger, Dennis kept badmouthing her to them whenever they would go out together. “Ang lagi mo sinasabi tuwing susunduin mo ‘yung mga anak ko, ‘Paglaki niyo, I will tell you what your mom did to me,’” she said.
According to her, Dennis didn’t want to be their children’s father after all. “He never fought for joint custody, never niyang hinihiram for sleepovers ang mga anak ko simula nung bata sila. Gusto mo ako ang magpaaral, financially 100% was me for 18 years. Pero gusto mo ako siraan sa mga anak mo? So what did you want to happen? Umuwi sila sa bahay ko, ako ang magpakalaki, pero galit sila sa nanay nila?”
Marjorie noted that she let Dennis see their kids “freely” for years even after their separation. The latter’s relationship with their kids started getting strained when he allegedly began granting interviews where he would badmouth their children, which he supposedly often did to Julia.
“Paulit-ulit ‘yan and Julia would lose edorsements sa mga paninira niya. Hindi natin alam, kanino ka ba talaga galit? ‘Di ba sakin? Bakit ‘yung mga anak ko ang ginaganyan mo? But I kept quiet all these years.”
“Ang gusto ni Dennis, hindi relasyon sa mga anak,” she said, “ang gusto niya, atensyon.”
This comes after Dennis said he’s done trying to rebuild his relationship with the Barrettos following the alleged “visitor treatment” during Claudia’s wedding with her longtime beau Basti Lorenzo. He said while he’ll always be their father by name and blood, he’s no longer looking to fix their broken relationship.
“Ayoko na, surrender na, I’m finished,” he said. “Tatay na lang nila ako, pero bringing back the relationship, wala na siguro. Maybe we can just play around with the memories pero that’s it.”
Dennis’ rift with his children started after his split from Marjorie in 2007. Leon previously penned an open letter to him, revealing that he and his sisters had been trying to get past their rift, but Dennis just kept adding fuel to the fire by airing his concerns about them online. Julia said she reached out for reconciliation in 2021, but expressed in a 2023 interview with Karen Davila that healing and forgiveness are ongoing processes, and she wasn’t ready for such then. This got even more complicated when Dennis aired his disappointment over Julia’s statements.
