On the evening of 7 March 2023, inside the Careless office, Liza Soberano sat across from Boy Abunda for what would become one of her most revealing interviews. At the time, she was at the center of controversy following the release of her bold vlog “This Is Me,” where she bared her desire for change in both her career and personal life. But behind the headlines, a deeper truth remained hidden—until now.

During the interview, Liza admitted that she and Enrique Gil—her on-screen partner and real-life boyfriend—had already ended their nearly eight-year relationship in 2022.

The revelation was raw, tender, and heartbreaking. Yet, in a private plea, she asked the King of Talk not to air the 12-minute segment about their breakup, explaining that Enrique was not ready to go public. Boy Abunda respected her request, keeping the footage under wraps for over two years.

That silence ended on 18 August 2025, when Fast Talk with Boy Abunda finally aired the unreleased portion—prompted by Liza’s candid admission in Arab-Australian artist Sarah Bahbah’s docu-podcast that she and Enrique had indeed gone their separate ways.

'We decided to separate ways'

In the 2023 interview, Boy asked the question that fans had long speculated about:

“Is he still in your life? Naghiwalay na ba kayo ni Quen?”

With quiet resolve, Liza replied: “Quen and I have decided to separate ways.”

She explained that as she underwent personal and professional transformation, their values no longer aligned.

“It was hard for us to be there and support each other the same way we used to. We decided it was just easier to separate ways and kind of find ourselves first.”

Their relationship had been filled with love, longevity, and public pressure. After nearly a decade together, questions about marriage became inescapable. But Liza admitted she was uncertain about that path.

“There is still so much I wanna achieve. And I came to a point where I didn’t know if marriage was what I wanted anymore.”

Respect, love, and what remains

Despite the breakup, Liza described their parting as amicable. Enrique, she said, understood her choices and even courted her again after their split. But her decision was firm.

“There’s still a lot of love and care for each other. But at the moment, we need to grow first.”

The actress confessed that fear initially kept her from admitting the separation publicly. Their families had grown close, their social circles intertwined, and her career identity was deeply attached to her love team with Enrique.

“My whole world revolved around him… it was scary to come forward because it was such a big change in our lives.”

Out of mutual respect, they agreed to keep silent until both were ready.

Clearing misconceptions

Liza also addressed speculations linking her to James Reid, her former manager at Careless, stressing that there was no third party.

“We grew apart. It’s simply that.”

She admitted that her “This Is Me” vlog unintentionally fueled miscommunication by not clarifying that she and Enrique had already separated. The absence of that detail, she said, made people misinterpret her search for independence as a rejection of her partnership with Enrique.

Toward the end of the interview, Boy asked Liza to speak words of apology and gratitude to Enrique. With emotion, she reflected on their shared journey:

“I wanna say thank you because he was very understanding of the whole situation. Until now, he supports everything that I do. He’s always been a good friend, a good boyfriend. Everything that I have now, lahat ng success ko, he was the person that I got to share that with.”

She also apologized to her fans for the lack of communication and for any disappointment caused by her decisions.

“Sorry if they were disappointed… but thank you for understanding and supporting me throughout the years. None of my success would have happened without them.”

Finally, she turned inward—thanking herself for her resilience and courage.

“Thank you for being strong despite everything. Thank you for always wanting to grow and for not giving up on yourself.”