Ellen Adarna Still Lives By This Relationship Advice From Dad

Ellen Adarna, mom of two, is known online as strong, confident, and unafraid of bashers, and she revealed this is a lesson she learned from her own father. In a recent interview with Melai Cantiveros on the latter's vodcast Kuan on One, Ellen recounted her dad's wise words, one that may come in handy if you're raising a daughter.

You might assume that being the only daughter in an affluent household meant Ellen Adarna’s childhood was all lace, silk, and gentle upbringing. The reality is far different.

“Mao nang naisog ko (This is why I’m brave),” she shared during her sit-down with Melai Cantiveros on Kuan on One. “Katuon jud ko laban (I really learned how to fight).” Ellen recounts that growing up with three brothers meant her home was filled with intense brawls that turned her into the fighter she is today.

And don’t think for a second that being the only girl gave her a free pass from consequences. In the Adarna household, actions had consequences, regardless of gender.

Take the time a television set got broken. Instead of fixing it for her, her father demanded she pay for it herself. Her response? She promptly marched off to a call center job to prove she didn't need a handout. All because she wanted to prove that she can.

But as Ellen would tell you, that was just the first of many life lessons she inherited from her dad.

Despite her father being the hands-off type who refused to meddle in her love life, Ellen Adarna keeps one piece of his advice in her heart up to this day. It all started during a particularly rough patch in her youth where she experienced a heartbreak so heavy she spent three months straight in tears. Watching his daughter unravel over a guy, her dad finally stepped in to drop some truth.

“He saw me crying for three months, so he pulled me aside for some real talk,” she recalls. “He told me, ‘No man is worth your tears. Di ka sayun-sayunon. Di ka pwede ma-sayun-sayun.’” (Translation: No man is worth your tears. You aren't someone who can be easily had. You shouldn't be taken for granted.)

Looking back, Ellen laughs about the melodrama of it all. She’s actually grateful that the relationship went up in flames—if it hadn't, she admits she might have stayed marupok (a total pushover). But that heartbreak, combined with her dad’s tough-love wisdom, turned out to be the ultimate turning point.

Like most girls, Ellen grew up under the spell of Disney romances and the fascination towards happily ever afters. But she admits that now that she’s older, she sees relationships through a more realistic lens. Today, she stands as an icon for loving and choosing yourself, proving that the most important relationship you’ll ever have is the one you maintain with your own self-worth.

Of course, who could forget her viral Instagram Q&As, where she became the internet's love coach on setting relationship boundaries?

She’s famously blunt about the reality of walking away. When one follower asked what to do after catching a partner cheating, Ellen didn’t waste time on a dramatic confrontation. She simply replied: “Wala ko nangaway niya, wala ko nangutana. I just left. Gwapa ko.” (I didn’t fight him, I didn’t ask questions. I just left. I’m beautiful.) 

When others asked for tips on navigating toxic relationships, she created her viral 10-step guide for handling gaslighters including everything from securing your passwords to gathering your receipts, culminating in the ultimate mic-drop advice: “Collect the truth—and let them choke on it.”

Whether she's telling a fan, “You deserve what you tolerate,” or advocating for "regulation over rushing," Ellen’s confidence is as sharp as her wit.  And honestly, that is still an echo of her father’s wise advice.

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