Gelli De Belen Admits To Being ‘Aggressive’ In Showing Her Sister Janice, An Ex’s Red Flags

Families stick together no matter what, and this sentiment holds true for celebrity sisters Janice and Gelli de Belen.

In an interview with Karen Davila on her YouTube channel, the celebrity moms opened up about their love lives. Gelli revealed the lengths she would go to for Janice when Karen directly asked her about her sister’s past relationships, “Sino yung mga hindi ka boto noon?”

Gelli responded, “Actually, isa lang naman talaga yung nakitaan ko ng red flag. Kasi, wala pa ako sa wisyo nung mga ibang boyfriends niya eh. I was very young, and I was just like, ‘Oh my God, si Gabby Concepcion nasa bahay namin. Ay, si Aga Muhlach ang tatay ng pamangkin ko.’ Yung ganon pa ako eh.

“Nung naging si John, meron na akong wisyo and syempre, parang it’s a small industry. I would hear things. I would find out stuff and I would tell her, ‘Look, this is what’s going on, baka gusto mong pagtuunan ng pansin.’”

Gelli was referring to Janice’s ex-husband, John Estrada, with whom she shares four kids. Both Janice and Gelli admitted that, at that time, Janice was offended and unwilling to listen. Janice said, “Feeling ko kontrabida lang siya.”

“Tsaka hindi ka ready makinig eh. Ganon naman tayo pag hindi tayo ready eh,” Gelli replied.

“Hindi ka niya kakausapin or hindi ka niya kikitain, ganon. Yung common friends and people in the industry, thankfully parang nakikita mo talaga that they’re concerned and they’re real and they’re true because they call me. They would call me and tell me, ‘Look, this is what I saw.’ Ayaw ko naman siraan si John, tapos na ‘yan, we’re okay na. [Pero] Eto yung pinagdaanan namin.”

“Will go the extra mile for you kasi pamilya yan eh”

Both admitted that it was the hardest part in their relationship as sisters.

Gelli said, “I remembered one of the times, towards the end na talaga, heto na yon. Kasi, naka-ilang beses akong sabi sa kanya na hindi naman talaga umuubra. So hinayaan ko nalang, eh ayaw mo eh, wala akong magagawa. Yung one of the last times I told her, very definitive. Sabi niya, ‘I want proof.’ Proof ba kamo? Naghanap talaga ako ng proof.

“For me, if I had gone through the same thing, sino pa ba ang dadamay sa akin kung hindi kapatid ko. I have lots of friends, but at the end of the day, your family will really look out for you eh. Yung will go the extra mile for you kasi pamilya yan eh. Everybody knew but nobody was talking, nobody was telling us.”

Karen then asked, “Naghanap ka talaga proof?”

“Naghanap ako talaga.”

“Like a photo?”

“More pa. I was very aggressive with this,” Gelli answered. She then said, “Aaminin ko na nga. Umabot ako sa punto na nagpa-private investigator ako.”

When Janice saw the proof from Gelli, she admitted, “It took a while to sink in.”

Janice then recounted her realization after, “Hindi ko alam anong gagawin ko eh. It took a while. So kung totoo, anong gagawin ko? What, where do I go from here? Yan yung mahirap. But then when things came together, when I made my final decision, siya ang una kong sinabihan. Siya pa yung naiyak!

“Sinabi ko [sa iyo], ‘Gelli, I’m getting an annulment. Bakit ikaw yung naiiyak?’ Sabi niya, hindi ko alam.’”

Gelli explained what she felt then, saying, “Because it was final. Syempre, yung separation of a family is no joke. A big deal. It’s not just between the two of them, it’s the kids.”

Janice also shared that she never considered that it was her sister’s intention for them to separate, saying, “Feeling ko naman, you know, letting me know all these things or telling me had nothing to do with her wanting us to separate. I think she just wanted me to see things and base my behavior or how I do things, my choice, on what I already know.

“Looking back at it, I appreciate it. Syempre noon, hindi. T*nga akong na-in love na, t*nga. T*nga, bulag, pipi, bingi–yun ako. But then, she had to be my eyes, my mouth, and my ears at that time.”

“And your conscience,” Gelli added, to which Janice agreed, “And yeah, my conscience.”

“He’s good to my kids, he never thought of them as anybody different.”

On the part of Gelli’s love, Karen asked Janice what she thinks of her sister’s marriage to actor and singer, Ariel Rivera.

Janice said, “I’m happy for her and I’m thankful si Ariel ang asawa niya. Because si Ariel is not only good to her, he is good to us. Because when my mom passed, he was there, he helped us.”

Gelli added, “Syempre we were distraught. We had to make decisions on the spot.”

“We had somebody who was calmer than us.”

“He was our anchor,” Gelli agreed.

Janice shared that Ariel also looks out for her and her kids, “He’s good to my kids, he never thought of them as anybody different. Parang tatay kung mag-sermon. Minsan tatanungin pa niya, okay lang ba kausapin– [I’m like] Go! So for a long time, he was also a father figure to my kids and I’m really very thankful for that. Kasi lagi kong iniisip, kung iba yung asawa ni Gelli, pake naman niya sa amin.”