Sarah Geronimo Calls Mommy Divine Her 'Hero' At Billboard Women In Music Awards

Sarah Geronimo received the inaugural Global Force Award at this year's Billboard Women in Music Awards in Los Angeles, California.

The 35-year-old Popstar Royalty is the very first born-and-raised Filipina to receive the award since its inception in 2007.

Among the other recipients of the Global Force Award are singer-songwriter Luisa Sonza from Brazil and Annalisa from Italy.

Sarah Geronimo gives a shoutout to Mommy Divine at Billboard Women in Music Awards

In an interview with Billboard’s Rania Aniftos and Lilly Singh on the red carpet, Sarah answered some questions, which eventually led her to give a shoutout to her mother, Divine Geronimo.

"It's very unexpected to be considered a Global Force, and for me, being a Global Force means having the influence, the power to influence people, and it also comes with a big responsibility, right? You have to be mindful about the materials that you put out there. You have to create change and positivity towards other people, so yeah."

"Shoutout to my mother, Mommy Divine Geronimo, you are the best, you are my hero. I cannot imagine myself being a mother, all the sacrifices a mother has to do for their child, it's mind-blowing." —Sarah Geronimo

Sarah was also asked how she feels about championing women in an event that is specifically highlighting women. She said, "Women are beautiful, women are strong, and now that I'm married, I understand how marriage can be difficult sometimes. And men are beautiful as well, the way they manage, they cope up with everything that goes on in our minds as women. I also would like to salute men for how they take care of us women."

She then recognized mothers, specifically her Mommy Divine. "Women, especially mothers out there, shoutout to my mother, Mommy Divine Geronimo, you are the best, you are my hero. I cannot imagine myself being a mother, all the sacrifices a mother has to do for their child, it's mind-blowing."

"I'm truly honored to be here to represent our country and our music, Filipino music. Mabuhay ang OPM!" she concluded.

Sarah Geronimo's relationship with her parents

It is public knowledge that there has been a long-standing rift between Sarah and her parents.

There was much discussion at the time about Mommy Divine's confrontation at the reception of Sarah and Matteo Guidicelli's secret wedding at Ministry of Crab in Shangri-La at the Fort in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Sarah and Matteo's secret wedding took place on February 20, 2020, at Victory Church, also at The Fort.

Sarah's wedding was kept secret from her parents, which caused Mommy Divine to react strongly. Since then, there have been no reports indicating that Sarah and her family have completely reconciled.

On October 29, 2022, Sarah apologized to her parents and family through an Instagram post.

Part of her apology letter, which has since been deleted, read, “Gusto ko rin kunin ang pagkakataon na ito sa paraan din na ito.. na humingi ng tawad sa aking pamilya na labis na nasaktan sa aking mga naging desisyon sa buhay. Patawad po."

“Sa aking mga magulang.. walang hanggan po ang pasasalamat ko para sa buhay na ibinigay niyo sa akin, sa aming magkakapatid. Lahat ng suporta at pag aaruga..ang inyong walang katumbas na pagmamahal, walang sino man ang pwedeng makapagpunan po nito. Mahal na mahal ko kayo.. daddy at mama ko. araw-araw ko po kayong nami-miss at naiisip."

She concluded, "Bilang isang anak, at kapatid, para sa akin, ang makasama kayo habang ako ay nabubuhay nang may pagmamahalan at kapayapaan sa ating mga puso ang tunay na ibig sabihin ng mga salitang tagumpay at kaligayahan."

However, unconfirmed reports said that Mommy Divine and Sarah are already good terms since last month.

Read what Matteo Guidicelli had to say about Sarah's rift with her parents here.