Nikki Valdez Recalls Time As Single Parent: 'Kaya Ko Bang Pag-Aralin Ang Anak Ko Mag-Isa?'

Before Nikki Valdez found happiness anew and getting married the second time around in 2018 (read here), she was single parent to her only child Olivia.

That was in 2011, when Nikki's marriage to Olivia's father, a Filipino-Canadian, ended. She and their daughter left Canada, where the actress had settled down, and returned to the Philippines.

Looking back now, 11 years later, Nikki couldn't help recalling the time she struggled as a single parent.

"Napagdaanan ko ’yan," she told Smart Parenting at the presscon for her 2022 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) movie, Family Matters. "Natanong ko ang sarili ko, ‘Kaya ko bang pag-aralin ang anak ko mag-isa?’ Considering that I had to start from zero again after we left Canada."

She added, "But mabait ang Diyos sa akin. I’d like to think na I did my part in contributing to raising my daughter on my own. Siyempre, and’yan pa rin ang family ko. At the end of the day kasi ikaw pa rin ang magde-desisyon, ikaw at ikaw ang gagawa ng paraan."

Nikki shared this story in one of her social media posts: "I can still vividly remember that day when I first inquired at a nursery school for Olivia. I was then already a solo parent with zero confidence and just enough money in my bank account as I was starting my acting career again after a 2-year hiatus from showbiz.

"As I held on to that piece of paper with the tuition fee and requirements breakdown, I sat down [together with my Mom] in front of a small grotto inside the school grounds and asked, 'Kakayanin ko po ba ito?'"

Nikki got her answer in May 2021, the day Olivia graduated from grade school (read here).

"I always put my daughter in mind, her welfare," she said.

As for her advice to single parents, Nikki has this to say: "Dadating siguro ’yung panahon na mare-realize mo ’yung purpose mo bakit kailangan mong maging single parent. Kung ’yun ang purpose mo in life, mabibigyan at mabibigyan ka ng taong para sa ’yo.

"But as you are a single parent, embrace the purpose, embrace the responsibility. Kasi kung ’yun ang iisipin mo, hindi ka susuko. Mapapagod, pero huwag susuko."

 She added on getting external support, "Ang family, extra hands lang ’yan at the end of the day. That’s why you have to be strong. Kailangan, lalabanan mo lahat ang pagsubok kasi ikaw lang ang magtataguyod talaga sa anak mo."

Read here for tips on how solo parents can lighten the load.