All The World is Rachelle Ann Go's Stage But Home is Her Center

When Rachelle Ann Go-Spies stepped back onto a stage in Manila for the Les Misérables World Tour Spectacular this year, it was yet another memorable homecoming—a quiet celebration of almost 22 years since her breakthrough as the Search for a Star winner in March 2004.

From covering Mariah Carey’s “Through The Rain” on the talent show, she has since become Les Misérables’ Fantine on the West End, made her debut as Miss Saigon’s Gigi Van Tranh on Broadway, and wowed critics with her performance as Hamilton’s Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. In 2023, Filipinos even witnessed Go’s Eliza firsthand during the Philippine stop of the hit musical’s international tour.

And while the 39-year-old global theater star stood on many other stages in the Philippines before, this particular return feels different. This time, her life has grown far beyond the spotlight of the West End and Broadway.

Today, she’s a full-fledged hands-on wife to Martin Spies and a mother raising two young children—Lukas Judah and Sela Teruah—across the globe.

“...is very hard,” Rachelle says with a laugh. “Kami [ang gumagawa] ng lahat, so we’re very, very hands-on—luto, linis, laba…Things that you can get help [with] here. [We’re] very spoiled here, so ang hirap.” 

With Rachelle’s family in Manila and Martin’s in the US, it’s just the four of them in London. The couple, aside from running their household, also stays committed to their respective careers and homeschools their two kids. Thankfully, Martin is also really involved. With a flexible work-from-home schedule, “he’s very present,” she says. Martin agrees, though, that “it’s very challenging.”

“We don’t really have babysitters or nannies or anything like that, so we’re sort of always occupied with the kids. But, you know, we try to see the blessing in that and how much time we get with them. It can be hard, but we’re enjoying it.”

At the Smart Parenting shoot, the Spies family arrived with Rachelle Ann's mom as the only extra set of hands to help care for the kids. The shoot staff couldn't help but notice that neither child asked for screen time during the shoot's downtime—all they wanted was to be with mama, who was away getting glammed up. And maybe a lollipop or some gummy bears.

“At the end of the day, alam mo ’yung fulfillment? Andoon,” Rachelle says. “I can say, ‘You did it.’ Kahit mahirap, kaya naman pala.”

This feeling of accomplishment has also reshaped her outlook on motherhood. The work may be constant, but so is the blessing of being present in every milestone.

“I like that because ’yung intimacy, nandoon,” Rachelle shares. “You see the kids growing firsthand, especially ito ’yung formative years nila. Now, Lukas can read so parang, ‘Oh my gosh, tinuruan namin!’ You want to be there. You want to witness that.”

While motherhood has changed Rachelle, their marriage has evolved alongside it.

“A lot of people say, ‘Naku, pag may anak ka na, it will weaken your marriage,’” she shares. It’s all too familiar for married couples building their own families—less time for yourself, less time for each other, and just less time. “It’s true that you don’t have much time, she admits. “You really have to be intentional.”

“[In] dating, you only see the highlights of the person,” Martin laughs. “When you're married, you see all the faults and weaknesses. So you have to learn to love through all of the situations and choose to love.”

Life with kids and a career spanning different parts of the world has shifted Rachelle’s priorities toward structured schedules and shared responsibilities. And, instead of wearing their marriage down, parenting has built it up.

“Having kids exposes things about yourself, about your partnership, about your partner,” she contemplates. She even discovered many things about herself that she didn’t expect. “Ah, actually, ano pala, ’di pala ako patient na tao, ’yung ganon,” she laughs. “It’s amazing because then God shows you [what] you need to change.”

“In a way, having kids is such a blessing because it will make you a better person, a better partner. It exposes a lot of things about who you truly are,” she says.

“You have to know that you’re a team. You’re united. Walang [bilangan],” she says. “Being parents, it’s a partnership.”

“And I think it’s important to just enjoy and laugh,” Martin adds. “Not get too serious. Because even with kids, you gotta just enjoy them in all their different phases, and make that an enjoyable thing. Sometimes, you can become very overwhelmed with the stress of it all and maybe forget to enjoy all the funny things that they do, and even the funny things that we do as parents.”

And it’s this quiet strength behind their relationship that helps them live life abroad—partnership over perfection. It’s two people choosing to move in the same direction every day, even when it gets tiring.

But before achieving a steady pace in family life and gaining confidence in motherhood, Rachelle Ann faced every first-time mom’s fears alone. In 2021, she gave birth to Lukas in London. It was the pandemic, in a foreign city, at the height of global health restrictions, so she delivered without the warmth and comfort most mothers experience.

“Wala akong kasama noong nanganak ako,” she recalls. “Iniwan na lang nila ako mag-isa doon sa hospital, and I was crying.” She didn’t know how to hold Lukas yet, even less how to lift him out of his bassinet.

“Sabi ko, ‘Paano ’to? Parang mahuhulog ko ’to. Paano ako mag-be-breastfeed?” They had to stay for five more days in the hospital because Lukas needed antibiotics. Rachelle was exhausted and overwhelmed.

In those moments, it was only faith that tided her through. “Si Lord na lang kasama ko nu’ng mga time na ’yun,” she says. “Prayers na lang.”

Her first time giving birth was far from the glowing performances she’s so used to fulfilling, but it most definitely prepared her for what’s next. The call came less than a year into being a new mom.

“They called me, sabi nila kailangan ng emergency Fantine sa Les Mis,” she recalls. “It was a concert version, parang ginagawa namin ngayon. They were like, ‘Are you open to doing the show?’”

At first, she was unsure. “Parang ayoko, s’yempre,” she says. She was sleep-deprived and still adjusting. But in the end, she said yes. “It was my birthday, so it was a little birthday treat.” She brought Lukas to the theater. She breastfed backstage. It was then she realized, “Kaya naman pala."

Not only did Rachelle return in exceptional form, but she also came back with greater depth. More importantly, she had a better handle on motherhood. 

When Sela was born, she booked Hamilton in the Philippines after only six months. She was more experienced and confident, breastfeeding her children while doing shows every night. "Ito pala 'yung kaya ng kababaihan. 'Yung kayang gawin ng nanay. Kaya natin pag sabay-sabayin."

Back home, Rachelle makes sure to embrace her Filipino upbringing as she raises her children.

“May rice cooker kami sa London,” she shares. “Very Asian, very Pinoy, kasi I miss the food. I really try my best to cook sinigang—that’s their favorite.”

And while she’s proud to say Lukas and Sela are “Pinoy na Pinoy” when it comes to food, sharing Filipino culture with them goes beyond what she serves on the table. Lukas and Sela actually already speak three languages: English, Filipino, and Afrikaans.

“It’s actually funny because their passports are American and British, but they’re South African and Filipinos,” Martin says. “Martin is South African, so he speaks to them in his language,” Rachelle adds. “I speak Afrikaans to them so that they can learn that, and we’ve taken them to South Africa a few times,” he adds.

“Kakagaling lang [din] namin sa States,” Rachelle shares. “We were there for two months. So, ’yung kids, it’s nice to see them spending time with their grandparents. That’s very important.”

“I really like Filipino culture,” Martin shares. “I really like the value in family and community—I really like that about the Philippines. We try to make sure that they spend time in both of these places as much as possible, and absorb the culture and the values.”

With such a multicultural family, open conversations on heritage and identity are essential to the Spies.

Rachelle shares that when she and Sela speak Tagalog, she encourages Lukas to do the same. “But, Mama, I’m an Englishman,” her son answered. “Anong Englishman ka d’yan? Nakikita mo ba [ang] kulay mo?” she laughs at the memory. “I try to explain to him that Mama is from the Philippines, ‘You’re not really from London, you just live there.’”

Their mom’s stages may be global, but her heart and home are definitely Pinoy—and the same will be true for her children.

This March, both kids are celebrating their birthdays, with Lukas turning 5 and Sela turning 3. In August, Rachelle is turning 40. The fleeting nature of this season in their lives isn’t lost on her—and this led her and Martin to homeschooling.

Given the logistics of traveling for work and visiting family, it only made sense. More than that, however, is a desire to be intentional.

“I wanna see firsthand ’yung growth nila and [experience] ’yung intimacy,” she says. When Lukas first learned to read, they remember being so proud, thinking, “Oh my gosh, tinuruan namin! Accomplishment ’yun.”

Then there’s also a mother’s protective instinct. “I feel like the world right now is cray,” she says. “It’s getting crazier every single day. So since these are their only formative years, I really want to be present and build that discipline.”

“I feel like sometimes I’m strict, and sometimes I’m more relaxed,” Martin shares of his parenting style. “So there are certain things that I’m really focused on, that I’m strict on—and then I try to remember that they’re kids and they want to have fun and play. I think a big thing is to respect adults and listen to [them].”

For Rachelle, discipline is key to shaping her children’s characters—where faith and respect are at their core. “Kailangan ’yung disiplina because once you send them out there, that’s it,” she says. “There’s no turning back.”

As they navigate their first year of homeschooling, she acknowledges that times may change. “I feel like kaya pa naman,” she shares. “[Lukas] is enjoying it, gawin natin. Maybe, one day, once we feel that they’re ready, we can send them.”

As you get to know Rachelle today, you can’t even tell that there was a time when motherhood was out of the question.

“Before I met Martin, I didn’t want to have kids,” she confesses. Ako ’yung parang, ‘Naku, mahirap magpalaki. Paano ’yung disiplina?’” But after meeting her husband, her priorities changed. Martin, she reveals, has always loved children, so he was ready.

“I’ve [always] been excited to be a dad, like, it’s been a dream since I was young,” Martin shares.  Slowly, so was she.

“I think that we were able to have a few years alone. It probably would’ve been nice to have a few more years [so] we could travel and enjoy each other,” he laughs. “But, I think we’re just figuring it out. You can’t really prepare much for it. It’s really learning on the job.”

Now, she knows fulfillment beyond the West End and Broadway credits, the international tours, and the audience’s applause.

At the end of each day, it’s this feeling that Rachelle relishes coming home to–being a mother to Lukas and Sela. “Ito pala ang joy that you get from being a mom,” she says. “Hindi mo makukuha sa kahit anong bagay o success.”

It’s definitely not that the stage no longer defines Rachelle. She still performs, still travels, and still says yes to roles that challenge her. It’s that the stage that matters and defines her has exponentially widened. From teaching her children to read to cooking Filipino food for her small family in London, choosing partnership over pride, praying through the tough days, and doing it all again, Rachelle Ann Go-Spies’ life has grown beyond the theater.

While the bright spotlight still finds her, it’s at home that she finds peace after the applause.

And this role as Mama, the most important performance of her lifetime, is what she really wants to be.

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Produced by the Smart Parenting Team

Editor-in-Chief: Ronna Capili Bonifacio

Asst. Managing Editor/Co-Producer: Em Cruz

Assisted by Hanna Panoringan

Art Director: Yela Lao

Associate Video Director: Ariza Adoptante

Videographer: Teddy Garcia

Videographer and Video Editor: Rolando Pingco Jr.

Shoot Assistant: Vincent Canete

Interns: Chyll Cabigan

Associate Publisher: Bettina Santos

Interviews by Em Cruz (Rachelle Ann Go) and Hanna Panoringan (Martin)

Photographs by Jay Jay Lucas

Makeup by Denise Go Ochoa

Hairstyle by Jerry Javier

Styling by Debra Bernales

Clothes from Karimadon, Zara, Lee Philippines, Sapatero, Gingersnaps

Jewelry from Bagful of Glitter

Faux flowers from Designer Blooms

Shot on location at The New World Makati Hotel