More than a year may have passed since the breakup of Nadine Lustre and James Reid, one of the most beloved on and offscreen couples in the country, but for the actress and recording artist, there's still plenty of room for healing. In a guest appearance on journalist Karen Davila's YouTube channel, Nadine shared her extensive knowledge about plants as well as her continuous journey towards healing. "Healing naman kasi, I guess, is a general thing for me," shares Nadine, pertaining not only to her breakup but also to the death of her brother.
Nadine on her breakup with James
According to Nadine, she and James actually decided to part ways back in November of 2019, but it was only publicly confirmed in January of the following year. On the breakup, Nadine says that it was a mutual decision between the two of them and clarified that there was no third party involved. One of the main reasons was that they both wanted to focus on growing on their own. She explains, "It wasn't really a bad breakup. We just wanted to work on ourselves. I get that people are sad about it, but for us, it was a mutual decision. He had to take care of his family, focus on his career, and I had to focus on my career and take care of my family as well."
Despite their split, Nadine considers James her great love. "Hindi siya yung basta basta lang na pa-sweet lang. Marami akong natutunan doon sa relationship namin and a lot of me changed because of that."
Additionally, Nadine says that she and James remain friends and that there's no bad blood between them. Currently, Nadine also releases music under Careless Music, the label James established. Aside from her breakup, Nadine also opened up about her late brother, how she copes with depression, and how James was there for her during her most difficult times. "Naging crutch siya for me...Siya yung humawak sa akin and kept me standing," she shared.
Nadine on depression and healing
On depression, Nadine says that, for her, it's something that does not really go away. But having experienced it before allows her to know better how to cope with it. She says, "It is a recurring thing and I don't think it ever stops, but what is different is how you cope with it, how you deal with it because you've already gone through it."
For Nadine, one of the things that helped her was writing songs and working on her album during quarantine last year. In 2020, Nadine released Wildest Dreams, a 12-track album that Nadine worked on together with other Careless Music artists, including Bret Jackson and James himself.
You can watch Karen's interview with Nadine here:
***