Singer Jona Viray revealed that she was a victim of sexual abuse by her father when she was 10 years old during an interview with Toni Gonzaga on Toni Talks.
“Alam mo ate, dati tinawag nila akong fearless diva, pero ngayon ko lang naintindihan kung bakit,” Jona shared in the episode titled The Childhood Secret Jona Tried To Hide For Many Years. “Nung bata ako…10 years old ako noon, naging biktima ako ng molestya mula sa tatay ko. Walang nakakaalam. Ni kapatid ko, mga kamag-anak ko kasi ayoko nang maalala. Ngayon I feel fearless kasi kaya ko nang ibahagi yung journey ko.”
She explained that she now understands why she was once called the “fearless diva.” “May purpose pala kung bakit ako tinawag na fearless diva before. Now I feel fearless and strong enough to share my journey from the past na for a long time tinago ko.”
Opening up about the experience, Jona admitted feeling both scared and relieved. “I’m a little scared to open up, but at the same time it’s freeing.”
During the conversation, Toni told her guest that it may be hard for her to trust men because “the very man that was supposed to protect you, to keep you safe, violated you.” Jona nodded silently, tears forming in her eyes.
The interview began with Toni asking why Jona often becomes emotional when performing. Jona explained that it might be due to her painful past.
“Hindi nila alam yung past ko, ang alam lang nila sa background ko, galing ako sa broken family,” she expressed. “Duon ko nae-express sa aking pagkanta and I have never shared this experience before.”
She recounted that her early childhood was happy and simple. She began singing in a church music ministry at age 3, guided by her mother, while her father bought her cassette tapes. She started joining singing contests at 7.
“It was a very simple life,” she recalled.
Things changed when her parents began fighting. “As a child, medyo nonchalant ka pa,” she mentioned, referring to her parents’ marital problems.
Jona rose to fame after winning Pinoy Pop Superstar in 2005 and has since become one of the country’s top vocalists.
