By Mheryll L. Alforte
In a sit-down interview with Toni Gonzaga, singer Jake Zyrus revealed his personal struggles and the “bad place” he endured as Charice, leading to his attempt to take his own life three times.
In a YouTube segment of Tonitalks, Jake Zyrus shared how the struggles of hiding his true identity under the guise of Charice led to the deterioration of his mental health.
“It came to the worst≠… my mental health. I tried to kill myself three times. I was 19 years old at that time,” the singer starts.
Formerly known as the international singing sensation Charice Pempengco, Jake Zyrus admitted that his rose to international popularity, also disproportionately became one of life pains.
“I did not want to sound ungrateful. I don’t want people to feel, ‘grabe naman,.ayun na nga nasayo na ang lahat’,” Jake said alluding to the social pressure he felt as a public personality.
“Nasa isip ko that if I come out, it’s (my career) over. Nasa isip ko that time is other people. I didn’t want to disappoint them,” he added.
In his first two attempts, the 29-year-old singer recalled waking up at the hospital and feeling upset. And in his last suicidal attempt, Zyrus remembered waking up with Canadian music producer David Foster beside him. He revealed that Foster was actually the first few people to know about his sexual orientation.
“He was one of the first few people to know that I was having a hard time,” Jake said.
There was a show during that night where Zyrus was a guest and Foster offered him a small gesture by saying: “You don’t have to wear a dress (to perform).”
“That was the first time they let me wear something like that. It was a big deal for me. I remember just being comfortable,” the singer said adding that it was the moment when he felt to start feeling being free.
Early this May, Jake Zyrus released a new single titled “Fix Me,” which tackles “about having someone in your life that you think could fix everything.”
