MANILA, Philippines – Award-winning actress and singer Lea Salonga confirmed that she and her husband Robert Chien have long been separated.

“It’s not a secret. We’ve been separated for a while. And now he’s happy, and I’m happy that he’s happy,” Salonga said in an interview posted by MJ Marfori on Wednesday, January 22.

The topic came up when Salonga was asked about how she showed support for her son Nic’s transition. The Broadway star was quick to say that if “your love will stop” when your child comes out to you about their sexuality, “don’t have children.”

Nic is following in his mother’s footsteps as a theater actor, having made his debut in 2017 as Alice in Matilda the Musical. He later appeared alongside Salonga in the Philippine staging of Into the Woods.

Salonga said that although she and her son have busy schedules, her ex-husband and his partner are able to step in when Nic needs to be cared for when he’s sick.

Chien and Salonga tied the knot in Los Angeles in January 2004, nearly two years after they got engaged in July 2002.

In 2006, they welcomed their son, Nic, who is set to star as Moritz in The Sandbox Collective’s adaptation of Spring Awakening. – Rappler.com