Rica Peralejo recently talked about the reason behind her decision via Toni Gonzaga's vlog.
"It was more of like napagod ako. At 25, sabi ko bakit ganon paggising ko naiisip ko trabaho, tapos pagod na pagod na ako, tapos iniisip ko pa rin trabaho. So wala na akong ibang nilo-look forward sa buhay ko," she told Toni.
She continued: "And then I saw all around me, 'yung pamangkin ko, 'yung kapatid ko, bumalik sila sa school, 'yung ganon. Tapos nakita ko na ang normal ng buhay nila tsaka parang ang saya, so unti-unti na 'yung nagbi-build up na 'yun so I said I kinda want a normal life."
The 40-year-old former child star noted how before she thought "job, fame, popularity, and career" were enough to sustain her.
But she realized: "Hindi pala sa materyal na bagay o positions mo makikita o kahit sa ambition 'yung fulfillment na hinahanap mo or 'yung healing, that wholeness that we are really looking for in our lives."
At first, Rica was so afraid of staying away from the limelight not for herself but more for her family.
"Okay lang sa akin mag-downgrade pero 'yung nakikita kong nagda-downgrade din 'yung lahat ng nasa paligid ko was the most painful thing for me. Na my family will no longer enjoy the benefits of me being an artista -- it was very hard. Sobrang takot. More than anything else it was what were they going to eat? And how were they going to live?"
But she later found out that the provider of her family is not her but God.
"And true enough when I let go of that notion that everything was dependent on me, it launched them off to have great lives for themselves," Rica pointed out.
Watch her revelation here: https://youtu.be/LSbPbDa_9Bw