Michael Pacquiao, son of eight-division world boxing champion and former Sen. Manny Pacquiao, recently opened up about his life.
In an interview with Julius Babao, the 21-year-old talked about the pros and cons of being a celebrity child.
He admitted there are advantages given to his situation and he is enjoying these, but it also has its fair share of disadvantages which include him living under his dad's shadow.
“People think, ‘Pacquiao lang maraming pera,’ pero hindi naman ganon," he said. “Like, sa music ko, I actually did it all by myself. And people thought na parang ginamit ko si Daddy, (that) I asked (for his) help kasi maraming connection, ganun, tsaka pera. In truth, it’s not real. Expectation lang ng mga tao is different from reality.”
Julius then asked Michael about the bullying story he shared late last year to content creator Ned Adriano.
According to Michael, it happened back when he was just a high school student in General Santos City.
“I couldn’t fit in, kasi Pacquiao, so they thought na Inglisero lang,” he said. “So people thought na ano, na ako maarte, and then wala akong masyadong ano dun, e, friends.”
Note that Michael spent his elementary days at a certain international school in Laguna.
Although, he cleared it was not physical and more emotional and mental.
But it had a huge effect on Michael and so much so that at one point, he thought about ending his life.
"I felt alone," he said about it. "My parents didn't know na yun yung plano ko... there was one time sa room ko... para siyang wire. I tried to.. naisip ko, you know, (demo of hanging himself) setup ko. And then after that sabi ko: 'Wag na.'"
“Naisip ko what would my parents think. Tsaka what would they think of me doing this,” he related. "So at that moment, I didn't think of myself. I thought of other - my parents and brothers. I stopped na after."
Thankfully, going to the gym was a huge help.
"Parang therapy thingy," he said, adding listening to music by himself also helped.
His parents eventually learned about what he went though.
“They comforted me. My dad talked to me. We prayed. I felt nice, I felt better.”
So what advice could he give to those going through depression?
“You’re not alone. Yun ang important part. You can talk to someone about what you feel and don’t let feelings determine your choice of action. It’s just a feeling kasi mawala rin naman ang feeling. Temporary lang ang feeling.”
He admitted: “Yung mali ko... nag-focus ako don sa sadness.”