Strength in the storm: A 'masterclass' with Camille Prats and Katrina Halili

There are interviews that feel like conversations, and then there are those that leave you changed — offering lessons that stay with you long after the cameras stop rolling. 

Sitting across Camille Prats and Katrina Halili for GMA Integrated News Interviews as they promoted Mommy Dearest, GMA’s newest Afternoon Prime series, I felt the weight of their power — the kind that’s forged in loss, heartbreak, and reinvention.

These are two women who have endured unimaginable grief but refused to let it define them.

The interview wasn’t just another promotional sit-down. It was a moment suspended in time, where two mothers, two survivors, opened up about the pain they’ve carried and the strength they’ve built in its wake.

Choosing battles, embracing change

Camille spoke about setting boundaries — how she knew, even as a beloved child star, that fame wasn’t forever. Instead of chasing the limelight, she chose stability, carving out a life outside the industry when she needed to.

She lost her first husband to cancer in 2011. She was young, a mother, and suddenly, a widow. But life, unpredictable as it is, had more love in store for her. Six years later, she found it again — in the familiar warmth of her grade school classmate, VJ Yambao. Together, they built a family, proving that love, even after heartbreak, is not just possible — it is boundless.

Weathering the storms

Katrina, on the other hand, is still carrying wounds. Losing her boyfriend to a sudden heart attack last year left a void she started learning to navigate. But even in her grief, she carries quiet hope — that one day, love will find her again. Not just for herself, but for her daughter, Katey, who she dreams of having a father figure.

She, as most know, has weathered more than her fair share of storms — her public scandal in 2009, her separation from Katey’s father, Kris Lawrence — but Kat has never allowed those hardships to drown her spirit.

A shared history of strength

What’s uncanny is how their lives have mirrored each other over the years. They were working together when Camille lost her husband in 2011. More than a decade later, they reunited on Mommy Dearest—this time, as Katrina faced her own grief.

Camille reflected on this full-circle moment: “When I lost my late husband, I was working with her during Munting Heredera so somehow, she witnessed that season of my life. At ngayon, ang tagal naming hindi nagka-work, tapos ito naman 'yung pinagdaanan niya while taping Mommy Dearest. Our relationship as co-actors feels like a full 360 degrees—she saw me at my lowest, and now I get to be here for her while she’s going through hers.”

(And now, after we didn't work together for a long time, this is what she is going through while taping Mommy Dearest.)

Katrina, nodding in agreement, shared her own realization: “'Yun din 'yung pinag-usapan namin—Mars, tinatanggap natin, ‘no? Kasi may iba, hindi nila kaya. Ayaw na, ayaw muna. Pero tayo, tinatanggap nating dalawa. Sabi ko, oo, puwede ko namang iiyak mamaya.”

(That is also what we talked about. Mars, we accept this, right? Others cannot take it. They don't want to deal with it anymore or for now. But as for us, we accept this. I said, yes, I can cry over it later.)

I asked her if that was what she did — if she cried when she got home.

“Oo. Pagtapos ng take. Ganoon ako. Kunwari, magte-take, pipigilan ko. Pipigilan ko hanggang mag-cut, mag-pack up. ‘Tsaka ako iiyak. Pupunta ako du'n, at saka ako iiyak. Ano gagawin ko sa bahay? Iiyak lang nang iiyak? Mamamaga lang ‘yung mata ko, ‘di ba? Para din hindi ako masyadong ma-stuck doon. Nililibang ko rin 'yung sarili ko — okay, magtatrabaho ako.”

(Yes. After the take is done. That's how I am. For instance, we'll have a take, and I'll stop myself from crying. I'll hold it until the director says 'cut' and we pack up. Then that's when I cry. I would go there, and cry. What will I do at home? Cry and cry? My eyes would just be puffy, right. I [cry it out] so I will not get stuck there. I try to keep myself busy with work.)

More than just a teleserye

Throughout the interview, their energies filled the room — two women who have fought, survived, and come out stronger. There was no need for words of encouragement between them — just an unspoken understanding between two souls who had seen the worst of life and still chose to rise.

And now, as they bring Mommy Dearest to life, their personal journeys weave seamlessly into the story they tell onscreen — mothers who endure, women who love fiercely, survivors who refuse to be defined by their past.

That’s what makes this project more than just another teleserye. It’s a story of mothers armed with strength—an armor both Camille and Katrina know intimately. When the cameras rolled, they weren’t just acting. They were drawing from a well of lived experiences, pouring pieces of their truth into their roles.

As I wrapped up the sit-down, I realized I wasn’t just talking to two actresses. I was front seat to a masterclass — an unfiltered moment between two women who had every reason to crumble but instead chose to rise.

They taught it so clearly!

Strength doesn’t always look like power. Sometimes, it looks like Camille’s quiet resilience. Sometimes, it looks like Katrina’s unwavering resolve.

And sometimes, it looks like two smiling women sitting side by side, carrying their pasts with pride, and proving that no amount of loss or pain can take away their light.

“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it."

—Maya Angelou

—KG, GMA Integrated News