MANILA — Actress KC Concepcion revealed that grief over her grandmother’s death led her to take a voluntary pause from the spotlight, years after initially dismissing its impact.
In the latest episode of broadcaster Karmina Constantino's podcast, Concepcion shared that it took a 2016 incident for her to realize she was still grieving her grandmother, Elaine Gamboa Cuneta.
"I think the moment was 2016 when I hosted Binibining Pilipinas. ... I just remembered, I really enjoyed hosting Binibining Pilipinas, I was comfortable in Araneta Coliseum and with that crowd, it was so exciting. I never thought that I would pause. And it was a voluntary pause. But I think at that time, I didn't know to be super honest, that I was grieving the death of my grandma from two years before pa," said Concepcion, adding that her grandmother had been her main motivation for working so hard.
The daughter of Sharon Cuneta with former husband Gabby Concepcion said that she was unaware that grief had caught up with her.
Screen grab: YouTube/KC After Hours
"Actually, I don't tell a lot of people this, but during Binibining Pilipinas, during hosting the show itself, I was going through extreme fatigue, chronic fatigue. Sobrang pagod na hindi na kaya ng kape. ...Akala ko it was my sugar. Akala ko antok lang o pagod kasi ang daming work... What happened when I got home that night I was in my gown and noong time na 'yon wala akong kasama... I wasn't used to help so ako lang mag-isa. You know, I woke up the next day... I was in my full makeup, in my gown sa sahig. Parang gumapang ako to the bathroom, parang hindi na ako umabot, parang nag-pass out ako. ... and half of my body was nasa floor and half was nasa bed," she said.
She then went for a checkup and was told that it was chronic fatigue.
"They saw my lungs were getting affected, lagi na akong inuubo. And I heard from someone na Chinese medicine doctor who said, when you're grieving, ang affected 'yung lungs. So I said, 'oh, gosh.' Yeah, maybe this is really still, you know, affecting me two years later," Concepcion said.
When asked of how she was able to handle the grief, Concepcion quipped: "I semi-retired. I did an accidental hibernation. But, you know, of course, it didn't take seven years to get over it, right? It didn't take that long. But I think it prompted something that was actually in the end much needed for me to refuel and to really... you know, I felt that I was saying yes to everything, to anything and everything because I wanted to please the higher ups. I wanted to deliver. I wanted to perform. I wanted to prove that... Sa mga katulad ko we had an open door in a way, we were born into a family na ito na ang ginagawa, kilala na. I had to prove na magtatrabaho ako, magpupuyat ako, blood, sweat, and tears pa rin ito. Magkaiba man ang background natin magwo-work ako kung kinakailangan 36 hours tuloy-tuloy kasi I wanted to show that workhorse din ako. And I loved it. I felt that I was built for it. I felt that this profession was for me, it found me and it stayed with me. And thank God, because, you know, I think the somehow I've been able to achieve certain things, and I'm really grateful that I had that chance."
While in "semi-retirement," Concepcion said she accidentally created her own jewelry brand Avec Moi.
"I was never not doing anything. So I was still working, just not performing. So the work was behind the scenes," she said.
"And then I studied with GIA (Gemological Institute of America). I did courses for jewelry making... got certified and I'm still working on the bigger diploma, and then I accidentally created a business, hindi ba? So it was very productive for me, just not in the way that the Philippine audience understood," she said.
For Concepcion, she never realized that she loves doing things not for anyone but for herself.
"I didn't realize that that's what I wanted until I started to listen to my inner self. My heart, or not my heart, my gut, I don't know what it is, but I started listening to myself in a way, and wanted to give myself a chance to create another version of be an extension of me," she said.
Asked if she now feels most comfortable with herself, Concepcion replied: "Yes, I can say that confidently. I was always independent because I was raised that way pero ngayon I want to be Miss Dependent kasi I realized I can't do it all. And, hanggang dito lang pala 'yung strength ko after noon weakness na. And knowing pala your weaknesses and acknowledging na mahina ako rito -- nakaka-empower pala 'yon."