Melanie Marquez reveals husband allegedly abused her, says she was placed in mental facility without consent
Warning: This article includes an account of abuse.
Melanie Marquez has broken her silence on the alleged physical abuse she experienced at the hands of her husband, Randy "Adam" Lawyer.
The Miss International 1979 titleholder went into detail about her personal life in a Fast Talk with Boy Abunda interview on Jan. 5.
On Nov. 11, 2025, Marquez wrote to the Bureau of Immigration requesting to cancel Lawyer's visa and to have him added to the blacklist.
"Nung kinasal kami ni Randy, may mindset ako, 'I want this marriage to last'... But along [the] way, marami siyang... I'm verbally abused—inuunsulto niya ako—emotionally, financially, and mentally[...]" she shared.
In Marquez's letter to the BI, she listed specific incidents of abuse, including when Lawyer allegedly punched her in her sleep in March 2022. This was the first incident of physical abuse, according to her, but she had experienced emotional abuse before that, including when he held her at gunpoint over business problems.
"Akala ko napanaginipan ko, may sumuntok sa'kin. But then naalimpungatan ako, parang nakita ko siya na nakatingin sa'kin, na sinuntok niya ako," she continued.
"The minute I sat down sa edge ng bed namin, may sound na [sa ear ko]... Sinipa ko siya para mahulog sa kama. Sabi ko, 'Why did you punch me? What did I do wrong?''
Lawyer supposedly responded by telling her he was dreaming and didn't know what he had done.
Marquez went to the police and to Makati Medical Center emergency room to get a medical certificate regarding her damaged eardrum. She also had Lawyer removed from their condominium.
Her letter to the BI also indicated a similar incident in 2021, but the former beauty queen was not able to get evidence.
Furthermore, Marquez shared that Lawyer punched her in the chest in October 2025 after the Filipina wanted to go on a drive to cool down after an argument. She later got checked at a hospital and found out her third rib was fractured. The former beauty queen filed a protection order against Lawyer afterward and hasn't seen him since.
"Para ganyanin niya ako, nakita ko na intentional. Sabi ko sa kanya, 'Tama na,'" she said.
Marquez further alleged that Lawyer physically abused two of her sons, Mazen and Adam, when she wasn't around.
She added that she will file for a divorce from Lawyer. "I want to be happy. I'm too old already. I'm 64. All I wanted was to have peace of mind. I deserve that... I want to rise again because he pinned me down... I sacrificed so much because of this marriage."
'Kidnapped'
Later on in the interview, Marquez recalled how, during her birthday celebration years ago, she was allegedly abducted.
"I was kidnapped against my will. I was judged. Nobody talked to me. I could not talk to anyone. My phone got hacked, and it was on my birthday—birthday ko mismo noong inabduct ako. Because I filed a case against Randy, 'yung suntok niya sa'kin, nawala ako," she shared.
"Nilagay ako sa mental hospital, thinking siraulo ako, when in fact I'm taking care of my two boys, I'm having construction sa binili kong lupa, bigla akong nawala. I was only invited to celebrate my birthday, but I never thought that celebration would be my trauma."
Without mentioning who took her, she claimed she was injected with something that left her unable to move. She added that she learned she was in a mental hospital in Pasig.
According to the former beauty queen, it stemmed from people twisting what she had previously said about her two sons with special needs.
Marquez continued to say that after 10 days in the mental facility, she was taken to a rehabilitation center for eight months.
"Sila mismo sa rehab, walang problema," she said, adding that the hair follicle tests turned out negative.
"Masakit 'pag mahal mo, binetray ka," Marquez added of the experience.
Marquez, who was crowned Miss International in 1979, has six children. She and Lawyer married on June 22, 2000, and share two children, Adam and Abraham.
PhilSTAR L!fe has reached out to Lawyer for comment, but has yet to receive a reply.
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If you are, or if you personally know someone being abused, don’t hesitate to seek help to stop the abuse.
The PCW has shared important contact details if such abuses were to occur:
POLICE/INVESTIGATION ASSISTANCE
PNP Hotline: 911
Aleng Pulis Hotline: 0920 907 1717
PNP Women and Children Protection Center
24/7 AVAWCD Office: (02) 8532-6690
Email address: wcpc_pnp@yahoo.com / wcpc_vawcd@yahoo.com / avawcd.wcpc@pnp.gov.ph
LEGAL ASSISTANCE
Public Attorney’s Office (PAO)
Hotline: (02) 8426-2075; 8426-2801; 8426-2450;8426-2987; 8426-2683; or 8929-9436 local 106, 112, 121, 122, and 131
Email address: pao_executive@yahoo.com
REFERRAL SERVICES
Inter-Agency Council on Violence Against Women and their Children
Mobile numbers: 09178671907 | 09178748961
Email address: iacvawc@pcw.gov.ph