James Reid says Issa Pressman helped him recover after losing P150 million in business
James Reid has opened up about a time where his girlfriend Issa Pressman helped him bounce back after he lost P150 million in profit due to issues involving a former business partner.
Speaking as a guest on Gary Valenciano’s podcast Unshaken, the actor recalled the time where things "went horribly wrong" with his ex-business partner, but assured that he is now "unbothered" by the incident.
"During the time when I was working with him, we did the music fest and everything, and then I lost P150 million throughout that whole process," Reid said.
"That was like the last 10 years of work that I've done. Probably more. It was a lot," he lamented. "It was like almost all of what I'd saved. It was heavy."
The local star explained that he got "really tricked got tricked into this crazy situation" where his business partner had a little bit too much control over what Reid would spend on.
"There was a little bit too much trust there. And even though there were so many people telling me, 'Yo, I think you need to be careful of this person,' I think I didn't want to believe that at the time because I thought we were close. I also just couldn't believe that people like that could exist," he said.
Reid shared that it was Pressman who helped him find a way forward.
"She's the one who really had to shake me and be like, 'Hey, you need to wake up. I don't think this is ever going to get better. I don't think you're going to get that money back. You need to really wake up and see that's what's happening,'" he recounted.
"Issa was such a huge part of that whole experience," he added. "I was so smitten and in love that no matter what the hell was going on, it completely distracted me from how bad I was supposed to be feeling at the time... that love became my compass."
While Reid did not identify who his former business partner was, it can be recalled that he previously spoke against Jeffrey Oh for "tricking" him and owing him more than P100 million in his talent agency Careless Music. He has since been terminated since July 2024.
The music festival that Reid was referring to appeared to be the Wavy Baby Music Festival in 2023, which became the subject of controversy after several issues such the sudden removal of Cebuano artists from the lineup and poor planning.