AJ Raval reveals more details about raising kids in secret, being called 'ate' by her eldest child
AJ Raval recently gave a more complete picture of what it was like raising her children away from the public eye.
In the Feb. 1 episode of Toni Talks, Toni Gonzaga's online talk show, Raval, 25, opened up anew about her decision to finally reveal she's now a mom, having given birth to her eldest at 17.
Raval's eldest, a daughter she shares with her former non-showbiz boyfriend, turned seven late last year. Her second child, a son, passed away. She shares her three youngest with partner Aljur Abrenica.
In previous interviews, Raval shared that hiding her children from the public was instinctive, as it was also how her father, actor Jeric Raval, raised her and her siblings for a time.
But keeping them a secret did not come without heartbreaking consequences for her children.
Even her eldest, Ariana, from her former relationship, suffered from others' gossiping.
"Sa school nga po minsan hinahatid po namin siya noon, noong hindi pa kami nag-a-out. Tapos pag-alis namin, kinukulit siya. Sasabihin, 'Sino'ng mama mo? Sino'ng tatay mo?' Mga teacher pa po ang nagtatanong," Raval said.
She was pregnant then with her and Abrenica's child, but decided to resort to self-medication whenever she felt bad because she was traumatized by the public's reaction to her family.
"So ang nangyari po... 'pag may sakit po ako, ginagamot ko po 'yung sarili ko. Hindi po ako nagpapa-check-up. Nagsesearch ako ng mga vitamins," Raval said.
There was also an instance when they brought Alkina, her eldest daughter with Abrenica, to the hospital before the couple admitted to sharing children.
"Kinausap naman namin ['yung hospital] na discreet: 'Wag po sanang lalabas.' Nilabas pa rin po. Kaya nagkaroon po ako ng trauma," said Raval.
The children had gotten so used to the evasion that Arianna even developed her own strategy to keep up with the act without any prompting from her mother.
"Parang alam niya po 'yung nangyayari. Hindi ko po siya tinuruan. 'Pag nasa bahay kami, ang tawag niya sa 'kin Mommy Bats. Pero po 'yung 'pag nasa labas kami, automatic po siya, tawag niya sa 'kin Ate Bats noon," said Raval.
Ending the charade
The silver lining came in September 2025 when Raval's father Jeric accidentally revealed in an interview with the media that his daughter and Abrenica share children. Soon after, the actress admitted the truth, and said it was a relief to finally come clean.
During her guesting at Toni Talks, Raval spoke about wanting freedom for her children.
"Gusto na po namin matapos. Gusto naming maging malaya," Raval said. "Gusto namin silang ipasyal. Gusto namin silang bigyan ng malalaking birthday celebration."
"Nagsawa na rin po ako kakatago. 'Yun pong huling baby ko, nakaplano na po, paglabas niya, 'pag may chance, ilalabas ko na. Sasabihin ko na lahat," said Raval. So when she gave birth to her youngest, she and Abrenica finally relaxed.
All the scrutiny of her family began because of how the public perceived Raval and Abrenica's relationship.
Abrenica used to be married to fellow actor Kylie Padilla, with whom he shares two sons. When Raval and Abrenica began working together on the TV series Nerisa, where they played siblings, rumors of an affair between them started. Abrenica was still technically married to Padilla then. But according to Raval, her relationship with Abrenica did not start until he was completely separated from Padilla.
