Diego Loyzaga opens up about going to rehab: 'It changed me as a person'

Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of depression.

Diego Loyzaga opened up about entering rehab and how it changed his life forever.

In an interview on Fast Talk with Boy Abunda, the actor—who is now a mental health advocate—shared that he had to go to rehab due to depression that led to substance abuse.

"I will not be a hypocrite in front of you and in front of our audience. I did go to rehab, definitely," he admitted. "Para lang ma-explain 'yung pangyayari or nangyari sa nakaraan, sa past ko, kung bakit ako umabot sa rehab, I was very, very depressed. I was on the brink of suicidal, and I will not deny that substances had a part to play with my mental state."

Diego looked back on his struggles when he underwent treatment in a rehabilitation center, which left him with a myriad of life realizations.

"I’m not shunning my rehabilitation, I owe them my life, pero you're kinda trapped inside. Hindi ka makalalabas until you got to meet your family again and that was the saddest thing," he shared.

"They’ll take everything away from you so you’ll appreciate all the things that are given back when you get to go out, and that broke me," he added.

Diego's was released from rehab after eight months, though he's still in touch with his counselors to this day.

"Every single day, I still talk to my counselors. Every single day, I'm still in touch with, uhm, my kuyas, we call them kuyas and ates from my rehabilitation, and they still monitor me. All the time. I'm always still very open with them."

Diego said his nearest and dearest, including his father, were a big help to him in overcoming depression.

"When I explained it to my dad, 'yung mga ginawa ko sa loob, 'yung mga ipinapagawa sa akin, I learned from each and every single thing that we had to do inside. It changed me as a person. It changed me as an actor. And yes, it made me deeper as a person probably pero again, I am not saying I’m perfect," he mused.

Diego, who is now a proud father, explained how he would open the discussion to his daughter Hailey in case she comes across the interview.

"I'll say to her, 'I hope you don’t judge me for my past. I hope you don’t look at me differently for the mistakes I’ve done, and maybe, I might still do in the future,'" he said. 

"'But just know that I love you and I promise that I’ll give you a life that I never had,'" he added, vowing that he would never be "an absent or not a loving father" to his child.

Diego revealed he welcomed Hailey with his non-showbiz partner in June last year.