Content creator Esnyr made emotional revelations about dealing with his family’s financial hardships and having a rift with his father during an episode of Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition.
Esnyr opened up to his fellow housemates about the real-life struggles he has faced since achieving success online. He shared how his early earnings from his videos quickly turned into a responsibility to support his household.
“Nung nag-start kasi ako sa pandemic, nagkakaroon ako sa videos ko tig P5,000, tig P10,000 tapos napapansin ko wala na talagang ulam sa ref namin and walang laman talaga ang ref namin always. [Sabi ko], ‘Okay, ako na bahala sa grocery ngayon, ako na bahala sa kuryente, ganyan.’ Sobrang little things lang hanggang sa palaki nang palaki. Hanggang sa may opportunity ako dito sa Manila. Dun pala magsisimula ‘yung problem ko sa family ko,” he recounted.
One of the most painful moments for Esnyr was when he learned that his father almost sent to jail due to an unpaid debt, prompting his family turned to him for help.
“One day magko-call sa akin ‘yung parents ko at sasabihing makukulong ang papa ko. So bakit? Kasi daw may utang daw kami, tapos sakto pa ‘yung utang namin ganun kalaki sa makukuha ko. Eh siyempre ayaw kong makulong papa ko kaya binigay ko. Tapos nangutang ako. Dun na nag-start ‘yung utang chronicles ko.”
Determined to recover financially, Esnyr accepted every gig and worked tirelessly to earn back what he had lost.
“Siyempre since medyo malaki ‘yung binayaran ko para lang hindi makulong ‘yung father ko, like kumayod ako. Tinanggap ko lahat ng brands. Every day gagawa ako ng script, magi-edit ako, magsho-shoot ako.”
Despite Esnyr’s hardwork, he recalled a painful exchange with his father after failing to respond to one of his messages.
ge with his father after he failed to respond to one of their texts.
“Sobrang busy ko that time na nagme-message sila papa sa akin kasi monthly sila nagme-message sa akin na, saan na ‘yung pera, ganyan. Tapos di ako nakapag-reply. Dun ko unang natanggap ‘yung unang message ng papa ko sa akin na: ‘Grabe ka magpasarap diyan sa buhay mo diyan, kaya mong makita ‘yung parents mo na naghihirap? Pero sige lang, gusto kong malaman mo na mabubuhay kami kahit wala ka,'” he relayed his father’s message.
“Sobrang sakit nun kasi ginawa ko ‘to para sa kanila. Hindi ako humihingi ng mga bagay sa kanila. Ako ‘yung bigay ng bigay,” he added, expressing how hurtful the message made him.
Esnyr went on to admitt that he never considered himself a “breadwinner”, as his father once told him not to take all the credit.
“Natatakot nga akong tawagin ang sarili ko na breadwinner kasi si papa sinabi niya sa akin na huwag mo naman i-take credit lahat kasi nagwo-work ka. Gets ko naman ‘yun kaya di ko tinatawag ang sarili ko na breadwinner,” he shared.
He also revealed that he never received a message from them simply asking how he was—only messages requesting favors.
“Every month, nagme-message siya sa akin ng, ‘Hello, John (Esnyr’s second name), kumusta?’ Magre-reply ako, pero pagkatapos nun, lagi na lang may hihingin. Never akong nachat na kumusta lang.”
Despite his sacrifices, Esnyr admitted that he has never been emotionally close to his father.
“Never in my life naging close kami. Never in my life, nagsabi ako ng ‘I love you’ sa kanya. Never in my life sinabihan niya ako ng ‘I love you, sobrang saya ko na anak kita.’ Wala, wala akong narinig na ‘yun,” the content creator shared.
Esnyr further revealed that aside from wanting to be the first LGBT Big Winner, one of his biggest motivations for joining Pinoy Big Brother was to help his family and mend his strained relationship with his father.
“Kaya ayun gusto ko talaga sumali dito kasi hindi lang dream ko sa sarili ko na gusto kong maging kauna-unahang LGBT representation sa Big 4 pero talaga mostly para talaga sa pamilya ko.”
“Gusto kong malaman nila na sobrang mahal na mahal ko sila, na sobrang mahal kita pa. I am doing everything for you. Kahit wala man itong PBB or meron, gusto ko lang na magiging okay kami ng papa ko kasi buong buhay ko ‘tong binibitbit.”
