A 19-year-old half-Filipino, half-Australian used TikTok to share a glimpse of her life living with a Pinay mom.
Angelica Patterson started uploading videos of their everyday life in April 2023. After a couple of weeks they were shocked that the videos went viral on social media.
“During COVID, I did this prank on my mom and throughout all of highschool, everyone just loved my mom. My mom is the mom of everyone. Everytime I would film her, it would light up everyone’s day. Sometimes, I just put the camera up and I was like, let’s just go with my mom’s reaction. I posted it without any idea and then the next like two days, it just kept going like up, up, up,” Angelica told The Philippine STAR.
Angelica said that they were overwhelmed by the support of their viewers on the social media platform.
“Having the ability to share my life with a Filo mom and like the world to relate, especially, to all the halfies. It’s a good way to just reach out and show that they are not alone,” she said.
“It’s like my mom brought me into this world so now I get to show her the world. Now, I’m glad that she gets to come along with this journey with me. She gets to share her life and my life,” she added.
Mommy Jeaneth originally came from Sultan Kudarat. She met Angelica’s father in the Philippines. In 2005, she became a permanent resident in Sydney.
“Pumunta ako dito bilang fiancée. Before that, nabuntis ako kay Angelica in the Philippines. Angelica’s dad stayed in the Philippines for almost a year,” she said.
While staying abroad, she didn’t look for a job in order to focus on her children. But her life wasn’t easy, raising her children while living in a foreign country without any relatives.
“It’s very, very hard kasi dito sa Australia, if you have no family, it’s like you have to do everything. It’s like I sacrificed a lot of things,” Mommy Jeaneth stressed.
After she gave birth to her youngest son, her married life experienced hardships.
“In 2017, there’s a lot of upside down. Angelica’s teacher called me and said, “Mrs. Patterson, I want to talk to you. Angelica talked to me about what happened.” Tapos sabi niya, pinadalhan ko si Angelica ng mga number, ng dapat mong tawagan, kung saka-sakali. Tinitignan ko lang ‘yung mga number, ito na naman nag-umpisa na naman siya,” she recalled.
“Angelica said, ‘Mom, I know that maybe I am on the right age already to tell you that enough is enough.’ But I never listened to her. Hindi ko narealize na malaki na pala ang epekto sa kanya. Kasi sabi ko, ‘I don’t want you to grow up without a dad.’ ‘I don’t want you to grow up that we have a broken family,’” she added.
Mommy Jeaneth made a hard decision to leave her husband due to physical and verbal abuse.
“I separated with his dad through domestic violence here in Australia. So, since 2017 until now, I am a single mom of three. Until now, hindi ko talaga makakalimutan ‘yung mga words na: ‘Hindi ko kayo tutulungan. Patutulugin ko kayo sa daan.’ So sabi ko sa mga bata, hindi ko talaga pinakita sa kanila na umiyak ako, na hindi ko kaya. That’s the time that I decided. Ako talaga ang nagdesisyon kasi sabi ko, enough is enough also,” she shared.
The situation also took a toll on her children’s mental health.
“Angelica and JR experienced a very, very bad mental health. Sabi ko, hindi basta-basta ‘yung years na ‘yon na ipinaglaban ko tapos mag-wakas na lang nang ganoon. Sabi ko at least, nasave ko ‘yung tatlong tao kaysa ‘yung isang tao na nagbibigay ng sakit ng loob sa amin,” Mommy Jeaneth stressed.
After witnessing all the hardships her mom went through, Angelica promised that she’ll always be by her mother’s side.
“She’s my best friend-sister in one. Every day, I thank God, I get to have a Filipino mom, let alone a mom that is just so dedicated to anything and everything she does. Even though she can be going through the hardest time of our life, she will put us first. She will always put everyone else first and she would just always have this kind, loving heart,” she said when asked about her message to her mom.
