Dennis Padilla’s public rift with his Barretto children: A timeline

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rapplerAds.displayAd( "mobile-middle-1" );Spanning more than a decade, Dennis Padilla’s rift with his children Julia, Claudia, and Leon has been highly publicized — whether it be through interviews or the actor’s own social media pages.The veteran comedian would often share his attempts to reach out to his children with his ex-wife Marjorie Barretto, and would supposedly even sometimes air their personal matters out to the public.



Julia and Leon would also speak up about the situation from time to time, and whenever reconciliation seemed to be on the horizon, their progress would be derailed by another issue with their father.Dennis’ relationship with his children was then put to the test each time, with how Claudia’s wedding turned out seemingly making it official that this years-long feud would not end in the way everyone had hoped. Here’s a timeline of the notable events that have defined their fallout:2007: Marjorie and Dennis split upDennis and Marjorie wed in November 1997, just a few months after their first child, Julia, was born.

The couple later had two more kids together: Claudia in 1999, and Leon in 2003. Just four years after Leon’s birth, the couple split up in 2007. The same year, Marjorie filed for annulment.

“Before we [separated], there was a series of fighting naman. Parang laging may (There were always) arguments. So one day, I really just sat [the kids] down and I said, ‘Okay, I really want to put an end to the tension.

I wanna put an end to the fighting.’ I told them everything. Kasi (Because) especially the 10- and seven-year-old, nakakaintindi (can understand),” Marjorie told PEP.

ph. The ex-couple agreed that Dennis was at fault for the separation. At that point, differences between the two had already been there for a year and a half.

2009: Marjorie and Dennis’ marriage annulledIn 2009, Dennis and Marjorie officially parted ways as their marriage was declared null and void.window.rapplerAds.

displayAd( "middle-2" );window.rapplerAds.displayAd( "mobile-middle-2" );July 2014: Julia files a petition to legally change her surnameIn July 2014, Marjorie’s eldest daughter with Dennis — Julia — filed a petition to change her surname from Baldivia to Barretto.

Baldivia is Dennis’ real surname. Julia’s camp said that this decision was made to “prevent confusion” over the name she goes by in public, and the name she uses on her records.Dennis said that he would file a Motion to Intervene, but if the court grants Julia’s wishes, he would not contest it.

He also said that he would still love Julia the same should she proceed with changing her surname.March 2015: Julia decides to keep ‘Baldivia’ surname, invites Dennis to debutIn a press conference for her debut in March 2015, Julia ultimately decided to not change her surname. “I feel that right now, there’s really no need to change my last name,” she told PEP.

ph. After she and her father reconciled in February 2015 from their feud over her decision to change her surname in 2014, she also confirmed that Dennis would be attending her debut. In an interview aired on Aquino & Abunda Tonight on March 2, Dennis talked about how he and Julia mended things.

“Sinasabi ko sa kanya na, ‘Julia, you are a legitimate child, that’s why I am fighting for my family name.’ Sabi ko, ‘Alam mo, anak, kung sinabi mo sa akin earlier na gusto mo ipatanggal ‘yung family name, kung anuman ‘yung reason mo, mas matatanggap ko. Sige, Julia, if you will be happy with it, sige, papayag ako,‘” he said.

(I told her ‘Julia you are a legitimate child, that’s why I am fighting for my family name.’ I told her, ‘If you had told me earlier that you wanted to remove the family name for any reason, I would have accepted it. Okay Julia, if you will be happy, I will allow it.

)May 2021: Julia and Dennis open up about their journey of hurt and healing window.rapplerAds.displayAd( "middle-3" );window.

rapplerAds.displayAd( "mobile-middle-3" );In a now-deleted vlog posted by Julia, the actress spoke to her father about his career, how he had been, his relationship with her and her siblings, and his separation from Marjorie. “It became rocky because of my attitude, my temper.

Ang dami kong pinagdaaanan kaya ako naging ganoon. Ang mommy mo, ang dami ring pinagdaanan na pagsubok dahil sa ugali ko (I went through a lot, that’s why I acted that way. Your mom also suffered a lot because of my attitude),” Dennis told Julia.

Dennis also opened up about how he he felt when Julia wanted to legally change her surname from Baldivia to Barretto. “That was a dagger, it’s not the pangalan (name). That’s my blood.

Barretto na nga lang ang dala mo sa screen name mo tapos tatanggalin mo pa ‘yung Baldivia?” he said. (You were already using Barretto as your screen name and then you wanted to remove Baldivia as your legal name?) He also said that he didn’t understand why no one wanted to talk to him about it before Julia filed the petition. Julia then admitted that they wanted to drop the Baldivia surname because they were “trying to correct [his] mistake” and that she was “too pained” to even communicate with him.

June 2022: Leon asks Dennis to ‘stop resorting to public shaming’ in open letterIn June 2022, Leon wrote an open letter to Dennis on Instagram, asking him to “stop resorting to public shaming” after the actor questioned why he and his siblings didn’t greet him on Father’s Day that year. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Leon Barretto (@theleonbarretto)“Sorry if I wasn’t able to greet you a ‘Happy Father’s Day.’ It’s always been an awkward day for us because we never seem to know where we stand with you every year,” Leon wrote.

Leon continued by saying that for the past 10 years, he and his siblings had been “trying so hard to slowly rebuild the bridge [he] continuously [burns]” whenever he would talk about their private matters in press cons, interviews, and social media.“It’s not that we don’t want to talk to you, but the few times that we do to resolve the issues, you communicate by shouting, cursing, and using hurtful words that traumatize us,” Leon added. Dennis apologized to his son in his own Instagram post that he has since taken down.

“Miss ko lang kayo (I just miss you)...

. Just want to know what false narrative I said in public? [I’ve] been reaching out to all of you in private,” he wrote. September 2022: Julia breaks her silence on her rough relationship with Dennis; Dennis reacts negativelyIn September 2022, Karen Davila interviewed Julia, and she spoke about how she has not spoken to her father because there was still a lot of fear within her.

Play Video“I just need more love from him. More love, more protection. I just feel like he should be my number one protector and that’s not really what I’m getting right now from him,” Julia said.

Dennis reacted to the interview after it was published, saying that they needed to get his side of the story, too. “Please be fair to all; you need to interview me. Maraming mali sa alam ni Julia (There are many errors in what Julia knows),” he said.

“Ako ang dapat takbuhan mo, Julia. I defended you pero nagalit pa kayo sa akin. Sobra kayo.

Ano itong mga kwento mo kay Karen? (You should be running to me, Julia. I defended you but you even got angry at me. You are all too much.

What are these stories you told Karen?)” November 2024: Dennis pleads for his kids to talk to himIn November 2024, Dennis did an hour-long interview with Julius Babao, where he discussed his relationship with his three kids with Marjorie. Play VideoHe said that at that point, it had been a year since Julia last spoke to him, adding that he hopes to have a longer conversation with her and her siblings in the future. He also said that it had been five years since he last saw Leon, while it had been eight years since he last saw Claudia.

On social media, Dennis would regularly post greetings for his children on special occasions, some even being handwritten. Asked why he continued to do this, the comedian-actor said that it’s because he wants his children to know that they had a father who never stopped reaching out to them even if they couldn’t reply to his messages all the time. February 2025: Julia and Leon greet Dennis a happy birthdayIn February, Dennis posted photos of the text messages he received from Leon and Julia greeting him a happy birthday.

He expressed that he was thrilled to receive these messages, and told them that he would love to have dinner with them soon. Dennis posts Leon’s birthday greeting for him in February. Screenshot from Dennis Padilla’s InstagramDennis shares Julia’s birthday greeting for him.

Screenshot from Dennis Padilla’s InstagramMarch 18, 2025: Dennis reunites with Julia, Claudia, and Leon over dinnerDennis Padilla and his kids Leon, Julia, and Claudia have dinner together on March 18. Screenshot from Ogie Diaz’s YouTube pageBefore Claudia’s wedding, Dennis would go on to reunite with his kids over dinner. He told Ogie Diaz that Claudia’s now-husband Basti Lorenzo was supposed to join them, but Dennis requested that he speak to his kids alone first.

Basti joined them later on. He shared a photo with Leon, Julia, and Claudia, on Instagram, but took it down after the wedding happened. April 8, 2025: Dennis attends Claudia’s wedding ‘as a guest,’ expresses hurt on social mediaOn April 8, Dennis attended Claudia’s wedding, crying foul over not allegedly not being made a part of the entourage.

He took to Instagram on the late evening of April 8 to post a handwritten note which read: “Grabe kayo!! Nabudol ‘nyo ko!! Father of the bride naging visitor!! Galing ‘nyo!! (Wow! You tricked me! The father of the bride became a visitor! Great!)” He has since taken the post down. He also left a now-deleted comment on one of Julia’s Instagram posts, saying, “Kapal ‘nyo (You’re all shameless).” Must Read Dennis Padilla draws flak for posts following daughter Claudia Barretto’s wedding April 10, 2025: Dennis says he has decided to cut ties with his Barretto childrenIn an interview with Ogie Diaz published in the early hours of April 10, Dennis said that he has decided to end his relationship with Julia, Claudia, and Leon.

Play VideoDennis was under the impression that he would be the one to walk Claudia down the aisle. He shared that he approached the organizer to question why he, the father of the bride, was excluded from the program. The organizer allegedly sympathized with him and told him that she raised the issue during the planning stage, but was told to just stick to the program she was given.

Must Read Dennis Padilla says his relationship with Barretto kids is finished Padilla, his brother Gene, and their mother then decided not to attend the reception. He said he handed his gift to the wedding coordinator and asked her to pass it on to the newlyweds. When he was about to leave, the coordinator supposedly told him to stay for a bit longer, as Claudia had specifically requested a photo with him at the altar.

“Ayoko na, surrender na. I’m finished. Tatay na lang nila ako, pero bringing back the relationship, wala na siguro.

Maybe we can just play around with the memories pero it’s finished,” Padilla told Diaz, adding that he would take down all his social media posts of his children.(I surrender. I’m finished.

I’m just their father, but there’s probably no more bringing back the relationship. Maybe we can just play around with the memories but it’s finished.)“Ngayon ko lang narealize na not one of my children even posted my picture in their Instagram, not once.

Ni wala akong picture sa kahit saang social media nila. Ni walang mention ng pangalan ko, ng nanay ko, ng tatay ko na artista rin, sa kanilang mga social media post. As in, zero,” he added.

(I just realized now that not one of my children even posted my picture in their Instagram, not once. I don’t have a single photo on any of their social media accounts. They never mention my name, my mother’s name, or the name of my father who is also a celebrity, in their social media posts.

As in, zero.)Dennis then went on to say that from then on, he would no longer give Julia, Leon, and Claudia a chance to see or talk to him. He added that this is a “permanent goodbye,” and said that the last time they would see him would probably be in his casket at his funeral.

– Rappler.com.