Donald Lee Olson and Lotlot de Leon. Image: Instagram/@ms.lotlotdeleon
Days before she marked her 51st birthday, Lotlot de Leon appeared to have had an early celebration as she was able to spend quality time with her biological father, Donald, in Zambales.
Lotlot, who turned a year older on Tuesday, showed moments from her reunion with her dad, who is based in the United States, via a series of posts on her Instagram page. In her caption, the actress recalled how she knew she had been adopted and how she had reached out to Donald to meet him.
“As far back as I can remember, I already knew I was adopted, not because of my parents but because of people around my mama Guy and daddy Boyet,” she said, referring to her adoptive parents, veteran actors Nora Aunor and Christopher de Leon. “Didn’t know what it meant before until my mom sat with me one day and explained.”
“She said the difference between me and Ian was that my brother came from her stomach, I was a gift from above. (Mom pointing at Mama Mary the statue.),” she continued.
Lotlot recounted crying for hours after hearing these not because she did not know her biological parents, but because she loved Aunor so dearly that the younger actress wanted to be Aunor and Christopher’s real child.
Lotlot said she never felt any ill feelings toward her biological parents and that she was just curious about their identities. She then narrated that she started searching for her dad after an individual, who claimed they knew the actress when she was a baby, approached her while she was in Olongapo.
“Sabi ko suntok sa buwan, I’ll ask kung may alam sila sa totoong tatay ko. I was able to speak to someone who accommodated me and since alam ko na name ng father ko, I gave the details of the information I had,” she recalled. “Few days after that, I was sent his full name, the name of his wife and daughter.. my ate!”
Lotlot sent Donald a message at the time and was surprised after he responded, saying he had always known about her and that he carried her in his arms when she was born.
“My jaw dropped and the rest is history,” she stated. “Each of us have a story. Marami din tayong plano sa buhay [pero] ang plano pa din ni Papa God ang mangingibabaw.”
“So here I am standing side by side with my Papa and I’m grateful in many ways. Forgiveness, humility and prayers goes a long way,” she added. “If not for the decisions they made, the time they made it, [I] wouldn’t have the people I love most in my life too now. Looking at the glass half full with gratitude always.”
Fans, who were moved by Lotlot’s story, expressed their admiration for the actress via the comments section.
Image: Instagram/@ms.lotlotdeleon
Image: Instagram/@ms.lotlotdeleon
In separate posts, Lotlot then gave a glimpse of her birthday celebration together with her children Janine, Maxine, Diego and Jessica. The five of them were also seen talking to Aunor through video call.
Lotlot reportedly met Donald for the first time in 2009. She also visited him in the United States in 2017 and bonded with her three sisters—Dawn, Myria and Donna. /ra