Kazel Kinouchi, Richard Gutierrez, and Sarah Lahbat. | Image: @kazelkinouchi @sarahlahbati IG
Kazel Kinouchi has once again shot down rumors linking her with Richard Gutierrez, as she admits feeling hurt and sad being tagged as a third party in his separation from wife Sarah Lahbati.
In an episode of “Sarap, ‘Di Ba?” Kinouchi said that at first she chose not to take the rumors seriously, but when the rumors persisted, it had started to affect her despite the fact that she was innocent of the allegations.
“Nung una nakakatawa kasi wala talagang katotohanan kasi basta may explanation kung bakit ganon. Pero syempre nung medyo tumagal tagal na ang dami ng nambubulabog sakin, wala naman akong kasalanan, [I’m] innocent,” she said.
The “Paraiso” actress said she is dismayed by how people could fall prey to fake news and find it easy to believe anything they see or hear online. Still, she remained confident and peaceful, knowing the truth will prevail in the end.
“People are made to believe these lies and they believed it, it was saddening but at the same time iniisip ko the truth will always come out. So confident lang ako, I’m at peace with that. Sabi ko as long as I’m not doing anything against anyone, God is with me. Wala akong inaapakang ibang tao,” emphasized the actress.
When asked if she felt the need to clear her name, Kinouchi mentioned her attempts to shoot down the hearsay even before, but it was the first time she was speaking out about it in a live interview now.
“I actually defended myself when somebody asked me online through Instagram but hindi ko alam bakit bigla na lang may nagdelete non. I answered straight up, ‘No.’ Even sa live selling ko, I answered yung mga questions. But not officially in an interview kasi for me dapat hindi ako ‘yung magsalita kasi ako ‘yung nadawit dito,” she said.
Gutierrez and Lahbati have yet to officially confirm their separation, but they have unfollowed each other on Instagram, and the actress even shared a recent update about her new home.