Nadine Lustre recalls advice to ‘keep working, forget’ brother’s death

Nadine Lustre. Images: Instagram/@nadine, Screengrab from YouTube/One Down

Nadine Lustre opened up about the time she was told to “just keep working” while grieving the death of her brother Isaiah in 2017, which she noted is an example of how “out of touch” the public is when it comes to mental health issues.

Lustre admitted that healing from her brother’s death was the “most challenging” time of her life during an interview with One Down on Wednesday, April 3, saying she had to pull through while filming a variety show at the time.

“The most challenging one I’ve gone through was when my brother passed away. My brother was going through these challenges in his mental health as well. I was still doing a variety show everyday, so can you imagine?” she said without disclosing the show’s name.

The “Deleter” star said she had to maintain professionalism throughout the ordeal almost to the point where she “was already crumbling,” but she was seemingly prohibited from taking a break.

“I was grieving at the time but on TV, I had to smile and interact with people like nothing happened. That was really hard. At some point, when I felt I was already crumbling, I’d ask for a break,” she said. “They’d respond with, ‘Just keep working. You’ll forget about it.’ It just goes to show how uneducated and out of touch we are when it comes to mental health issues.”

Looking back, Lustre said she remains unsure how she “[pulled] through” as she said it was a time when she “couldn’t really do anything” due to contractual obligations. “I still don’t know how I was able to get out of that.”

“It’s kind of like autopilot. You had to pull through because it’s a responsibility,” she continued. “As much as you want to take a break and breathe from it, you can’t really do anything especially if you’re under contract. You have to honor that.”

Lustre’s brother Isaiah was found lifeless in his home on Oct. 8, 2017, with authorities ruling the cause as depression and suicide. He was 16 years old.

The actress said in a 2019 interview that she and her family blamed themselves after Isaiah’s death.