GRETCHEN with niece Julia. FACEBOOK PHOTO
It was not the first time for her mother Inday Barretto to “disown” her, but Gretchen Barretto still got “heartbroken,” said the controversial actress’ former Seiko producer Robbie Tan.
“She’s been crying all day,” Tan told the Inquirer on Wednesday. “Gretchen is pretty strong-willed. It takes a lot for her to break down. She was really affected by this issue.”
Although distraught, however, Gretchen had the presence of mind to meet with her lawyer on Wednesday, according to a highly placed source.
It felt like a case of déjà vu: Eight years ago, the Barretto sisters were similarly embroiled in a very public family feud.
Their mom sided with Claudine then. Now, Inday is taking up the cudgels once again for Claudine, who is reportedly engaged in an online war with Gretchen over niece Julia, daughter of their sister Marjorie.
Devoted sister
“Gretchen can’t understand why she’s being condemned by her mom in the media,” Tan said. “She feels her parents are not aware of the whole story. The Gretchen I know is a good daughter. When I produced her movies (in the 1990s), she worked very hard.”
Tan recounted that Gretchen, at age 18, approached him, “to ask for a job so that she could help her family.”
Gretchen was devoted to her sisters, he said. “She was very supportive of Claudine as well. She was the one who convinced me to get Claudine when she (Claudine) was new in the business.”
These days, the Barretto sisters are no longer as chummy.
Brother Joaquin, however, rushed to Gretchen’s defense—in a statement furnished to the media.
At press time, the war of the Barrettos is still heating up.