How Billy Crawford and Coleen Garcia overcome family issues

Billy Crawford (left) with wife Coleen Garcia and Baby Amari

Now that he’s a father, Billy Crawford’s priorities have “completely” shifted.

“I think life in general, your perspectives and priorities—they have changed, completely. Everything I do now is for my family,” he said in a virtual conference for “The Wall Philippines,” the new game show he hosts on GMA 7.

“I used to work for my happiness … now it’s mainly for my wife and son,” added Billy, who’s married to actress Coleen Garcia with whom he has a 2-year-old son, Amari.

As such, the 40-year-old celebrity isn’t too keen on doing acting projects, especially if it requires being in a taping bubble. “I don’t think I can be in a locked-in setup where I have to be away for weeks. I don’t think I can handle that right now. I don’t think I can be away from them for more than a day. I want to spend time with my baby and wife,” he said.

Source of joy, inspiration

Besides, acting is more of Coleen’s wheelhouse. “I will leave the acting to Coleen. She’s the better actress. And to be honest, acting is so far from my mind. I’m really focused on hosting and other projects. One step at a time … I’m just grateful I still have work,” he said.

While family life is his source of joy and inspiration, it’s not without occasional challenges. But with God “above all,” Billy said he and his loved ones were able to overcome whatever life throws at them.

“Una ang Diyos sa ‘min. And then it’s the family. I would be lying if I say we don’t have problems, because everyone goes through struggles. Some of them we can handle by ourselves. But sometimes we have to seek help. We’re normal people,” Billy said.

Tricky situation

Being locked down at home during the height of the pandemic was a particularly tricky situation to navigate. “If you’re stuck in one house, it’s inevitable for some issues to pop out. But it’s about how you handle them,” he said, adding that communication is key in any relationship.

“We have learned how to deal with them. We talk about them and figure out solutions,” he said. “She knows what’s happening in my life and vice versa.”

‘Can’t be scared forever’

Now that pandemic restrictions have loosened, Billy is thrilled that Baby Amari, who was born in 2020, can finally see the outside world. “It’s scary, but we can’t be scared forever. I feel bad that Amari can’t go out and interact with other humans and kids. For a time, we were hurt for him because there’s so much more to life. He’s our first child and we were unsure how to handle it,” he said. “We just pray that we never have to go through that again.”

But now he brings his son to the set once in a while. “Now that the cases are going down, I bring my family to work. Everyone enjoys themselves. Aagawan pa ata ako ng trabaho ng anak ko!” he related. INQ