In more than two decades that she’s been in the entertainment industry, Julia Montes, or Mara Hautea Schnittka in real life, has astonishingly managed to thrive and create her mark ever since she started as a child star. The progress of her career might have fluctuated as she took a step back from the limelight to focus on her personal life for a while, but the love and excitement of fans for her have been so steady.

As she gradually returns to the scene and marks her major comeback to the big screen through her latest film, “TV Patrol” anchor and broadcast journalist Bernadette Sembrano recently had a hearty and insightful conversation with Julia in her latest vlog.

The interview commenced with Julia introducing her two companions for that day, her manager Mac Merla and her “Momskie,” with whom she’s been friends for a long time now. As she mentioned that she has known them since “Mara Clara” days, Bernadette mentioned that her mom is a fan of hers and that many of their mutual acquaintances told her that she’s more befitted to be Mara, who was played by Kathryn Bernardo, since her personality in real life is too far from her antagonistic character Clara.

“Kaya sobrang effort sa’kin si Clara before,” the seasoned actress recounted. “Pero kasi ang weird din po ng story, ‘di ba? Mara ako in real life, ‘yon ang real name ko. So no’ng naging Clara, talagang total shift. Nabago ‘yong name ko, tapos ‘yong role mabigat kasi nga kontrabida. Tapos nahu-hurt ako everytime na kailangan kong gawin kay Kath ‘yong sasaktan ko siya. Eh ang bait-bait ni Kath. So every time talaga nag-iiyakan kami.”

Although she has already portrayed a few baddie characters both on film and TV, Julia revealed that she still finds it difficult to take on kontrabida roles or scenes.

She may be a huge star now, but Julia didn’t mind eating street foods with Bernadette along the street as they reminisced about the challenging yet memorable childhood that she used to have. Those who have been following her career would know that she grew up under the care of her maternal grandmother Flory, since her mom is hard of hearing, while her German dad was still estranged back then.

As they munched on kikiam, fish balls, and squid balls, Julia recalled how their family used to be underprivileged then, as they had to live at the salon of her Lola Flory in Pandacan, Manila, for them to save money from rent. She also wasn’t shy to disclose that they used to depend on the “5-6” lending scheme when the need arose, and recounted how they would sometimes hide or how her grandma would ask her to face and talk to the lenders everytime they wouldn’t be able to pay them as they usually gave in to her angelic charm as a kid.

While becoming an artista is a childhood dream for some, Julia confessed that there were times when she would cry to her lola and tell her “ayaw ko” because of the pressure that she felt. But since she was well aware of their situation, she still chose to keep going.

She also confessed that although she and her grandma were a tag team, there were still instances when she felt the weight of the responsibility of supporting their family. But apart from teaching her to be responsible at a young age and to handle her finances well, her experiences have also taught her to appreciate the smallest things that she couldn’t do anymore now that she’s been blessed in life.

Aside from having to bunch together at the salon of her Lola Flory, she and her siblings also have to split a single pack of instant noodles among themselves to satisfy their hunger. Thus, it has been “food is life” for her since then, and it has become a luxury for her ever since she started to earn her own money. She has been generous in sharing food with her castmates and even other members of the production team that she would be a part of.

Julia went on to debunk the common misconception about celebrities, saying, “Minsan akala nila, kapag artista ka na, mayaman ka na. Kapag papasok ka sa pag-aartista, abonado ka muna kasi you will invest muna sa sarili mo. Kasi sa auditions, sa mga pupuntahan mong screenings, or whatsoever, lahat naman po ‘yon walang budget na ibibigay sa’yo.”

She recounted how they had to borrow money for their fare going to the set of one of her early Maalaala Mo Kaya stints and how they had to haul her luggage to the jeep since they couldn’t afford to hail a taxi only to find out upon their arrival that she got replaced to her role since she was too tall. Her height is one of the main factors why the roles she has portrayed are more mature than her actual age.

Having hard of hearing parents

With regard to her introverted personality, Julia revealed that having parents who are hard of hearing has made it quite challenging for her to express herself. She has also developed the habit of making hand gestures while talking, as she grew up having to communicate with her mom through sign language for her to understand and be part of the conversation. However, she didn’t have formal training in sign language as she just studied and developed it herself.

“May mga gano’n kaming experience ni Mama kaya ‘yong bond din namin [ay] unique. Lumaki kami sa bahay na hindi expressive. Kaya ngayon sa showbiz, ‘yon ‘yong isa sa mga na-appreciate ko. Natuto akong mag-express kasi masyado akong makimkim, tapos kahit gusto ko nang mag-‘thank you’, mahihiya pa ako no’n,” she related.

Inspired by her parents, she told Bernadette that she dreams of launching her advocacy for people like them who are hard of hearing. She started by wearing “smile masks,” which were offered to her by the broadcast journalist during the onslaught of the pandemic. She may not have established a foundation yet, but Julia extends her generosity by giving away grocery packs to random underprivileged people that she would chance upon on the road. There was also an instance when she opted to cook adobo at her home and included it in the food packs that she distributed to typhoon victims.

After filling their stomachs with street foods, they headed to a church in Quezon City that she frequents after taping or whenever she has to shoot an intense scene. There were also instances when she would visit a random church that she would spot on the navigation app while on her way to out-of-town locations.

Having real friends in showbiz

It is believed that finding genuine, long-lasting friendships in showbiz is hard. And Julia has her own share of experiences about it. Growing up in Pandacan has made her confident in speaking her mind, but she realized that the world she used to live in wouldn’t be the same anymore when she entered the industry. She has already encountered plenty of people who she thought are her friends for real, only to find out that they’re just showbiz friends.

Thus, she considers herself “very lucky” to have few people in her life who she regards as her constants, which include Dimples Romana and Kathryn Bernardo. She stated, “Sila ‘yong parang key people ko na kapag hindi na ako okay, tapos hindi sila showbiz sa akin pero nandito sila sa industry natin.”

Romance with Coco Martin

Unlike in the previous years when she was too adamant to answer questions regarding her relationship with Coco Martin, with whom she got to work for the first time in the classic Kapamilya series “Walang Hanggan,” Julia has become more open about it. Not to mention that they graced the red carpet of the ABS-CBN Ball 2023,”last September hand-in-hand for the very first time.

She told Bernadette that her romance with the FPJ’s Batang Quiapo lead star is something that she didn’t expect. But she believes that God has given him to her because he is really meant for her. According to her, Coco arrived at the time when she’s feeling lost in life and it was him who guided her. Thus, she considers him as her “answered prayer.”

Being a devotee of the Black Nazarene like her grandma, he advised her to not give up and just keep the faith as he had gone through a lot of hardships, too. Besides, what made them compatible with each other is having their family as their core, their being benevolent, and their parallel life background.

“Ang sa amin, mas importante lang sa’min ngayon ay privacy. Si Coco kasi hindi showbiz e, ever since. Kung ano siya as Rodel, ‘yon din siya as Coco,” Julia said. “Ino-offer ko naman po ‘yong work and [talento ko] sa tao. Kapag naman nag-work ako, buong puso ko ‘yon at buong pagkatao ko binibigay ko kada may project ako. So, parang ‘yong private life, mas prefer ko lang talaga. balato na. Balato na sa’kin.”

As Coco works opposite various actresses in every project that he does, Julia confesses that she actually gets jealous. But her maturity and mindset that “work is work,” as well as Coco’s kindness, calm her down.

Her greatest realizations, lessons, and prayer in life

When asked for her message to the youth amid the complex social media world, she reminded them to not be too hard on themselves whenever they’re not able to achieve their goals nor to please the people they wish to impress. Besides, she also went on to remind them that mistakes and struggles can be beautiful, as she used those as fuel for her to be who she is at present, which is thankful.

“Siguro, one tip na natutunan ko this year lang, alamin mo muna ‘yong worth mo as a person. Alam mo na ginawa mo ang isang bagay in good deed, tapos whatever na maririnig mong negative, huwag mo muna siyang pakinggan. Kasi minsan, way ‘yon ng evil to ruin your mindset,” she conveyed.

And if there’s something that she has been solemnly praying for, it would be peace and happiness among her family members. She imparted that she used to have this notion that if you have a lot of money, you’re going to be happy. However, that wasn’t the case when blessings started to pour onto them, which made her realize that problems would not simply end by having much in life.

“Until now, honestly, ‘yon pa rin ang prayer ko. Gusto kong magkaroon ng peace ‘yong family, ng harmony. Siyempre, hindi maiiwasan na may hindi pagkakaintindihan ang mga magkakapatid, mga childhood trauma na nagre-resurface kapag hindi nata-tackle nang tama. Siyempre, kanya-kanyang sagot sa isang problema. So, ‘yon ang pinaka-struggle ko,” she related.

Then she continued, “Feeling ko, ako nable-bless ako ni Lord ng understanding sometimes na ‘nangyayari ‘to kasi ganito, kasi ganyan’. But hindi ko pa siya nakikita na lahat ng family members namin ay gano’n na mag-isip. So, I’m hoping and I’m really praying for that. Kung ako, nakakadama ako ng peace because I have faith, sana lahat kami makaramdam ng gano’n.

Lastly, when asked by Bernadette where she is now at this point in her life, Julia said that she’s “super at peace and happy” because God bestowed her more than everything that she dreamt of before. She has also been unwaveringly faithful to Him all the days of her life, believing that He’s always behind her in everything that she does and He has His divine reasons for why things happen or are given to her.

“Nasa atin ang gawa, yes, pero kahit naman anong kilos natin, kung wala ring blessing ni Lord, hindi tayo ible-bless. So, ‘yon po talaga ang mindset ko palagi,” she finished off.