MANILA – James Reid turned to social media to express how proud he is of Liza Soberano.

Through an Instagram Story he posted on Monday, Reid wrote: “Proud and happy for you Liza Soberano. I know it takes a lot of courage to go against the grain, to choose the harder path because that’s what you believe in.”

Reid then thanked Soberano for trusting Careless Music, his management agency, with the actress’ hopes and dreams.

In the vlog that was released on Sunday, Soberano addressed her decision to switch management less than a year after signing up with Reid's Careless agency.

“At 24 years old, I was finally given the choice to decide my own path. At the end of the pandemic when everything felt strange and new, it was at this crossroad in my life that the randomest thing happened,” she said.

Soberano said Reid reached out to her wondering what she was up to and seeing if she wanted to collaborate.

“Curiosity got the better of me and I decided I wanted to see what this could look like for me. I met with his team, a group of young people who are all passionate and working hard on different projects and their own individual dreams. I loved their energy. I loved their freedom. And I loved how ferociously ambitious they all were,” she said.

A few months flew by and the team became Sobrano’s family.

“I eventually sat down with them and told them that I was ready to let them manage me as Liza Soberano. And I will never forget the conversation we had. I asked them what the plan was for me. And they said, ‘I don’t know. You tell us. We are here to support whatever your dreams are.’ That’s when I knew I had found my team,” she said.

Soberano said she had been approached by so many different management companies before, but it was the first time any of them had asked her what she wanted and what made her happy.

“People were shocked when word got around that I had signed up with a startup company. But what they didn’t understand was that I chose a team that wanted to support my vision, rather than lay one out for me.”