MANILA — “A lot of us feel that love is staying together, but sometimes love is setting people free.”

These were Moira dela Torre’s words in 2021, as she spoke of relationships ending and letting go in light of the release of her massive hit “Paubaya.”

A year later, she and her husband, Jason Hernandez, who co-wrote “Paubaya,” sing a similar tune, saying, “Our love and respect for each other remains,” in the announcement of their separation after three years of marriage.

In Hernandez’s statement, he admitted being “unfaithful” during their marriage.

• Moira, Jason end marriage; husband admits being unfaithful

Hernandez had been dela Torre’s close collaborator in creating music, including the album “Patawad” which features “Paubaya” as its closing track.

“It’s about forgiveness. It’s about letting go. It’s about setting people free. It’s about finding freedom in forgiveness,” dela Torre said of the album, in a behind-the-scenes feature for the music video of “Paubaya” in February 2021. (See the 8:45 mark of the video below.)

“All of these things aren’t really successful, if you do it on your own. That’s why you have to leave it to God and surrender it to God because only He can make the broken things beautiful again,” she added.

In the interview, dela Torre also shared her perspective on separation not necessarily equating to a “failed” relationship. Rather, she said, parting ways can be looked back on with a grateful mindset.

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“Karamihan sa atin, kapag hindi nagkatuluyan ‘yung dalawang tao, iniisip natin, ‘That is the definition of a failed relationship.’ But we even forget that people enter into dating to see whether or not this person is the person they want to spend the rest of their lives with.

“Just because two people didn’t end up together, doesn’t mean it is a failed relationship. We can also choose to see it in a way that, ‘Wow, I got the privilege of knowing and loving and learning from this person, even if it was just for a short time.’

“We can choose gratitude over bitterness. We can choose joy over parin. We can choose freedom over guilt. We can choose love. We can choose forgiveness. And just because you’re not going to continue that in the seasons to come, doesn’t mean it was a failed one. ‘From here on, I will choose to remember the good times, because you are still worth that,’” she explained.

Dela Torre dedicated the “Patawad” album to those who, once like her, may be “in waiting” for the right love to come along. At the time, she described herself as “very blessed” to have Hernandez as her husband.

“I for one am very, very blessed to have a husband who loves me, who takes care of me, but I’ve also been in a place where I didn’t have that privilege. And I know that a lot of people are in waiting.

“Maraming naghihintay, maraming nagpatawad, maraming nagpalaya’t nagpaubaya. I wanted to make sure that those people know that they are understood, that they are not alone. Masakit man ‘yung pinagdaanan nila, hindi sila nag-iisa,” she said.