Nic Chien recalls how he came out as transgender to mom Lea Salonga

Nic Chien looked back on the moment when he came out as a transgender man to his mother, Lea Salonga.

During his guesting on “Fast Talk With Boy Abunda” on Friday, Nic shared how Lea’s support shaped his journey toward living as his true self.

“The night before, I had realized that I was trans. I went up to her in the morning and said, ‘Mama, I think I'm transgender. I’m a trans…' And then she was like, ‘Okay. Let’s take a step back. You’re very young. Let’s not put any immediate labels right now.  Because you never know, right? You could be non-binary. You could be whatever,'” Nic shared. 

“And I ended up going on this journey from non-binary, gender fluid, so mag-sweep, you know. And then to gender fluid, pero prefer ko ang panglalake. To just panglalake. So it really, like, full circle talaga. I think no matter how much you try to deny who you are, you're gonna have to come back to it at some point,” he added.

According to Nic, there was a bit of resistance on Lea’s part when he came out as transgender.

“But I remember, I think she was a little bit... Like, there was a little bit of a resistance, I think. Because syempre naman as a parent, you don't want your child to go through hardship, right? And I think she knew that if I went down this road, maraming talaga hardship,” he admitted.

Eventually, he and Lea started discussing taking testosterone. 

“Pero there was a night when... And we were already discussing about taking testosterone, pero we agreed after ‘Into The Woods’ kasi she didn't want my voice to change too much when I was singing,” he recalled.

Nic also admitted that he had a “breakdown” thinking that no matter what he did, he would not be fully seen for who he truly was.

"And I had a breakdown. I'm trying to avoid saying this, na mag-ta-tantrum but no matter what I do, I won't be able to be seen for who I really am," he said.

"I won't be able to be with certain people because they won't be attracted to the outside when it's the inside is what matters. And the inside can't come out because of all this semantics — surgery, hormones, which I'm very grateful for now," he added. 

Overwhelmed, Nic turned to his mother for guidance and decided to undergo top surgery.

“But I just remember, I was like, ‘Mama, I can't do this anymore. I can't wait anymore.’ She held me and she was like, ‘Okay, then we'll do it, you know, when do you want to do it? We'll do it before ‘Into The Woods,’” Nic said.

“And I think that was the best reaction that she could have had. Like, talaga, just like, you know, okay. But the top surgery, you have to wait because of your recovery and school. And I was like, okay. But hormones, okay, we'll do that because if you can't wait, it's fine,” he continued. 

Nic underwent top surgery on September 2, 2025, and he credits the support he got from his mom.

“I remember she was like, like, you sure? And I was like, yes, I'm sure.”

Nic also shared that he sought advice from his fellow transgender men, like Jake Zyrus, before taking testosterone. 

“And I remember even like for a while before taking testosterone, I had talked to other trans guys. I talked to kuya Jake Zyrus. And I talked to him like, ‘Hey, did you know right away?’ And I forgot exactly what he said. But I remember that his advice were very sweet. He told me to take certain vitamins,” Nic shared.

“And I was like, how did you know? Talaga bang gusto mo ito? Like, did you ever change your mind? You know, because what if I change my mind? I'm like, what am I going to do? Pero I didn't. And neither did they. That's a concern because I'm young. My mind is still developing,” he continued, adding that he did not have any regrets taking testosterone. 

As he looked back on his journey, the young theater actor said he is grateful for his parents’ support in his transition.

“I'm so grateful that my mom is so supportive in letting me do it. And, you know, that she just, all she really wants is for me to be happy. And so does my dad.”

Last year, Nic and Lea opened up about his transition journey in an interview with a magazine. He said he knew he was trans at age 14 and began taking testosterone in January 2025.

In the interview, Nic said the process of his transition was "emotional" but also "the most ideal situation for me."

Nic, who made his theater debut in 2017, joined Lea in the Philippine staging of "Into the Woods."

—Jade Veronique Yap/CDC, GMA Integrated News