Actress and filmmaker Bela Padilla addressed netizen curiosity and online chatter after social media users noticed she had unfollowed actors Piolo Pascual and Kyle Echarri on Instagram.
In a now-viral post by user @auntieselina_ on X, it was pointed out that Bela was no longer following the two Kapamilya stars—both of whom she has been closely associated with in the past. Instead of fueling the speculation, Bela promptly confirmed the observation and offered a calm explanation.
“I did! I woke up one day and I was following around 7,000 people. So now, I’m trying to declutter by bringing my following down to zero slowly and then will follow my friends back one by one after. I was just talking to Kyle about it last night,” Bela replied directly on X.
I did! ❤️ I woke up one day and I was following around 7,000 people. So now, I’m trying to declutter by bringing my following down to zero slowly and then will follow my friends back one by one after 🙂 I was just talking to Kyle about this last night https://t.co/uOubWHlO0L
— Bela Padilla (@padillabela) April 8, 2025
Her transparency quickly silenced any rumors of a possible falling out, with many netizens expressing understanding for her decision to take control of her social media space. Several users praised her honesty and saw the move as a healthy form of digital minimalism.
Despite the unfollow, Bela hasn’t deleted any of her photos with Piolo and Kyle—some of which were as recent as earlier this year.
In fact, back in February, Bela shared a black-and-white photo of her holding hands with Piolo at the beach, expressing gratitude for his support for one of her film scripts. The caption read: “The first person who said yes to a full-length feature film script I wrote years ago… Thank you for saying yes to my stories this year. Excited to ‘play’ with you again.”
In another post, she included a polaroid of herself, Piolo, and Kyle, teasing a potential collaboration and writing: “Excited to also finally be in a scene with you where I’m not in a picture frame @kyleecharri. Kawawa ka sa set @piolo_pascual.”
The trio was even spotted spending the holidays together, fueling speculation that they were working on a project.
Following Bela’s clarification, fans now hope the project is still on track and that the social media shake-up was purely personal and procedural.
