This is an excerpt from the MEGA May 2025 cover story.
Perched delicately on a makeup stool, Nadine Lustre is mid-glam and mid-thought, turning the word “Mother” over in her mind like a prism. The soft buzz of creatives fills the studio, but her focus is firm. She’s not just preparing for a shoot—she’s considering a title that the internet has lovingly and loudly handed her.
RELATED: Pia Wurtzbach and Ho Ngoc Ha Beyond Borders
“Someone who is nurturing… it’s so hard to describe,” she says, her eyes showing both amusement and acceptance. “But also someone inspirational, someone who sparks a revolution. Someone who leads and waves the banner. Someone you look up to.” She pauses. “It’s more than being an actual mother. Yes, more than biology.”
For over a decade, Lustre has become many things to various stakeholders: actress, singer, advocate, creative collaborator, Twitter-appointed President. Now? She’s accepted “Mother”—not as a pursuit, but as a presence.
MOTHERING MEANS MASTERING REINVENTION
To be called Mother today is to symbolize both care and control—to nurture while taking no nonsense. Lustre understands the complexity. She knows the weight of the title, but she also knows it isn’t about being above others. It’s about being with them.
“I want to talk about things that are not normally talked about online,” she says, speaking with conviction. As her presence grows across digital platforms, her instinct is to connect. “It’s nice to be someone who is out there and relatable. A lot of people share with me, like in DMs or in the comments… they really look up to me because they like how I dealt with my challenges.”
That magnetism—the draw of someone who isn’t performing perfection—has followed Lustre through every phase of her reinvention.
Her career, which began in earnest as a teen, has been defined by bold shifts in style, genre, and tone. From the game-changing Diary ng Panget (2014), which catapulted her to star status, to Never Not Love You (2018)—the millennial heartbreak classic about messy ambition—and the 24-hour thriller The Uninvited (2024), Lustre’s work has always been an exploration of identity and self-expression.
“I would say I started as someone who didn’t know… well, I still don’t know what I’m doing,” she laughs, disarmingly honest. “Now, I’m just following what my heart wants. I know what I want to do with life, but the finer details? I’m still clueless.”
In the beginning, she was often treated like a prop, subject to the machinations of the studio system. “It was like I was a doll—posed, polished, but hollow. No voice. No say. Just a face in the frame.” Over time, she found her footing. “I started to have a voice and more courage to say what I want to say, to talk about who I really am.”
Now, she speaks with clarity and care—nuanced, thoughtful, always intentional. Lustre isn’t trying to be everything to everyone. She’s trying to be someone for herself.
MOTHERING MEANS LEAVING A LEGACY
Still seated on the same makeup chair, Lustre studies her first outfit in the mirror, fingers gently tracing the Tiffany HardWear draped around her neck. Its bold links catch the light—equal parts strength and grace. Just steps away, more fine jewelry waits in velvetVelvetA soft, luxurious woven fabric with a dense, short pile that gives it a rich texture and deep sheen. Historically associated with royalty and wealth, velvet is used in eveningwear,Go to Velvet Glossary-lined quiet, ready for their moment under the lights. She’ll wear many of them throughout the day, each one brushing against memory.
There was a time when getting by was the only option. She recalls, fondly, buying thrifted clothes to resell—hustling to fund her college education—and skipping meals to afford a pair of heels. And now, there’s space for beauty, comfort, and a little extra.
“I’ve always envied my friends who have mana jewelry,” Lustre confesses with a smile touched by something tender. “Not even just jewelry, honestly.” She speaks not of wealth, but of inheritance—enduring and emotional; heirlooms of memory, stitched with story, made to stay.
Now, she’s building her own. “I do have a few pieces I really treasure… Some of these pieces have been with me through significant moments. The point of them isn’t really to wear them all the time; it’s more about the memory, the meaning.”
These are her talismans—quiet emblems of transformation, physical extensions of her legacy. “Now…I’m drawn more to pieces that have a story,” she says. “If it has meaning, I’m all in.”
Read more about Nadine Lustre’s thoughts and ways of mothering in MEGA’s May 2025 issue now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio..
Photographed by BJ PASCUAL. Creative Direction by PATRICK TY and BRIE VENTURA. Fashion Direction and Styling by ROKO ARCEO. Makeup by JELLY EUGENIO. Hair by PAUL NEBRES. Sittings Editor by PEEWEE REYES-ISIDRO. Production JONES PALTENG. Beauty Direction by AGOO AZCUNA-BENGZON assisted by MARA GO. Multimedia Artist TROY NONATO. Fashion Assistant. ERICA TEROL. Editorial Assistant THESSMAR LECTURA. Production Design JUSTINE ARCEGA- BUMANLAG. Nails ELINA JUNG. Photographer’s Assistants DAMIAN ESTRELLIS, RICHARD DETITA, ABEL SANTOS, EDMIL SANTOS, JOHN PAUL DELA CRUZ. Production Design Assistant GABRIELLE MANTALA. Set Men JAN ABAL, JOHN AMON, OLDERICO BONDOC, MARK ANTHONY BONDOC, RODEL BONDOC, GEBER CUNANAN, MARIO TAIPEN, CASTOR MOSQUITO, NICK NARTE. Shot on Location at Pioneer X Studios. Special thanks to NIKKI MARTEL of TIFFANY & CO. PHILIPPINES. and JM BELARMINO.
