‘It’s not a secret’: Broadway legend Lea Salonga confirms separation from husband

Tony Award-winning Filipino singer and actress Lea Salonga has confirmed that she and her husband have been separated “for a while”, and that her focus now is to help with her child’s gender transition.

“It’s not a secret that we’ve been separated for a while… Now, he’s happy, and I’m happy that he’s happy,” Salonga said in an interview via TikTok with an entertainment journalist on Jan 21.

Salonga married Mr Robert Chien, who had businesses in Singapore and the Philippines, in January 2004.

She said Mr Chien and his new partner have been very supportive as their child – born Nicole Chien in 2006 – transitions into a trans man named Nic.

“We’re both so busy, but thankfully, the dad and dad’s partner are the ones, when you have a cold, will send you food, will make sure that you’re well,” she said.

Addressing Nic’s gender, Salonga said: “Children are not customisable. Every kid is like a blind box. You don’t know what you will get.

“But, chances are, it is the one you don’t want, but that is what you will get,” she said. “My job, as his mum, was to try and figure out how to get things done.”

She said she knows not all parents will agree with how she is raising her son.

“I am aware of folks who will not understand or have a very negative opinion of the decisions we made for his health and own navigation of the world as a trans man. The only thing I have to do is… to help my child,” she said.

To those who have yet to have children, she added: “If you think you will not be able to love your child if they come out to you, if they say, ‘mum, I’m lesbian, bisexual or trans’, if under those conditions your love will stop, do not have children. Save yourself the drama and heartbreak.”

‘I just want a happy kid’

Salonga said Nic’s transition, which began in 2025, has so far been encouraging.

“When there is change, the voice drops, body hair. It was a much more positive outcome… I just want a happy kid,” she said.

She revealed that her son, before transitioning, went through bouts of dysphoria – a state of deep unease or dissatisfaction, often marked by distress, restlessness or a sense that something is wrong.

“The dysphoria was a lot to deal with. It was affecting his mental health and every aspect of his life. To be his mum and to feel helpless, it is a terrible feeling,” she said. “There is a feeling of guilt when you are unable to help your child. It is truly difficult.”

She said support, therapy and hormone treatment have helped her son gain confidence and feel more comfortable with his changing body.

“With testosterone therapy and everything else, working with his therapist just figuring out how to be happy in his body, being confident to show the results, everyone in the family is so happy that he knew what he wanted,” she said.

Salonga gave the interview to promote Les Miserables: World Tour Spectacular, which is set to run in Singapore from March 24 to April 19, 2026.

She played Eponine and Fantine in the musical’s Broadway runs, delivering unforgettable performances of Eponine’s On My Own and Fantine’s I Dreamed A Dream.

This time, she plays the villainous innkeeper Madame Thenardier.