"I really wanted to I guess live my life."

These were the words of Bela Padilla as she opened up about why she decided to move to London.

In an interview with the media recently for her new movie Spellbound, the actress shared what led her to her decision to relocate to another country.

"Parang I feel like I dedicated my last 15 years of my life trying, shooting. Parang siguro because I kept living my characters' lives for the last few years," she said.

She further expounded: "I felt like I haven't fully lived my life. Parang I dedicated my life too much to my characters, my films. Alam niyo naman 'pag gumagawa ako ng movie, kung artista ako sa isang project, hindi naman po dun lang ako sa shooting days involved, pati marketing. Minsa,  I asked what I can do so I am very involved with my project."

Bela said that she just woke up one day and felt like "life passed me by." She then revealed that she decided to move to London as she saw it as an opportunity to "discover myself and live my life."

The actress also shared that living a simple life in London helped her creatively as a writer.

"Super ang dami ko nasusulat dito. Feeling ko my head cleared also when I left. Parang nagkaroon ako ng space to think," she stated.

READ: Bela Padilla, bakit nga ba nahihilig sa pagso-solo travel?

"I mean most of my days here are very simple. I have a favorite bakery that I go to. I have a new bike that I am super excited about... I am living my life slowly and I like that," she said. 

When asked if she will be focusing on writing or acting moving forward, she replied: "Ako kasi I think it really depends because I live here [in London]. Kung lilipad ako pauwi to shoot something, it has to really be something I believe in, that really speaks to me."

On the lessons she acquired over the past year, Bela said: "Give yourself time, allow yourself to breathe, and really to experience life I guess ng the best ways you can or the way you can do it."

It was in November 2021 when Bela announced via social media that she has moved to London.

In a YouTube vlog uploaded in December 2021, Bela clarified that she moved to the city not solely because she wanted to be closer to her boyfriend Norman Bay, but also for several reasons. 

"I didn’t move just to be with Norman although it does make it so much easier to be in London. At least now we are quite close to each other and he’s here a lot. I go to Switzerland a lot. It’s definitely a big jump and a lot easier. But I did not move here specifically for that,” she pointed out.

"There are many reasons why I moved here. One of them is because I feel like the world stopped during pandemic and I have been looking for something new to do in my life. I feel like at this point, I will be more productive here. It just makes more sense for me to live here," she added.

Bela has a family in the UK. The actress is the daughter of Meg Carino and British national Cornelio Sullivan.