Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati are now the talk of the town for not posting anything together on social media. Usually, the couple loves to share their loved-up photos and videos online, so the lack of it as of late, especially during the Halloween season, poses a big question: are the two already separated?
Rumors have it that Richard and Sarah have called it quits, though the reason remains unknown. To add more fuel to the fire, the pair is said to be attending special events without each other—a surprise to many, knowing they’re always together. So, what’s the truth behind these claims?
Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati’s Breakup Rumors
Netizens can’t help but notice the absence of Richard Gutierrz and Sarah Lahbati on each other’s posts for the last few weeks. Knowing the two are both using their social media platforms to express their affection for one another, this quickly sparks breakup rumors. Recently, they only share photos of their respective moments with their kids, Zion and Kai.
Sarah even celebrated her 30th birthday in Siargao without Richard. She was only with her two kids and family. And to heighten these claims, the actress didn’t attend the recent Opulence Halloween Ball, which her husband’s brother, Raymond Gutierrez, organized and graced by the Gutierrez clan, like Annabelle Rama, Eddie Gutierrez, Ruffa Gutierrez, and the latter’s daughter, Venice Gutierrez-Bektas.
But despite her non-attendance, Sarah supported the event by posting a video of herself wearing Joan of Arc’s armor outfit three weeks ago. “Unleashing my inner goddess for this year’s @the_opulence_ball,” she captioned her post.
She wasn’t also seen in the photos Richard posted to greet his mom on her birthday a couple of days ago, while he seemed to have deleted his birthday greeting for his wife in early October.
Alternatively, the last post that they were seen together was from August, when they attended Maja Salvador and Rambo Nuñez’s wedding in Bali, Indonesia. At the time, both Sarah and Richard shared photos from the ceremony and reception, and they looked joyful together. But since then, they only shared their solo images and endeavors, either with their kids, families, or event attendance.
Anyhow, on October 28, the couple was spotted together at the launch of Sarah and designer Vito Selma’s collaboration for the latter’s brand, Casa Selma. Vito himself shared the photos from the event, which Lahbati reposted on her Facebook page on November 2.
It’s also good to note that their photos together are still on their respective pages, while they still also follow each other on Instagram.
Fans Question if Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati are Still Together
As expected, many netizens flock to RichardGutierrez and Sarah Lahbati’s social media accounts to ask them about the status of their marriage. Many even advised them not to give up on each other.
In Richard’s latest post, one fan couldn’t help but ask where Sarah was. And when he praised his mom for not giving up on them, one netizen told the actor he shouldn’t give up on his family either.
“Just prove that your family doesn’t have the word divorce; btw why was the photo of your wife @sarahlahbati birthday greeting deleted???” another user commented.
On the other hand, Sarah was also asked the same questions in her posts.
One fan directly asked if she and Richard were already separated, while another hoped the rumors weren’t true. User @lea_buensuceso then explained the couple might only need some time off and space from one another and would soon figure things out.
Alleged Evidence that Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati Might Have Been Separated
Though their absence from each other’s social media posts already hinted at Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati’s alleged separation, eagle-eyed netizens continuously dig deeper to find more evidence that the celebrity power couple might have already called it quits. One of them is the Swiss-born reality star’s cryptic bible verse post on her Instagram Story.
The bible verse in question is from the book Corinthians 13:11 (NLT), about loving the unlovable. “Another key to loving the unlovable is to look past their behavior and see the pain and insecurity motivating their actions,” a passage from the verse reads.
Of course, many thought this referred to Richard, though Sarah remained mum about it. Her pinned post, where she’s seen having fun with her kids and mom on the beach, on Instagram also has a caption that reads, “You gotta keep livin.”
There are also claims that Richard’s mom, Annabelle, has something to do with their alleged breakup. The X page @AltStarMagic posted a blind item, claiming a “monster-in-law” was the reason for the alleged split of a celebrity power couple since the two women were allegedly both mean.
Some netizens even pointed out that the these women never got along, and Annabelle allegedly didn’t like Sarah for Richard. Another claimed that Annabelle and Sarah’s mom, Esther Lahbati, didn’t like each other.
At one point, the two mothers even had a rift when Esther claimed she was snubbed during the star-studded birthday and baptism of their eldest son, Zion, in 2014. At the time, Esther said in a post that she felt she was taken for granted because she wasn’t famous and rich like other guests. And as Annabelle is known for being feisty, she didn’t back down and made her own post, saying she didn’t want to pay attention to anyone belittling themselves.
Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati’s Relationship Timeline
Before finally tying the knot in 2020, Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati had been together for seven years. The two are blessed with two kids, Zion and Kai.
- 2012 – The Start of a Romantic Relationship
Their romance started in 2012 when they worked together on the GMA network TV series Makapiling Kang Muli. In an interview on ABS-CBN’s weekly variety show ASAP Natin ‘To in 2019, Richard revealed he started courting Sarah while they were filming the show. They were officially together when the production concluded.
- 2013 – Pregnancy Rumors
Barely a year after they confirmed their romance, the two were met with pregnancy rumors, which coincided with Sarah’s contract issues with GMA. At the time, the actress returned to her hometown of Switzerland to allegedly study. Still, fans couldn’t help but link her departure to her alleged pregnancy, which later came out as true despite strongly denying the claims.
The same year, Sarah secretly gave birth to their first child, Zion. It took months before the rumors about her childbirth began and over a year before the couple finally confirmed they had a baby.
- 2014 – Introducing Zion to the World
Richard finally admitted on the premiere episode of his family’s reality show, It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez, that he was already a “proud father” to a child. At the time, he revealed they found out Sarah was pregnant when they were in Paris and opted to keep it private so that her pregnancy wouldn’t turn into a “tabloid circus.”
After Richard shared the news, Sarah shared a photo of Zion’s hand on Instagram for the first time and introduced him to the world. Fans then saw their first glimpse of Zion on the second episode of It Takes Gutz to Be a Gutierrez.
- 2017 – The Proposal
Four years after welcoming Zion to the family, Richard finally popped up the question in 2017. He asked Sarah’s hand for marriage in Zermatt, Switzerland, and to make it more romantic, the view of the Matterhorn was on the backdrop. They then talked about their engagement at the premiere of It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez Season 5.
In the same year, another big news was revealed. The couple announced that they were expecting baby number two.
- 2018 – Kai’s Arrival
In 2018, Sarah gave birth to their second child, Kai.
- 2019 – The Wedding Plans
Two years after their engagement and welcoming their second son, Richard and Sarah finally revealed their wedding plans. At the time, they planned to hold their wedding in March 2020 in Manila. Sarah said they chose March because Richard’s proposal and Kai’s birth both happened in the stated month. Alternatively, Richard explained that they wanted to get married in Manila so that both of their families could attend.
- 2020 – The Wedding
Though Richard and Sarah earlier decided to postpone their wedding due to the coronavirus outbreak in Manila, they held a civil wedding instead, as the latter’s family was already in the Philippines to attend their grand nuptial supposedly. As opposed to the big event that they initially planned, the two held a simple and intimate ceremony, where they also practiced social distancing.
The event was followed by a reception at Samba in Shangri-La The Fort, where their supposed big wedding was to take place.
Sadly, three years after that special event, Richard and Sarah are now met with breakup rumors. As one of the most favorite celebrity couples today, many wish these claims weren’t true at all. But it can’t be denied that this seems to be the first time they haven’t shown their love for each other on social media in their over-a-decade romance and not even attending important celebrity events together.
That said, we hope that this is just a phase in their relationship and that everything will be fine soon. Who doesn’t miss seeing these two beautiful people together on Instagram, along with their equally handsome kids?