This was said by Hilda Baci recently on Taymesan Emmanuel's "Tea with Tay" program.
The well-known chef claims that her father has been involved in her and her siblings' lives since they were little. But when the kids were affected by a furious fight between her and her mother, everything changed.
She was most affected by her father's sudden departure because she and her older brother, Gabriel, were going to finish their college degrees.
Hilda was perplexed as to why her father had stopped supporting their education, particularly considering that he had paid for their early years of university education, secondary school, and nursery school.
But she did recall a bad day when she spoke with her father on the phone about her tuition costs. She was shocked when, upon answering the phone, he essentially disowned her by asking, "Who's your father?"
Hilda thought her father was kidding her until he stopped providing for her and started sending her maintenance money.
"For me, I will say that one of the biggest issues was when he abandoned me," she said. He was, I believe, somewhat present for us on the set and did not desert me. But that's when my parents' problems became apparent to me. I was in my second semester of university, so it was more pronounced for me.
"I essentially recall our talk from that day of matriculation with my father. When I said, "You didn't bring food for me," he asked, "Who's your dad?" Years later, I realized that he wasn't genuinely kidding.