Malaki ang pasasalamat ni James Reid sa nobya niyang si Issa Pressman, hindi lang sa saya at pagmamahal na ibinibigay nito sa kanya kundi pati sa tiwala at suportang ipinakita nito sa panahong dumaan siya sa isa sa pinakamalalaking pagsubok sa kanyang buhay.
Sa podcast ni Gary Valenciano noong July 20, 2026, ibinahagi ni James ang ilan sa pinakamabibigat na hamon na kanyang pinagdaanan, kabilang na ang pagkalugi niya ng humigit-kumulang PHP150 million.
"I’m sure you heard that I had a business partner, and things went horribly wrong," panimula ni James.
Bagamat hindi niya pinangalanan kung sinong "business partner" ang kanyang tinutukoy, mahihinuha na ito ay ang American-Korean businessman na si Jeffrey Oh.
Si Oh ang kasosyo noon ni James sa pagpapatakbo ng Careless Music, ang record label at talent management company ng singer-actor.
Read: James Reid Linked to Careless CEO's Disappearance
Pagpapatuloy ni James: "You’ll be surprised by how unbothered I am by what happened at the end of it all.
"At the time, it was intense.
"During the time I was working on the music fest and everything, then I lost PHP150 million throughout that whole process.
"That was, like, the last ten years of work that I’ve done—probably more."
Ang tinutukoy ni James ay ang Wavy Baby Music Festival noong January 2023 na inorganisa ng Careless Music, na nakatanggap ng kaliwa't kanang batikos dahil sa naging problema sa sponsors, logistics, at event execution.
“I really got tricked into this crazy situation where he had a little bit too much control over what I would spend on.
"There was a little bit too much trust there.
"I also just couldn’t believe that people like that could exist," pag-alala ni James.
James says Issa Pressman helped him bounce back after PHP150M loss
Sa gitna ng dagok na noo'y pinagdaraanan ni James sa kanyang kumpanya, may tangi raw siyang ipinagpapasalamat.
Ito ay nang manatili sa kanyang tabi ang nobyang si Issa Pressman para siya'y samahan at palakasin.
Si Issa ay kabilang sa mga talent ng Careless Music.
Saad ni James: "What happened was it was Issa actually that woke me up to all of it.
"She's the one who really had to, like, shake me and be, like, 'Hey, you need to wake up.'
"Issa was such a huge part of the whole experience. It was crazy."
Read: James Reid defends Issa Pressman against avid JaDine fans
Noong panahong nangyayari ang lahat ng ito, nagsimula nang magkamabutihan sina James at Issa.
Aniya: "When all of this was happening, it was the time that Issa and I started dating.
"As horrific as everything was going on right then, there was also something even more beautiful happening at the same time."
Ayon kay James, hindi niya maipaliwanag kung paano natabunan ng pagmamahal ang bigat na kanyang pinagdaraanan.
Lahad niya: "I was so smitten and in love that no matter what the hell was going on, it was so bad and people, like, texting me, 'James, are you okay?'
"And I was like, 'Yeah, I'm okay.'
"That was something so much more beautiful happening at the same time that completely distracted me from how bad I was supposed to be feeling at that time.
“That love became my compass. That was her [Issa]."
Read: James Reid ready to settle down with Issa Pressman "soon"
Kahit natapos na ang problemang iyon ni James, nanatili raw si Issa sa kanyang tabi upang alalayan siya, bagay na kanyang ipinagpapasalamat hanggang sa kasalukuyan.
Ang pagmamahal din daw niya sa nobya ang naging inspirasyon ni James upang magpatuloy matapos niyang madapa.
"She just guided me into everything that I'm doing now in my music.
"Literally, like all my songs that I've written, like all my best song, my favorites, mostly written about her."
Read: James Reid says love for Issa Pressman is his "strongest emotion"
JAMES REID CALLS JEFFREY OH A "FRAUD"
Sa isang panayam noong September 17, 2024, inanunsiyo ni James sa publiko na hindi na konektado at awtorisado si Oh sa anumang transaksiyong may kinalaman sa Careless Group of Companies simula pa noong July 2, 2024.
Si James daw mismo ang nagtanggal o nag-terminate dito matapos niyang madiskubre ang undisclosed deals na ginawa noon ni Oh na hindi nito ipinapaalam sa kanya.
Read: Ama ni James Reid, pinaghihinalaang nagsuplong sa Careless CEO na si Jeffrey Oh
Sa tantiya noon ng kampo ni James, aabot sa PHP100 million ang nakuhang pera ni Oh sa kanya dahil sa undisclosed deals, gamit ang pangalan ng Careless Music at iba pang negosyo ng aktor.
Bukod pa raw rito ang nawawalang pera sa ibang kumpanya ni James.
Wala raw kaalam-alam si James sa nangyayari sa kanyang kumpanya dahil malaki ang tiwala niya noon kay Oh.
Natauhan lang daw siya nang ilatag sa kanya ng abogado ang mga nawawalang pera sa Careless Music na pinaghihinalaang dahil kay Oh.
Read: Careless CEO Jeffrey Oh allegedly arrested, facing deportation
Pahayag noon ng actor-singer: "I had no idea a lot of this was happening.
"It was actually happening for months and had kept me separate from the rest of my team, kept me in the dark about all of these business dealings telling me, ‘Oh, nothing’s happening, I’ll let you know.’
"It wasn’t until I came forth and finally met with [Atty. Rodel de Guzman] and explained to him all of the business dealings I had with him and all the relationships I had with Jeff.
"And how much money he owed me, the contracts that he never gave me.
"And finally, when all of that came out, his official recommendation to terminate him and give him a chance to sign those contracts and make those deals right, wala. He left. He tricked me.
"I’ve been working with him for a very long time and it turns out he wasn’t the person he said he was."
Dagdag pa ni James: "At the end of the day, his true colors showed, and he’s a fraud. I’m very happy that he’s gone now.
"Our entire team, staff, and everyone is a lot happier that he’s out of the picture and things are starting to make sense."
Read: James Reid terminates Jeffrey Oh from Careless: "He's a fraud!"