Angelica cites ‘toxic’ relationship as reason for breakup with John Lloyd

Angelica Panganiban

Embrace the pain,” said Angelica Panganiban when asked for the best advice she could give people like her who have gone through painful breakups.

“You can’t skip the steps. You have to go through the process before you can finally say you’ve totally moved on,” she added. “If you miss a step, you’ll just have to go back to it, till you learn the lesson that the whole experience is trying to teach you.”

The actress collaborated with ABS-CBN Publishing to come up with a book, Beau Ang’s “Para Kay Ex,” the foreword of which she wrote.

“When the idea for a book was first presented to me, I said I first have to study every page before I say ‘yes’ to it. I suggested some changes and asked for some photos to be removed. They made the necessary corrections, so you could say I was very much involved with the book, even though it’s just the foreword that I wrote.”

Angelica dated actor John Lloyd Cruz for over three years before they called it quits in March 2016.

The ex-couple was reported to have gone out several times until photos of John Lloyd hanging out with his “Home Sweetie Home” co-star Ellen Adarna started circulating late last year. He is now rumored to have gotten Ellen pregnant.

At the book’s autograph-signing session on Saturday, Angelica was asked to state the reason for the breakup in relation to an item in the book, called “Bakit Wala Nang Kayo?”

It featured seven reasons, of which Angelica chose No. 7, or “Natanggal ang Helmet.” This meant that one of them had finally come to his or her senses and realized that their relationship was nothing but “toxic.”

As to how well she was coping with the pain, Angelica said she was already in the “Jennylyn Mercado stage.”

Another item in the book explains the five stages of moving on. The Jennylyn Mercado level, or the “Ultimate Survivor stage,” is when a person no longer feels any ounce of pain and hatred toward her ex.

However, asked if she was ready for a new love, the 31-year-old said: “I’m still scared to feel kilig.” She added: “I’m at a point in my life when I value my own happiness more than anything.”

At one point during the session, actor Carlo Aquino, who dated Angelica in 2005, appeared with a bouquet of flowers. He claimed to be the “representative of all of Angelica’s exes.”

A visibly surprised Angelica said Carlo would fall under item No. 2 in “Bakit Wala Nang Kayo?” She explained: “He’s an astronaut. He asked for space.”

Angelica said she and Carlo, whose seven-year relationship with a nonshow biz girlfriend ended recently and is now rumored to be courting the actress, have been good friends for 15 years. “We’ve been friends longer than we were lovers,” Angelica stressed. “Nothing has changed in Carlo. He is still the quiet, loner and shy guy I know.”

Angelica added: “As an advice, I told him to just enjoy being single. Since he had been in a long-term relationship, being single could either be exciting or could cause him panic attacks. It’s a roller-coaster of emotions.”

As to the possibility of a reconciliation between them, Angelica said she couldn’t say for certain. “We’ve always been close, just like my other guy friends. People just put color to it because he is my ex,” she observed. “I can’t say anything definite about it. I feel that we should just wait for what will happen next.”