Movie helps Carla Abellana move on

CARLA Abellana says costar Tom Rodriguez hasn’t changed a bit, in spite of his success.

GMA 7 actress Carla Abellana said breaking up with actor Geoff Eigenmann, her boyfriend of over three years, was the most difficult decision she ever made.

A month after the split, she faced show biz writers and announced that she was slowly picking up the pieces. “It was good that my best friends were there during the toughest times. One even slept beside me for several nights,” she said. “My family was around, too. We recently went out of town. We have bonding every weekend. If not for these people, I would probably not be able to wake up each morning with a smile on my face.”

Abellana denied that a “third party” caused the breakup. “Once and for all, I want to say that whatever happened was just between the two of us. It did not involve anybody else—not a person from my past or from my present. Our personalities are different now. We changed. With us, there were always two different attitudes, two different ways of making decisions, two different dreams and goals. Unfortunately, we don’t match anymore.”

She insisted that she was not using the breakup to create a buzz for her latest movie, Jun Robles Lana’s “So It’s You.” She told reporters: “I came here today determined not to talk about it. Geoff’s manager (Perry Lansigan) said I shouldn’t drag his name [into this] … I promised I wouldn’t. As much as I want to discuss just the movie, I knew I’d still get asked about him. I’m sorry if I refuse to talk about the issue further.”

Talk has it that the breakup was because of your closeness to your ex-boyfriend JC Intal.

JC is getting married and I’m super happy for him. I know he’s been wanting to have a family of his own. My family, my best friend and I congratulated him on his engagement to Bianca (Gonzalez, TV host).

What new things have you discovered about your costar Tom Rodriguez?

Nothing much. He’s still the same guy I worked with on [the GMA 7 soap] “My Husband’s Lover” last year. That’s a good thing.

I know how successful he has become. It’s good that he has remained level-headed. I hope he doesn’t change. We had so much fun on the set. We laughed a lot. I’m thankful that we were given the chance to continue our partnership, which began on TV.

Did you consider working on the film as a form of therapy?

It was therapeutic. In a way, I got to make use of pent-up emotions. Our costar Kevin Santos will tell you that, for one scene, my tears were falling before the camera started rolling. But work was a breeze. Everyone on the set was relaxed and cheerful.

How different are you from your movie character Lira?

Lira is bubbly, energetic and outgoing. She’s also a go-getter. She will do everything just to get what she wants. She’s also transparent. From her facial expression, you will know how she feels.

Carla is her exact opposite. She will not reveal what she’s going through. She is realistic enough to know that she can’t always get what she wants.

Produced by Regal Entertainment, “So It’s You” opens in theaters nationwide Wednesday. It also features Bangs Garcia, JC de Vera, Joey Marquez, Arlene Muhlach and Leo Martinez.

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