BILLY Crawford and Coleen Garcia
Singer-Actor Billy Crawford said the 10-year age gap between him and girlfriend Coleen Garcia proved to be advantageous to their two-year relationship.
“We click. I enjoy her company. I feel young when I’m with her because her energy rubs off on me. At the same time, she now thinks maturely because of me,” Billy, 34, told reporters at a recent media gathering for his film opening on Aug. 10, Joel Lamangan’s “That Thing Called Tanga Na.”
“We balance each other out. Of course we cannot avoid fights, but we are now able to handle them well. We communicate better now. Her maturity and strength in character are the things that I love about her,” Billy said of Coleen, who turns 24 on Sept. 24.
The couple celebrated their second anniversary on July 23 with Billy surprising Coleen with a helicopter ride from Manila to Tagaytay. “To avoid the heavy traffic, I borrowed a friend’s chopper and we flew there. We had lunch at Antonio’s. I then took her to a spa so she could relax since she has been working really hard these days. I brought her back to Manila in time for her to watch her first ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ episode with her family,” Billy recalled.
“It’s so hard to surprise Coleen. I’ve already failed twice. She always wants to know what we will do before agreeing to come with me … The trip to Tagaytay was my gift to her, aside from the two Albino dogs that I gave her earlier. For this celebration, her gift to me was her time,” he added.
According to Billy, he and Coleen began discussing plans to settle down recently, but clarified that it would not happen any time soon.
“I still want her to continue to grow as an actress. Like me, I want her to pursue her dreams first. We’re taking our time,” he shared with the Inquirer. “If I get married I plan to slow down from work and focus all my attention on my family. Coleen plans to do the same. It’s only a matter of deciding when [settling down] should be.”
Jealous
While Billy admitted to being the jealous type, he said he has no qualms about his girlfriend portraying sexy roles and doing love scenes with other actors.
“Work is work. I even watch the love scenes. What’s good about her is that she first shows the script to me before agreeing to a project. Coleen does not give me any reason to feel jealous of her male coactors. She’s not a flirt. We trust and support each other,” he explained.
Billy said he was very proud of Coleen’s “Maalaala Mo Kaya” performance. She played a mentally challenged woman.
He recalled: “You just don’t know how nervous she was while taping that. She would call me to say, ‘I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing. It’s so frustrating.’ She’s a perfectionist. It was a blessing for her to be given that role. She shone!”
“That Thing Called Tanga Na,” produced by Regal Films, also stars Eric Quizon, Martin Escudero, Kean Cipriano and Angeline Quinto.
E-mail mcruz@inquirer.com.ph