Angelica Panganiban
Being beautiful is the best revenge,” said actress Angelica Panganiban when asked what advice she could give to someone nursing a broken heart.
“As the popular saying goes: Nagmahal, nasaktan, nagpaganda,” quipped Angelica.
The actress is the star of Maryo J. delos Reyes’ latest romantic drama, “The Unmarried Wife,” which begins its theatrical run on Nov. 16.
Angelica said her focus now is “self-improvement—I feel like I’m a house that needs renovation. I just want to take care of myself for now, because I’m the type of person who, when in love, would really give the relationship my all.”
While she does not claim to be an expert on romantic relationships, Angelica believes that one should fight for love, “as long as you are not hurting other people’s feelings, or as long as you treat yourself with respect, and also the person you are in a relationship with.”
“Seriously,” she added, “I always say that it’s never wrong to love, even though it’s like a one-way street; regardless of your gender or your religion. The world will be much better if we all just love each other.”
Angelica and her former boyfriend, actor John Lloyd Cruz, were recently spotted hanging out again.
Asked to confirm the rumor that she is once again playing sweet music with John Lloyd, Angelica said: “Although it’s unlikely for former lovers to be good friends again, it’s something that we’re proud of. Yes, we’ve struggled shortly after the breakup, but we have managed to maintain the friendship.”
At a recent media gathering for the Star Cinema-produced film, which also features Dingdong Dantes and Paulo Avelino, Angelica was asked what she thought was the ideal marrying age.
The 30-year-old actress replied: “I really can’t tell. I just know that I don’t want to grow old alone. I wish for a special someone to be beside me when I’m old—be it a child, a man or a friend.”
She added: “I don’t think it (marriage) will happen in the near future. I’m now more open to the idea that married life is not for me, although plans could still change. If not, then I’d just raise dogs and cats.”
The actress then said she was concerned that people might misinterpret her.
“They might think I’m just being bitter. I respect those who have finally found their life partners, those who already have a successful married life. How I wish that would happen to me, too,” she clarified.
In “The Unmarried Wife,” Angelica is Anne, a woman who is torn between staying with her cheating husband, Geoff (Dingdong), and leaving with her persistent lover, Bryan (Paulo).
Angelica said she had a hard time relating to her character in the beginning, and that it helped that her most difficult scenes were done during the latter part of filming.
“By that time, I was already very much involved in the development of the character and her relationships with the two men,” she explained.