Jasmine Curtis-Smith (left) with sister Anne Curtis
“I cried when I learned about the good news. The pressure was finally lifted,” said Jasmine Curtis-Smith when asked how the engagement of Anne to boyfriend Erwan Heussaff has affected her elder sister.
Jasmine explained that it had been tough for Anne, 32, to repeatedly hear people ask her about her marriage plans. “There was so much pressure on her from everyone. I knew that she sometimes felt like, ‘Why are you rushing me?’”
Asked what her participation in Anne’s wedding would be, Jasmine said: “It’s still to be determined. I went to Australia for two months to spend time with our parents. We have yet to talk about her wedding.”
She said Erwan has influenced her sister in a lot of ways. “He presented to her a different view of the world,” Jasmine said. “When they started going out, Ate was also growing into her success as an artist and was establishing herself as a TV host. She was maturing and had found new things she was interested in.”
The actress is currently dating businessman Jeff Ortega. Recently, she and Jeff had opportunities to travel together. “We attended a lot of weddings in 2016, and he joined my family on New Year’s Eve. The trip to Japan was our most recent,” she shared with the Inquirer.
“I’m lucky to have found someone who has the same interests as I do when I travel, although we’re always chasing planes and trains. I guess men in general have a lack of understanding for what time management is,” she added, laughing.
Now that her sister’s engagement has been announced, is Jasmine feeling the pressure to “take the plunge,” as well? Not really, the actress said: “That’s funny because I’m still young, and my relationship [with Jeff] is very new,” said the 22-year-old actress, who started dating Jeff only last April.
Jasmine is currently busy promoting the theatrical release of her film, Samantha Lee’s “Baka Bukas,” the lesbian-themed movie which opens today.
The actress’ portrayal in the film won for her the best actress award at the 2016 Cinema One film festival.
Jasmine pointed out, “It was a big factor for me to be able to show the pain and dilemma of my character, Alex. She’s in love with her best friend but doesn’t know how to express it. It got the audience hooked on her. I tried to think and feel that I was truly in love with Louise (delos Reyes, who plays Alex’s best friend, Jess). That was probably what made the character convincing. It isn’t easy, because people know I’m straight.”