Barbie to make tough decision tonight—with fans’ help

Barbie Forteza

For Barbie Forteza, it’s convenient that viewers—through online voting—were given a hand in selecting whom among her four leading men in the romantic comedy series, “Meant to Be,” she should end up with. Because if it were up to her, she didn’t think she’d be able to make a definitive choice for fear of alienating some fans.

“That’s a tough decision to make—ginalingan nila masyado, eh! I consider them to be on equal footing,” the 19-year-old actress (who plays Billie) said of her love interests, Yuan (Ken Chan), Jai (Addy Raj), Ethan (Ivan Dorschner) and Andoy (Jak Roberto). “Some people would get annoyed with me no matter who I choose.”

Jai was the most changed. “At the beginning, he was bit of a bad boy, and he wasn’t so serious about relationships. But he grew out of that because of love. He’s now very sincere,” Barbie said.

Andoy was the most consistent. “He was the first to admit his feelings, despite the fact that he’s torpe. He chose to be brave for love,” she said.

Ethan is handsome and a gentleman, but there’s more to him. “He had just been in a relationship with another girl, but he chose to wait before pursuing Billie. He wasn’t just looking for a rebound [relationship],” Barbie related.

Barbie’s leading men in “Meant to Be” (from left): Jak Roberto, Ken Chan, Ivan Dorschner and Addy Raj

Yuan and Billie had an interesting dynamic, to say the least. “Aso’t pusa sila ever since. He had many problems with his career and personal life. He is short-tempered. But all that changed because of his love for Billie,” Barbie noted.

The GMA 7 soap, which concludes tonight, ran a poll from June 4 to 18. Its results, combined with “management decision,” will determine who among the four men will capture Billie’s heart.

“We have many young fans, so it’s great that we did this. It made the show more interactive,” said Barbie, who’s looking forward to more projects, after the soap ends.

“I hope to do indie films again—perhaps a thriller or horror, where I do the killing and not the screaming,” she said. “But I would be happy whatever gets offered to me.”