The usually merry month of December was marred by sorrow for actress Carla Abellana. Losing a beloved pet dog to “multiple illnesses” early this month, she posted about her loss on Instagram.
“My heart is broken,” Carla wrote in the caption for the pictures and video of her crying beside her deceased dog in a clinic. “My Sunny is gone,” she said.
The distraught Kapuso actress lost Sunny the day before her series, “Pamilya Roces,” aired its final episode. But eventually, she was able to find time to post photos of the cast and crew, and also thank their loyal viewers.
Carla described working with costars, including actresses Sophie Albert and Jasmine Curtis-Smith, “a pleasure,” and that she was going to miss them.
“It’s the first soap I’ve been a part of with an ensemble cast, most of whom I haven’t worked with in the past,” Carla told the Inquirer. “It’s also the first role I’ve played wherein I disliked the personality so much.”
Sunny —INSTAGRAM
She played Crystal, eldest sister of the Roces siblings—an irritable, angry young woman. Behind the scenes, it was cozy for the lead actresses, Carla recounted: “Among the cast members, it was fine. It was fun. But on the set with Direk Joel [Lamangan], it was always very serious.”
The actress starred in various GMA programs since 2009, including the local adaptation of the Mexican teleserye “Rosalinda.” Carla is the daughter of soap actor Rey Abellana, who starred in “Anna Liza,” a popular GMA 7 series in the ’80s. “He never really gave me any acting advice,” Carla, 32, admitted.
Regardless, she landed lead roles in the network’s dramas and found acting a lucrative career. But it was in 2013 when she was prominently featured as the spurned wife of a closeted gay man, played by current beau Tom Rodriguez, in “My Husband’s Lover.”
Some netizens had commented that Carla’s acting in “Pamilya Roces” reminded them of her portrayal in “My Husband’s Lover,” as Crystal was cheated on by a partner in the show as well.
If she were to revisit it and do a sequel of the series with Tom and Dennis Trillo, Carla wouldn’t hesitate. “Of course, I’d be more than willing to do it,” she said. “I would love to work with Tom, Dennis, Direk Dominic [Zapata] and Miss Suzette Doctolero again—it would be interesting what other stories she can come up with now, more than five years after ‘My Husband’s Lover’ ended.”
And with the year almost done, her 2018 marked by milestones and loss, Carla said she hopes to continue inspiring others to be hardworking and passionate about their work.
“It’s not hard at all being someone’s ‘role model,’” shared Carla, who also posts about missing dogs and pet-related events on her Instagram page. “For as long as you know you’re a good person to others and that you always have good intentions, then you have nothing to be scared about. I am quite proud of how I was raised by my grandmother and mother, so it’s a blessing that my upbringing is something a lot of people commend.”
On the social media landscape, where strangers can easily comment on what she shares, Carla disclosed that she’s learned to keep her distance. “Regarding criticism, avoidance is key,” she said. “But with social media being part of our daily lives now, it’s extremely hard to avoid reading people’s opinions and criticisms. So, the best way to deal with them is to ignore them. Reciprocating will only fuel the fire.”