Despite Elmo’s refusal to apologize, Janella says she forgives him

Janella Salvador

Actress Janella Salvador said she has learned to forgive former onscreen partner Elmo Magalona, whom she earlier accused of physical abuse, even if the latter has not apologized to her.

“What’s done is done,” said Janella. “If you can’t get something (apology) out of someone, it’s not worth stressing out for. It’s just going to make me feel bad to hope for something that’s not going to come.”

“I realized that forgiveness doesn’t have to be a two-way thing. I can forgive even if the other person doesn’t ask for it.”

Janella claimed that Elmo had hit her twice, and that the actor had “one drink too many” both times.

She said she fought back the second time by slapping Elmo because she already felt “disrespected.”

The 20-year-old actress said the experience had made her “stronger and wiser.” She added: “Since it was my very first time to experience that kind of abuse, I learned what I can and can’t tolerate. The next time it comes, I know how to handle it better.”

Janella said she would forever be grateful to the “ElNella” fans, who remain supportive of her and Elmo’s careers.

On the possibility of working with Elmo again, she said: “No one can tell what the future holds, but as of now, no; I’m not open to it.”

On the rumor that she went out on a date with actor Marco Gumabao, with whom she was photographed hanging out in a bar in BGC: “We weren’t dating then,” she insisted. “At my age, I see nothing wrong with going out. I was out, not just with him, but with other people.”

On the comment that they looked “cozy together” in the photos, Janella said “it’s because we’re friends. We’re not together … I’m not yet ready for a new relationship.”

What Janella considered the “biggest blessing of 2018” for her was the fact that she now has a good relationship with her father, singer Juan Miguel Salvador.

It was Janella who made the first move to reach out to her dad.

“There were many factors before that kept us from being close. Now that I’m older, I felt that, maybe, it’s time that I make the first move,” she said. “We still have so many things to do together. We will write songs.”

Janella is currently recording her second album, which will feature a song she wrote herself and another that Juan Miguel wrote for her.

“I want people to know me for my music, for the sound that I prefer. The second one is more mature. I’m hands-on, from the choosing of the songs to making the music videos.”

She said her mom, singer-actress Jenine Desiderio, is also “happy for me now that I’m starting to become close to my dad.”

The two, however, are currently working on their relationship, which got estranged when she was still with Elmo.

“It’s going to take time, but what’s good about it is that we’re not on bad terms. I still live alone,” she declared.

Janella is headlining a three-part anthology on iWant called “Touch Screen,” along with Pokwang and Denise Laurel.

The series, which explores the impact of technology on human connection, started streaming on March 6.