Friends now foes–really?

Marian Rivera

Once friends, now foes.

That is, if actresses Marian Rivera and Heart Evangelista are to be believed, based on their recent pronouncements.

Marian claims she was “shocked” and “hurt” by the cruel treatment she got from Cecile Ongpauco—mother of her “Temptation Island” co-star Heart Evangelista shortly after their group returned to Manila from shooting in Ilocos Norte last week.

“I thought we were friends, but I assumed wrong,” Marian, speaking in Filipino, said of Heart during a media gathering on Thursday afternoon that Regal Entertainment hosted for the movie. “I was shocked by the airport incident. When we left for Manila, I thought everything was okay because we were all happy.”

Hurtful words

Marian was referring to an incident on June 13. Reports said that after claiming her bags from the airport carousel, Marian approached Heart to give her a goodbye kiss. However, Ongpauco allegedly told Marian, “Stay away from my daughter!” More hurtful words were said to have followed, leaving Marian in tears. Ongpauco also reportedly had bodyguards with her.

Marian later said co-star Lovi Poe, who witnessed the incident, tried to comfort her. “I really don’t want to talk about it anymore,” Marian said. “There were a lot of people when it happened. I guess it’s better if you ask them. My point here is, I couldn’t think of anything that happened in Laoag that could have caused this.”

Heart, who is vacationing in Brazil with boyfriend Daniel Matsunaga, posted on Twitter: “Why is it so unfair? I may not be on the same page with mom 90 percent of the time, but she is my mother so stop bashing her. If any lie (has been said)… then you will get what you deserve (sic).”

Heart added: “This will be the last time I will tweet about this negative vibe… All I ever wanted was to finally laugh since all I did was be silent and cry… Let’s not be unfair (anymore).”

Matsunaga factor

Online reports said the tiff between the two actresses started when Matsunaga mentioned, in an interview, his interest to work with Marian in the future. (Incidentally—or maybe not—Heart and Marian’s boyfriend, Dingdong Dantes, will soon headline a GMA 7 show.)

Asked by reporters to comment on the issue, Marian said: “Because of what happened at the airport, I’m now thankful that my grandmother raised me to be respectful towards elders.”

Marian broke into tears when asked if she regretted having befriended Heart. “I was the one who convinced her to do this film,” she said. “It’s just hard to accept that someone I considered a friend would treat me this way. Hindi ko kawalan.”

The press con, held at the Imperial Suites in Quezon City, was also attended by “Temptation Island” stars Solenn Heussaff, Lovi Poe, Rufa Mae Quinto, John Lapus, Mikael Daez and Tom Rodriguez. The movie, co-produced by GMA Films, opens July 6 in theaters nationwide.

“Temptation Island,” first released in 1980 and directed by the late Joey Gosiengfiao, is about four women marooned on a desert island after the ship they boarded catches fire. Marian plays Cristina G., who was portrayed by Azenith Briones in the original version. Solenn assumes Bambi Arambulo’s character Pura K, and Lovi, Jennifer Cortez’s Serafina. Rufa Mae’s Nimfa is inspired by the character played by Deborah Sun.

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