Derrick and Elle on status of their relationship and ‘Return to Paradise’ takeaways

Derrick and Elle

Derrick Monasterio and Elle Villanueva have grown comfortable with each other while shooting the GMA 7 drama “Return to Paradise”—so much so that people around them have started suspecting that their onscreen romance has now spilled over into real life.

“Ang daming nag-aakala na kami na. We’re comfortable with each other … We can hold hands, hug randomly. And we don’t feel awkward. We’re just that close,” Derrick said in a recent virtual conference for the afternoon soap, which will end today.

While they’re not dating, Derrick admitted that Elle is special to him and considers her “more than a friend.” “There’s no label that we’re this or that. I do feel love for her and I tell her that, but not necessarily in a boyfriend-girlfriend kind of way,” he said. “It’s just that you feel that way. The person is special to you and you care about her. There are many kinds of love.”

But having said that, Derrick can see himself being in a relationship with Elle, should the opportunity and the right time come. “Why not, given the chance? When we’re ready,” said the 27-year-old actor who had just gone through a breakup a few months ago. “I also want some time for myself and focus on work.”

Echoing Derrick’s sentiments, Elle said: “Our relationship is super OK. We’re not looking for romance now, but we’re also not closing any doors. We’re just focused on our careers.”

Of all the leading ladies he has worked with, it was Elle, Derrick said, who helped him become more open about his feelings. “I look forward to doing our scenes because she’s generous with her emotions. Our closeness offscreen helped our scenes. I think our personalities just click. And it has been that way since our workshops,” he related.

Own process

Derrick Monasterio

The two Kapuso talents know about each other’s personal stories and experiences. And they try to use that to make their rapport even more believable. “Sometimes, I would say something about her life that’s not in the script just to elicit a certain reaction,” Derrick said. “And she would do the same to me because she knows things about my life, too … The director doesn’t know that we have our own process.”

Elle admitted that she was “overwhelmed” by Derrick’s openness to her at first. “But I appreciated that over time; I realized that he’s just super genuine with me. All I asked from him is to be transparent so we can have a harmonious relationship. Huwag n’ya akong bolahin when it comes to work or personal life,” she said.

Elle Villanueva

The 26-year-old actress couldn’t be more thankful that Derrick was her leading man in her first full drama series. “I’m thankful because it was easy for us to connect and do kilig or kissing scenes because he made sure I was comfortable … He took care of me throughout the show,” she said.

Genuine connections

Working on a “Return to Paradise” taught Derrick and Elle the value of establishing “genuine connections” with the people on the set, may they be actors or part of the production team.

“You have to talk to them … And I was able to do that here. I used to be introverted and tend to keep to myself, especially when I’m just an additional character to a show. I arrive on the set when the cast already has an established dynamic, and that makes it hard for me to penetrate. It affects work because you can’t ad lib effectively if you’re not close with your costars,” Derrick said.

Derrick Monasterio (behind) and Elle Villanueva

“The connection makes you comfortable about playing with your lines and attacking your scenes,” Elle added. “That’s one of my takeaways.”

Another lesson she learned from her more senior costars, like Eula Valdes, is that you can have fun at work. “You don’t have to take everything so seriously,” Elle said. “You can have fun with your role, your lines and your coactors.”