While actress Cristine Reyes thinks “it’s still too early” to say whether or not she considers her relationship with real-life boyfriend and “Minsan pa Nating Hagkan ang Nakaraan” coactor Marco Gumabao for keeps, the former is more vocal in saying that they’re an “endgame.”
Cristine and Marco play high-school sweethearts, Helene and Rod, in the series. They get engaged, but eventually breakup. During the Q&A portion after a recent special screening of the program’s pilot week, they were asked whether or not they were ready to take their relationship to the next level.Cristine said, “Ang aga pa,” while Marco replied with: “Oo naman! I will not waste my time in a relationship if I don’t see the other person as someone for the endgame. I’ve been single for years, and the press kept asking me why I still didn’t want to have a girlfriend. It was because I was waiting for the right person. I feel it’s Cristine.”
Marco and Cristine publicly admitted their relationship in June.
Helene eventually marries Cenon Aurelio (Cesar Montano), a rich and influential man, and who is also much older. The cast members were then asked if they consider age important in choosing their life partners. To this, Marco, who is turning 29 in August, said: “I prefer women who are older, maybe five years older.”
Emotionally ready
Cristine Reyes as Helene
Cristine, 34, answered with: “I’m OK (to date) younger men.” In trying to relate to the program’s theme, Cristine also said life would be so much better if one chooses not to dwell on the past. “If you do that, you will get stuck there and you will forever be miserable. Life must go on. You have to appreciate what you have and not dwell on what you don’t have,” she said.
Cristine has an 8-year-old daughter, Amarah, with ex-husband Ali Khatibi.
Meanwhile, Cesar, explained why he thought women are most often emotionally ready to commit to a romantic relationship compared to most men of the same age. “I’d rather go out with younger women. It’s true what they say about women getting emotionally mature faster than men. This is why they are already more responsible and ready to commit than men of the same age. Most young men still prefer to ‘play’ and have fun,” he said.
Cesar, whose marriage to actress Sunshine Cruz has already been annulled in 2018, added that, “I always prefer to dwell on beautiful past memories because that’s what makes a man look youthful. It’s best not to go to those gloomy places in your life, just to the sunshiny places. There’s sunshine every day. It all depends on whether you will appreciate it or not. I believe that it’s good to be thankful, no matter the situation.”
‘Very hopeful’
Cesar Montano as Cenon
Cesar is also “very hopeful” that he will eventually marry the woman he truly loves. The 60-year-old actor is currently with nonshow biz partner Kath Angeles. “Getting married is not a bad idea. It feels good to get married, especially when you’re single and are not legally committed to anyone. Personally, I pray for it,” he declared.
In the program, Cesar is part of a love triangle, as husband to the character of Cristine, who used to play his daughter in his last two films. “We got asked if we had to attend any workshop for this project. I said our movies, ‘Maid in Malacañang’ and ‘Martyr or Murderer’ became our workshop. I’m so glad we’ve already developed our chemistry there, even though what we had there was a father-daughter relationship,” he pointed out. “I already know her capacity as an actor. I know how to work with her. While the dynamics here are different, Cristine was able to switch very easily. She’s that good. In fact, I believe that she’ll become one of the most important actresses in this industry.”
Marco, meanwhile, said he was starstruck with Cristine when he first worked with her in “Tubig at Langis” in 2016. “We played siblings there. Now, seeing her acting as my girlfriend here, it’s impossible not to get carried away by emotions. I felt the same way with Sir Cesar,” added Marco. “Whenever we did our scenes together, I always felt the tension of two people competing to win Helene’s heart. That, I think, will be the element that will make viewers stick to the story.”
Extra effort
Scene from “Minsan Pa Nating Hagkan ang Nakaraan”
Marco said adjusting to working on TV was tough, especially since his last teleserye, “Los Bastardos,” aired back in 2019. “After that, I did some movies and short series. It’s a lot more demanding in terms of time and effort when you do a teleserye. You really have to be dedicated to it on- and off-cam, and even on your days off. It takes extra effort from an actor to really make a teleserye good and beautiful. I’m fortunate that we were well guided by our directors and the creative team,” he said.
For this series, particularly for its pilot week, Marco said the goal was to make the audience “annoyed with Rod” for leaving Helene. “Whenever you make projects, you try to learn what works and doesn’t when it comes to eliciting viewers’ reactions. Rod ghosted Helen. When he eventually comes back, the challenge would be to win back the love of both Helene and the audience,” he explained.
“Minsan pa Nating Hagkan ang Nakaraan,” produced by Sari Sari Network in partnership with Viva Entertainment, is a TV adaptation of a 1983 film by the late National Artist for Film Marilou Diaz-Abaya from a script written by Raquel Villavicencio. Codirected by Jerome Pobocan and Tots Marisal, it premiered on July 25 and will air Mondays to Fridays at 4:40 p.m. on TV5, with encore telecasts every day at 8 p.m. on Sari Sari Channel.