ANDI Eigenmann: “I went through a lot but I’m happy now.”
“It’s true what they say that after the rain comes the rainbow,” young actress Andi Eigenmann said with conviction.
Andi, who plays a lead role in the newest Kapamilya drama series “Kahit Puso’y Masugatan,” had to take a break from TV work last year when she gave birth to daughter Adrianna Gabrielle, or Eli.
“I’ve been hurt many times. I’ve been through a lot,” Andi said. “I’m happy now, especially because I’ve better opportunities. I’m grateful for this second chance and I’ll prove to my bosses that I deserve it.”
News about her pregnancy rocked show biz in June 2011. Andi, now 21, disclosed in an entry on her blog on posterous.com in September 2011 that young actor Albie Casiño was the father. Albie denied it and challenged Andi to a DNA test. Adrianna Gabrielle was born on Nov. 23.
More inspired
The daughter of character actors Mark Gil and Jaclyn Jose, Andi costars in the Kapamilya series with Iza Calzado, Gabby Concepcion and Jake Cuenca.
“People have been complimenting me,” Andi said. “They said my acting has acquired depth, that I have become better at sharing with viewers how my character feels. I can only say I’m really more inspired to work now.”
Asked to react to reports of Albie dating a new girl, Andi said: “Good for him! I don’t know how I can say it without people thinking that I’m still bitter, but I really don’t care anymore. I’ve long moved on. I had a boyfriend after him. Why would I be with someone else if I were still in love with him?”
She once admitted to dating the son of former President Joseph Estrada, Joseph Ejercito, who is now studying in London. “I don’t have a boyfriend now,” she stressed. “I’m single, but I get to talk to Jake once in a while. We still tell each other … things.”
Andi added that she is seeing a guy who is “a known personality, but not in show biz.”
No case
Andi also said she was unaware of the development in the assault case that Albie’s family threatened to file against four men accused of beating him up at a bar in Makati City in May. The young actor’s mom Rina claimed that Andi had slapped Albie, thrown wine at his face and ordered her male friends to gang up on him.
“There’s still no case filed, nor any discussions with any of the accused,” Andi said. “I don’t know what happened. I had no involvement in it, anyway.”
Would she be willing to let Eli meet her father someday? “First of all, I don’t think that will ever happen. But if it does, I’ll be happy for my daughter. Of course she deserves to meet her dad, to know the truth—I’m not going to lie to her. I’d do anything to protect her from the full impact when she eventually finds out what really happened between her parents.”
Party motif
As early as now, Andi said, she has decided on a carnival-themed first birthday party for Eli. “That’s because I don’t have a lot of friends with kids. I want them to bring their younger siblings instead, to enjoy the party with us. It will be like a circus or a fair. It will be a double celebration because Eli will be baptized that day.”
She said she hoped to get actors Coco Martin, Angel Locsin, Maja Salvador, Meagan Young, Divine Lee and ABS-CBN business unit head Deo Endrinal to be Eli’s godparents. “The list is not final yet … I also want all of my siblings to be godparents. I want 11 ninongs and 11 ninangs.”
If Albie turns up, Andi said, “I wouldn’t say no. Again I don’t think he’d have the nerve to do that. I also don’t think people there would appreciate him being around. The guests will, of course, be people who care about me and know what I went through with him. He might feel very uncomfortable.”
Embarrassing
Andi admitted that she herself didn’t know how to handle even a chance meeting with her ex. “Many friends have asked me that question. I said I’d ignore him. I didn’t expect to behave the way I did on our first meeting after I gave birth to Eli,” she said.
For the record, Andi said she did throw wine at Albie’s face but denied slapping him. “I promise, next time deadma na lang, unless he becomes really mean to me again. Honestly, it embarrasses me to have been associated with a guy like that.”
“Kahit Puso’y Masugatan,” directed by Wenn V. Deramas, airs in the Primetime Bida timeslot on ABS-CBN.
(E-mail: mcruz@inquirer.com.ph)