(From left) Jak Roberto, Barbie Forteza, David Licauco. Images: Screengrab from YouTube/GMA Network, Twitter/@dealwithBARBIE
Staying faithful to his character as “professor of anti-silos,” Jak Roberto on Monday insisted that he is not jealous of the love team between his girlfriend Barbie Forteza and fellow Kapuso actor David Licauco, but said he is sad for some fans who appeared to be taking their pairing seriously.
Roberto earned the moniker “Prof” for his knack for being the understanding boyfriend to Forteza, who is now being paired by their network with Licauco owing to their onscreen chemistry in the widely successful histo-serye, “Maria Clara at Ibarra.” His laid-back attitude towards relationships as well as his one-line advice to couples on the brink of breakup became viral memes on social media.
During a “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” interview, Roberto said he is fully supportive of the “BarDa” love team, saying that it is part of their job as actors to perform sweet gestures for the audience.
“Hindi po ako nagseselos. Mula’t mula po,” he stated. “Pati rin si Barbie po, hindi rin. Nagkataon na parehas kaming artista and I think kung non-showbiz ‘yung magiging ka-relasyon namin, hindi magkakaintindihan talaga. So para sa’min, naintindihan namin ‘yung work namin.”
(I’m not jealous, even from the start. Even Barbie Forteza is not the jealous type. It just so happened that we’re both actors. I think if we would end up with non-showbiz partners, they wouldn’t understand. So for us, we understand our jobs.)
The Kapuso hunk, however, admitted that he’s “disappointed” at those who would take Forteza’s onscreen partnership too seriously, when asked about certain fans who wanted the latter to end up with Licauco in real life.
“Pero sa set-up na kinagat sina David at Barbie. May mga tao at fans who continue to ship [them], kahit konti, hindi ka napipikon (But with David and Barbie’s set-up, there are fans who would ship them. You were never annoyed with them)?” Abunda asked.
“Actually, nalulungkot ako sa Filipino mindset natin [tungkol sa love teams] na siyempre, hindi mo naman masisisi, kahit naman ako, maging fan ng isang artista, talagang magiging gan’un ‘yung pakiramdam ko. [Pero] may comments na pinepersonal na. May mga nagsasabi ng ‘di magagandang salita,” he said in response.
“Pero as an artista at alam ko ang ginagalawan kong mundo, naiintindihan ko lahat ‘yun. Nalulungkot lang ako sa iba. Sana maintindihan nila kung ano ‘yung personal at trabaho,” he continued.
(I’m actually disappointed with the Filipino mindset about love teams. Of course, you can’t blame fans for being that way — I would probably feel that way. But there are some commenters who take their pairing too seriously, some would even say negative things. But as an actor who knows the world he’s in, I understand them. I just feel sad for them. I hope they would understand the difference between someone’s personal life and career.)
Roberto further said that he and Forteza give each other the leeway to do as they please as actors, although he stressed the importance of “trust” to make their relationship work.
“Wala po kaming pakialaman sa trabaho. Parehas kaming actor. Pagdating sa trabaho, trabaho. Pagdating sa love life, love life,” he said. “Mahalaga ‘yung trust kasi alam namin sa isa’t isa na trabaho lang ‘yun. As long as nagtitiwala kami sa isa’t isa na trabaho lang siya, wala naman nagiging problema.”
(We don’t meddle with each other’s jobs. We’re both actors. When it comes to work, it’s work. When it comes to love life, it’s love life. Trust is important because we know that it’s just work at the end of the day. As long as we maintain that trust for each other, there shouldn’t be any problem.)
Abunda then asked the actor if he ever became jealous of those who approach Forteza with romantic intentions, to which he said it never really happened during the entirety of their six-year romance.
“Hindi talaga eh. Kaya siguro nagkataon na naging professor ako ng ‘anti-silos’ class (Not really. Perhaps this is the reason why I became a professor of an ‘anti-jealousy’ class),” he replied, which made the host laugh.
Roberto also revealed that he and Forteza discussed marriage at some point in their relationship, but clarified that they still have their own priorities at this time.
“May mga times, pero biruan pa lang namin [‘yung usapang kasal] kasi may kanya-kanya pa kaming priorities. Siya rin, iba ‘yung passion niya sa trabahong ‘to. Sobrang wild pa ‘yung imagination niya na aabutin niya ‘yung career ni Tita Gloria Romero, gan’un po ang mindset niya. Gan’un niya ka-love ang pag-arte,” he said.
(There are times wherein we would talk about marriage, but merely as a joke because we have our own priorities. Barbie is passionate about her career. She even imagines herself lasting as long as Tita Gloria Romero — that’s her mindset. That’s how she loves acting.)
Roberto’s revelation comes days after holding an in-person “anti-silos class” at Jose Rizal University in Mandaluyong, which appeared to be part of Sparkle GMA’s talent recruitment program.
In a separate interview, Forteza expressed her gratitude to the actor for being “supportive” of her love team with Licauco, saying she “appreciates” him being “mature” about their supposed love triangle being put on the spotlight. EDV