Julia Montes on cheating in relationship: ‘Wala namang perfect’

Julia Montes. Image: screengrab from YouTube/ABS-CBN Entertainment

Julia Montes aired her opinion on cheating in a relationship, saying she believes there are certain instances where one can still forgive a partner who cheated.

Montes said this during her interview with her “Five Break-ups and a Romance” co-star Alden Richards on the morning talk show “Magandang Buhay” on Monday, Oct. 16.

The actors were given relationship situations which they would label as “romance” if they think it’s something that can still be fixed, and “breakup” if they believe it can no longer be resolved.

When the show hosts asked whether “cheating” is a “romance” or “breakup” for the two actors, Richards answered “breakup” while Montes said that her stance is in the middle of “romance” and “breakup.”

“Mag-e-explain ako, wait… Kasi, wala namang perfect e,” the actress said. “Aminin natin, in a relationship, merong isa or minsan—’di ko naman nilalahat—dalawa kayong nagkamali for a time. Pero hindi naman necessarily [na] ‘pag nagkamali sa’yo [ay] hihiwalayan mo na agad.”

(Wait, I’ll explain… Because no one is perfect. Let’s admit it, in a relationship, one or—at times—both persons commit mistakes for a time. That does not necessarily mean that you should immediately break up with your partner.)

“Minsan, baka rin pwede kang magtanong na nung time ba na nangyari ‘yon, may pagkukulang ka ba kaya nangyari ‘yon,” he continued. (Sometimes, you may also ask yourself if you had shortcomings that resulted in your partner [committing a mistake].)

Montes then clarified that this approach doesn’t apply if the partner already cheated several times and if the other partner knows that he/she has no shortcomings in their relationship.

“Pero kung wala [kang pagkukulang], do’n ka magtanong sa sarili mo na, ‘Ah, teka lang,’ do’n naman mag-iiba ‘yung kwento,” Montes added. (But if you know that you have no shortcomings, then that changes the narrative.)

“So parang feeling ko, cheating—’pag ilang beses na, too much. Pero ‘pag ‘yung nagkamali, nadapa—ako ang mindset ko lang—’pag nadapa ba ang isang tao, sino ang gusto mong magtayo sa kanya? Ibang tao na, ibang babae na, o ikaw pa rin na partner [niya]?” she said.

(I think, when the cheating happened several times, it’s already too much. But when one merely made a mistake, my mindset is that—if your partner stumbled and fell, who would you want to help him? Another woman or you?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n311dZweBQE&t=3s

Richards, who was in awe of Montes’ take on the matter, then pointed out that he answered “breakup” because people in a relationship should honor their commitment to each other.

At the same time, the actor said he agrees with Montes that one should still extend “help” to their partner even if the latter committed a mistake, so that the former would have “no regrets” because they have done everything to save the relationship.

Montes is currently in a relationship with actor Coco Martin. The couple, whose romance was confirmed last May, didn’t disclose when their relationship started but the actor said they have been “together” for 12 years.  /ra