Rayver Cruz on GF Julie Anne San Jose: For me, she is perfect

Rayver Cruz (right) with Julie Anne San Jose —RAYVER CRUZ/ FACEBOOK

Because his new primetime drama series is called “Asawa ng Asawa Ko,” Rayver Cruz went to a recent press conference expecting that he would be asked if he has ever called his girlfriend, Julie Anne San Jose, his “asawa,” and whether or not marriage is already in the cards for the couple.

He was right.

“It’s funny because I knew that everyone would ask me about those things! I can’t call her ‘asawa’ because we’re not yet married. If you ask me when we will get married, all I can say is that I want to surprise Julie. She has to be caught off guard. Kasi baka mauna pa kayong makaalam!” he said, laughing, in a group interview.

“In God’s perfect time,” he said.

The 34-year-old actor can’t deny, however, that the idea of marriage crosses his and Julie Anne’s minds once in a while.

“It’s something we talk about sometimes. First of all, I’m already 34. I’m not getting any younger. That’s where things are headed. You know how much I love her,” said Rayver, who described their relationship as being on a “different level.”

What made Rayver feel that Julie Anne is “the one” for her. “It’s hard to explain. It’s something that you will just know. And I know. I know it’s her,” he said. “It’s Julie whom I want to be with forever.”

For Rayver, Julie Anne is “perfect.” “She’s lovable, genuine, malambing and kindhearted. She’s a good daughter and a good sister. I’m lucky that she chose to love me,” he said of her girlfriend, whom he also credited for unlocking new interests and skills he thought he never had. “I started to love music more because of her, especially through our production numbers (in ‘All-Out Sundays’). She nurtured my potential in singing. Now I play instruments, too. Those are things I couldn’t do,” he said.

Pet peeve

Rayver and Julie Ann haven’t had any serious fights or misunderstandings so far. But the actor did let on what Julie Anne’s initial pet peeve about him was: He’s slow to reply to text messages.

“I don’t always have my phone in hand. In fact, I would often miss four, five calls from Rodjun (his elder brother). I’m just slow to reply to everyone. Hindi ako ma-cell phone na tao. Just simple things like that. No fights for anything like that,” he said, adding that the recent spate of celebrity breakups doesn’t really affect him and Julie Anne.

“We don’t let negative thoughts affect us … we don’t entertain them. Your relationship will be strong if you put God at its center,” he said.

And should the two Kapuso stars finally find the right time for marriage, Rayver said that—as a more “traditional” guy—a church wedding is what he has in mind. But he doesn’t want to look too far ahead.

“We can’t plan these things at an early stage, because there will be changes along the way. It’s better to just plan the specifics when the time comes. We both have the same family values, which is why I think we’re truly meant for each other,” said Rayver.

He also sees himself having a family with Julie Anne in the future. “Of course, [I would like to be a father]. I always have fun times with my nephew. Eventually, years from now, I would like to have a family of my own,” he said.

How many kids does he have in mind? “Whatever God gives us … Kung gaano karaming savings!” he joked.

In “Asawa ng Asawa Ko,” which started airing last Jan. 15, Rayver plays Jordan, a man whose life suddenly falls apart after his wife, Cristy (Jasmine Curtis-Smith), gets abducted by a rebel group called the “Kalasag.” No trace of Cristy is found. But one day, the authorities present Jordan with a box containing Cristy’s severed finger, which supposedly proves her death. Devastated, Jordan finds comfort in his friend Shaira (Liezl Lopez). Their relationship eventually blooms, and they end up starting their own family. But unknown to him, Cristy is alive and, all along, has been hatching a plan to escape from her kidnappers. She succeeds only to find out that her husband is now happy with his new family.

Jasmine Curtis-Smith

Love for acting

It’s Rayver’s first time working with Jasmine, and the experience, he said, was a breeze. “There was chemistry. Jasmine had noticed that I’m a bubbly and happy person. She’s right. And so, the challenge for me was to really feel what my character went through. It’s no joke, what he had to face. I had to prepare and dig deep,” he said. “It’s hard for me to be vulnerable and deep on the set.”

While Rayver is known more as a dancer-performer, he does love acting and wants to do it to the best of his ability. And the soap’s director, veteran actress and filmmaker Laurice Guillen, had the right words to fire up Rayver’s motivation. “She wanted to stretch me as an actor. She told me, ‘You have been at a crossroads. Do you want to be known forever as the Rayver Cruz who’s good at dancing and entertaining? Or do you want to be a serious actor, too?’ And I told her straight that I want to be known as an actor,’” Rayver related.

He particularly appreciates Direk Laurice’s patience and ability to make him more open. “When she’s talking to me, I open up … I feel like I’m diving into the scene,” said Rayver, who had to unlearn some of his acting habits and tendencies for his character.

“I enjoy the feeling of being a beginner, of a student of the craft,” he said. “Everything I knew, I had to unlearn because the show called for something different.”