Carla Abellana ‘ready’ to face ex Tom Rodriguez should they cross paths

Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez. Image: Instagram/@teampatdy, @nelwinuyphoto and @chissai

Carla Abellana said she is now ready should she come face-to-face with her ex-husband, Tom Rodriguez, who just recently returned to the Philippines.

In an interview on 24 Oras, Abellana said she doesn’t feel “intimidated, scared, or nervous” to face Rodriguez, although she admitted that she had no idea about the latter’s return to the country.

“I didn’t even know. Ngayon ko lang nalaman (I just found out about it now),” she said in response to Canlas, although the latter didn’t mention her ex’s name. “I don’t feel intimidated, scared, or nervous. Wala namang gan’un (There’s no such thing).”

The actress said she always considered Rodriguez’s return to the Philippines as an inevitability, citing his “obligation” to his job as an actor.

“Artista siya. May obligation siya. He’s a Kapuso. Dadating naman talaga ‘yung day na babalik siya sa trabaho, hindi mo maiiwasan ‘yan. I thought about [that possibility] many times. You just don’t know when,” she said.

“Okay lang, ready naman ako. Hindi naman ako ‘yung type na ayoko or avoidant or what. It’s inevitable,” she further added.

(He’s an actor. He has obligations. He’s a Kapuso. There would come a time that he would come back to work, you can’t avoid that. I thought about that possibility many times. You just don’t know when. It’s okay. I’m ready. I’m not the type who doesn’t want to see him, or is avoidant, or what. It’s inevitable.)

Rodriguez’s return was made known by his manager, film producer Popoy Caritativo when he posted on Instagram about their meeting in Mandaluyong last Jan. 27.

Abellana and Rodriguez tied the knot in October 2021 after several years as a couple. Their marriage, however, lasted only three months. Rodriguez then went back to the US and filed for a divorce.

In 2023, the actress filed a petition for the Philippines to recognize their divorce since it’s not legal in the country.