Carla Abellana —CARLA ABELLANA/FACEBOOK
Carla Abellana wouldn’t mind crossing paths with her ex-husband, Tom Rodriguez. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility. After all, show biz is a small world, and GMA 7, their home network, all the more so.
In a brief interview at a press conference for her new primetime series, “Widows’ War,” Carla said she will be ready should she find herself in such a situation. “Definitely, yes—emotionally, mentally, everything. Any time naman, reydi!” she told the Inquirer.
“It’s not like there’s preparation needed or anything. But if it happens, and if he’s right there in front of me, then you know…,” she said of Tom, who’s mounting an acting comeback, after a two-year hiatus.
Just a polite nod
But while the 38-year-old star sees herself being civil enough to acknowledge Tom, she probably wouldn’t give him anything more than a polite nod.
“I don’t see the need to greet him, do small talk or have a conversation with him. I’m not going to avoid or hide from him but I’m also not going to act as if we’re friends again,” she pointed out.
Working together, however, is an entirely different story.
“’Yun ang hindi pa talaga… I don’t think I will be ready to work with him anytime soon. I will respect his space, his work, his life. I have my own. It’s hard enough focusing on my own life and career,” said Carla, whose last show with Tom was the 2020 soap “Love of My Life.”
Divorce decree
After seven years of dating, the two Kapuso actors tied the knot in October 2021, only to announce their separation a few months after. In June 2022, Tom, an American citizen, flew to the United States to stay with his family and obtain a divorce decree in hopes of marriage dissolution.
Tom and Carla then filed for a recognition of foreign divorce at a Philippine court, a process that could be sought only if one of the two partners is a foreign citizen at the time of divorce.
In an interview on “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” last June, Carla revealed that their divorce decree is now recognized in the country. She didn’t go into detail, but did let on that she had “a lot of different processes to go through.”
“We’re divorced… we haven’t spoken since. We have yet to see each other. We don’t communicate anymore,” she said.
After everything she has been through, Carla said there was a point when she found it difficult to be happy and optimistic. She couldn’t bring herself to love life.
Now, after a long and tedious journey toward healing and forgiveness, Carla can now finally and confidently say she’s happy again.
“I surrendered everything to God, and by His grace, he brought me here,” she said. “Not that I didn’t put in the effort to rise up, move on and heal but if it weren’t for His grace, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Moving on
Carla still finds it hard to forget. The ordeal she faced wasn’t too long ago—the mind and the heart still remember. Thankfully, she has found it in her heart to forgive. “I have already let go of my anger. It’s gone. If you hold onto it, it will just ruin you and you won’t be able to move on,” she said.
Is she ready to love again? She’s not closing her doors on romance, but she’s not about to chase it either. “It’s not something I think about, what with all the work I have to do and the little time I have for myself and other personal matters,” she said. “Whatever happens… we will see where it takes me.” INQ