Jake Cuenca on romance with Chie Filomeno: ‘That chapter is over now’

Jake Cuenca broke his silence on the end of his relationship with Chie Filomeno, saying he is proud of himself for handling it like a man. 

The actor confirmed the end of their relationship when asked in an ambush interview with reporters on Tuesday, Oct. 7 how his heart has been doing. 

“I’m good… ang daming nangyayari, ang daming sinasabi ng mga tao but siguro I can officially say that that chapter of my life is over now. To be quite honest with you, I can at least say that I loved that person deeply,” he said, referring to Filomeno.

“For me, I respect that person, and I haven’t had a lot of time to process and accept everything. If you really love the person, you want them to have all the happiness in the world, and you want them to be happy,” he continued.

When asked if his relationship with Filomeno ended badly, Cuenca said there was “no breakup.”

“There wasn’t a breakup. There’s no breakup. Hindi wala na lang eh (I don’t want to say that it’s nothing), I love that person deeply. It was incredibly [worth my time], but that chapter is over now,” he said.

‘THAT CHAPTER OF MY LIFE IS OVER NOW’WATCH: Jake Cuenca confirmed the end of his relationship with Chie Filomeno in an ambush interview, saying that while “there’s no breakup,” he was able to handle the matter “like a man.” | @HMallorcaINQ pic.twitter.com/ugrQcudR89

— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) October 7, 2025

Since Cuenca has been busy with a lot of projects, such as “The Delivery Rider,” “Batang Quiapo,” and “What Lies Beneath,” he confessed that he “didn’t have a lot of time” to be himself throughout the entire ordeal. 

“A lot of great things are happening in my life right now… but the challenge these past few months is I didn’t have a lot of time to be Jake at all. And kahit mahirap… to go to work and be these characters, [which is] ibang iba sa personalidad ko. These past few months haven’t been easy. I am working six days a week, and there’s no time to be Jake,” he said.

“Kahit I’m not in the mood to do it, kahit mahirap and heartbroken [ako], I’m an actor. The thing that you’re seeing is a [result] of my 25-year-old career na pinaghirapan ko. Even if I’m down, I have to pick myself up because I have love for this career,” he further explained.

‘I won’t compare myself’

Filomeno earlier kept mum on the issue of their separation, but she curiously asked that businessman Matthew Lhuillier, scion of the wealthy and influential Lhuillier clan of Cebu, “be left out of the issue.”

Without mentioning Lhuillier’s name, Cuenca said he knows his own value as a person and does not see the need to compare himself to anyone. “I won’t compare myself to another person or another man, because I won’t judge men because of their riches.” 

“I judge men because of their character because ‘yun ang meron ako. In this career that I worked so hard for, I had to go the long way, which I’m very proud of. I’ve always been proud of that,” he continued. “You have to remind yourself of who you are. You have to remind yourself of your value in moments like this.”

The “Batang Quiapo” star further shared that he is proud of himself for “handling the situation like a man,” and that he doesn’t want to fuel the ongoing talks about his split with Filomeno.

“Hindi ko maikwento ang mga detalye (I won’t disclose too much of the details), but I’m proud of myself because I handled the situation like a man. I don’t wanna make it difficult,” he said. “I don’t wanna add anything, I don’t wanna add gasoline to the fire that’s already happening. I know I’m a public figure and my life has always been an open book. I’ve been in this situation before where I had a lot less and made it.”

Cuenca, who cites his mother as his support system, reiterated that he gave “a lot of importance” to his past romance with Filomeno.

“I really wanna show you guys na pinayagan ako ng ABS-CBN to do it because I worked hard for this. My mom is my support system, but this experience, I’ve gone through this alone and like a man. I really give a lot of importance to that relationship, even in the end… this is a better version of myself,” he said. /edv