Matteo still mum about Jessy issue

LOVEBIRDS? Guidicelli says: “I’m focused on work.”

Earlier this month, Matteo Guidicelli and rumored girlfriend Jessy Mendiola were spotted holding hands at the SM Mall of Asia while watching the Manila Speed Show, which featured Filipino-Swiss racer Marlon Stockinger and the Lotus F1 Team.

So, when show biz writers got the chance to talk to Matteo recently, they wasted no time in bugging the Kapamilya actor about the real score between him and Jessy. But Matteo, a former kart racer himself, was more interested in talking about the sport than his love life.

We watched and listened in amusement as Matteo successfully deflected every Jessy-related query, giggled and redirected the conversation to either racing or his work at the press con for his kiddie show “Promil Pre-School I-Shine Talent Camp 2,” which he will cohost with Dimples Romana and Xian Lim.

Take this one for instance. When asked about the online photos of the rumored couple holding hands, the actor said: “Oo naman… Marlon is my good friend. He made the Lotus F1 team. It’s a big thing! It was our dream back when we were younger. But I changed course; I went to show biz.”

But what about the sighting with Jessy? “I took her there… She had to see F1 and everything… She didn’t know that the race car engine could be so loud.”

Love life

Not about to go home without a juicy sound bite, a determined reporter prodded, “How’s your love life?” “Puno naman—puno sa trabaho,” Matteo replied, laughing. “I guess I’m just focused on my work.”

We didn’t walk away from the press con completely empty-handed though. Toward the interview’s end, we did get an earth-shattering, never-before-heard quote. “We’re good friends,” Matteo said, when asked how he maintains communication with Jessy despite doing different TV projects at the moment. (They were paired in the recently concluded drama series “Paraiso.”)

“We’re never going to lose the relationship we built when we did “Paraiso,” Matteo added. “Basta we promised each other to keep in touch.”

And they sure do based on the online photos.

Meanwhile, Matteo said he would be hosting the coming reality show “The Biggest Loser: Doubles” with Iza Calzado and Robbie Domingo. He also related that he’s currently shooting an indie film that tackles organ trafficking. “It’s advocacy to stop the practice,” he said.

“I-Shine,” which airs every Saturday starting June 8, aims to discover the most talented pre-school kids around the country, and hone their talents in singing, dancing and acting.