Ruffa and her phantom lover

RUFFA Gutierrez

DINALUPIHAN, Bataan—Ruffa Gutierrez has coined a pet name for Derek Ramsay, who was recently linked to her in the rumor mill.

“Derek is my invisible lover,” Ruffa quipped in front of the press on the set of the TV5 fantasy series “Enchanted Garden.”

She explained: “We’ve never gone out on a date. We’ve never even held hands. We hardly exchange text messages.”

She said she got to work with Derek only when they went on a promo tour for TV5 international in the United States. “I guess some people just got excited when they saw us together. It was as if we exchanged partners.”

Romance ‘rigodon’

Derek’s erstwhile girlfriend, Angelica Panganiban, is now said to be with Ruffa’s former boyfriend, John Lloyd Cruz.

Talk about a romance rigodon. She asserted, however: “Derek is just a friend.”

She’s still on a love sabbatical until next month, she insisted. Why November? “I’d have been single for a year by then,” she noted.

She basks in single-blessedness, she added. “I’m happy to be unattached for now. I have no stress in my life. I have no wrinkles on my face.”

Checklist

In any case, she has a checklist of qualities that she’s looking for in a future beau.

When she was younger, all she wanted was someone cute, she admitted.

“But as we mature, we look for other things.” She elaborated: “Aside from being tall, dark and handsome, my future partner should be a man of integrity. He should be self-sufficient, independent. He should have leadership qualities as well.”

Hmm. A politician?

She’s not averse to getting involved with a politico, she insisted. After all, her mother, talent manager Annabelle Rama, recently joined politics in their home province of Cebu.

She herself was once invited to run for office. “I’m not closing my doors, but I see myself more as a First Lady,” she said, giggling. “I don’t mind being the well-behaved wife of a politician.”

In the meantime, she is bracing herself for her mom’s campaign. “I think it’s a blessing in disguise that my mom went into politics. Now, she’s too busy to tweet and quarrel with intrigeras.”

Mom’s tutor

She revealed that her mom had secretly hired a tutor. “She takes daily four-hour lessons on good governance and public administration. If (boxer and Sarangani Representative) Manny Pacquiao can do it, why not my mom?”

On the show-biz front, Ruffa is pleased that she is now part of a wholesome fantasy series like “Enchanted Garden.” “I can let my kids watch it and I don’t have to worry about what they may pick up. Plus, it imparts valuable lessons on the environment.”

Although she walked away from the defunct chat-show “Paparazzi” because of its naughty, R-rated content, she would like to think that she’s now “okay” with the program’s former crew and hosts Cristy Fermin, Dolly Anne Carvajal and Mr. Fu.

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