Pops confirms break-up with French boyfriend

FLASH: Could it be true that Ely Buendia has left the Eraserheads? How come? Is he deadset on going solo (having just come up with a solo album recently)? Or is there a deeper reason for his leaving the group that propelled him to where he is now? Tell us the real score, Ely, will you?

* * *

A few issues back, Funfare bannered the break-up of Pops Fernandez and her French-Filipino boyfriend Jacques Dupasquier after seven months of a blissful romance that has been feasted on by the movie press.

The stories (the one in Funfare included) mentioned that Jacques has been seen these past days with another girl with whom he appeared to be, ehem, lovey-dovey, making people (especially showbiz-watchers) suspect that Pops was "junked" by Jacques for somebody else.

"The truth," said Pops during a brief phone chat with Funfare, "is that Jacques and I broke up a month ago. I just didn’t announce it because Jacques naman is not from showbiz, even if his name has been cropping up in movie columns. So he’s free in the same way that I am."

No hard feelings, though.

"Jacques has been nice to me," stressed Pops. "We are still friends. He treated and he continues to treat me well. No, we didn’t fight. It was a friendly kind of breaking up. Walang sumbatan, walang sigawan. It was very amicable."

Asked why, Pops opted to keep mum. But a Funfare DPA said that Pops realized that she wasn’t ready for another serious relationship. No, there was no party involved (unlike in the cases of Joey Marquez and Alma Moreno, and Jomari Yllana and Aiko Melendez; both husbands suspected their wives of having "gone astray.")

Meanwhile, Pops being chummy-chummy with Piolo Pascual is purely, well, for friendship’s sake. Even if Pops holds hands with Piolo or rests her head on his shoulder in public, it doesn’t have any romantic meaning at all, believe me. Being a true friend, Piolo is there simply to console Pops. Nothing more, nothing less.

Ruffa’s kid brother now with GMA 7

Good luck to Richard Gutierrez, Ruffa’s little brother, 18, who has just signed a two-year build-up contract with GMA 7 which is launching him as a new member of the TV show Click first week of April, along with six other new faces including Bryan Revilla (son of Bong Revilla and Lani Mercado) and Jeffrey (son of Gina Alajar and Michael de Mesa).

Richard graduated last Saturday from the De La Salle Zobel High School while his twin brother, Raymond, is also graduating in June from the Beverly Hills High School in L.A. Both twins did a few movies when they were toddlers (launched by Carlo Caparas and Donna Villa in their Golden Lions Films’ Takbo, Bilis, Takbo!).

But unlike Richard, Raymond shuns showbiz. He worked for a while at a store on Rodeo Drive, also in Beverly Hills, a few blocks away from the Gutierrezes’ L.A. townhouse.

Jaclyn a winner twice over

Congratulations to Jaclyn Jose who has been named Best Actress for two different films by two different award-giving bodies (no, not the long-existing ones like the Star Awards which cited Jaclyn just the same during its recent awards).

Jaclyn won for the "small" film Minsan May Isang Puso (directed by Joey Javier Reyes, declared Best Director) in the 12th Annual Circle Citations (For Distinguished Achievement in Film For 2001) conferred recently at the Faculty Center Conference Hall of UP; and for Tuhog at the fourth Gawad Sining-Sine of the Pampelikulang Samahan ng Mga Dalubguro (PASADO) last March 16 at De La Salle University.

"I’m honored, I’m flattered," said Jaclyn who has broken a self-imposed hiatus (during which she gave birth) by accepting a role in the GMA 7 soap Sana ay Ikaw na Nga as the martyr mother of Tanya Garcia.

"May pag-asa pa," gushed Jaclyn (about the awards). "May pag-asa pa tayo!"