"I used to cry buckets but I’m doing fine now. Everything is falling into place," Heart says.
Her career, which took a backseat when she was torn between her love for Jericho Rosales and her family, is now in full swing as she plays Carissa, a character once portrayed by Nanette Medved in the 1992 Joel Lamangan flick Hiram na Mukha. It was made for TV as part of ABS-CBN’s primetime dramaserye offering.
The dramaserye’s big impact on televiewers overwhelms Heart.
"Imagine wearing prosthetics so thick I could hardy breathe. That alone was exhausting but I can endure wearing it as long as it is needed," Heart says.
Patience, it seems, is now getting to be one of Heart’s more important virtues. With it comes independence, as Heart now lives in a Makati condo unit, 10 floors away from her sister Camille.
These days, life for the 22-year-old Heart is a far cry from what she has known as the youngest child of Reynaldo and Cecilia Ongpauco (of the Barrio Fiesta chain of restaurants).
"Before, all I knew was shopping, partying and Louis Vuitton. Now, I could mop the floor and fix my own things," Heart declares.
Sometimes, things have to get awry for you to know what’s right and wrong, what’s good and not. But that’s okay as long as one becomes a better person for it, like Heart.
She has started patching things up with her family after a year of staying out of touch with her parents.
"My mom (Cecilia) and I are okay. We see each other from time to time and talk. I made mistakes and I want to make up for all the things I’ve done," Heart declares.
Her dad is the most affected when she got involved with Jericho but as a loving daughter, Heart sends him text messages.
"It’s not just about Echo. I think they’re not yet ready to lose me as their baby," Heart says.
For now, Heart’s hands are full. After Hiram na Mukha, she is slated to be a part of a new musical variety show. She also starred in an indie film, Ay Ayeng, a heavy drama directed by Ed Palmos.
Since Heart has a soft spot for the needy, she devotes time for her humanitarian project called Heart Can. Conceived in partnership with the Shining Light Foundation and her management company, Manila Genesis, the project has seen Heart donating nebulizers to pediatric charity wards of PGH and the Lung Center.
Heart is also involved in the Philippine Animal Welfare Society, Inc. (PAWS), an organization that fights animal abuse.
Although she’s asthmatic, Heart has four dogs running around her condo unit. She herself cleans up their "unwelcome surprises" on the floor.
"But no cats please, I couldn’t really stand their hair," Heart pleads.
Today, Heart will share the stage with The APO and Nanette Inventor in a show at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom of the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The next day, she will perform at GW Lisner Theater in Washington D.C.
With things coming up roses for Heart, she surely can’t ask for more.