Jackie has learned her lesson

MANILA, Philippines - Once upon a time, there lived a StarStruck winner whose angelic face didn’t match her rebel ways. The word pasaway seemed tailor-made for her.

So she incurred the wrath of industry people and sent tongues wagging.

Those were the days, Jackie Rice admits. She was young (15) and didn’t know any better. But three years have passed. As Jackie says she has grown older and much wiser.

“Do you see me going out on gimmicks?” she asks.

Yes, Jackie has mellowed. She’s into healthy living: Gym workouts, healthy eating, etc. She doesn’t drink like a fish any longer. After she broke up with Biboy Ramirez, she has bid her love life goodbye, for now. 

“When I love, I give my all,” she relates.

That phase in her life is over, at least for now. Her schedule revolves around work and work alone these days.

She plays Maxene Magalona’s younger sister in GMA 7’s Kung Aagawin Mo Ang Lahat Sa Akin. Jackie is thrilled to star with Manny Pacquiao in the indie film Sa Ngalan ng Busabos.

Never has Jackie made men’s eyes pop, however, than now, when she graces the cover of this month’s Maxim magazine. Jackie, black swimsuit in sharp contrast with her flawless skin, lures men to take a closer look at her in several pages of the men’s magazine.

Her parents were surprised and Jackie herself admits she felt butterflies in her stomach. 

“I had to think long and hard about it because I didn’t want to regret my decision,” she recalls. The more she thought about it, the more Jackie realized she’s 19 and a big girl now.

She’s ready for more mature, grown-up roles that will test her acting talents to the max. And she wants the likes of Kim Chiu, Gerald Anderson, Rafael Rosell, Piolo Pascual, Maja Salvador and Shaina Magdayao to be right there with her in her next projects.

Jackie knows she will win some, lose some.

“I can’t please everybody,” she reasons out.

So Jackie accepted Maxim’s standing offer in time for its third anniversary.