Alessandra de Rossi: Marriage first, baby later

MANILA, Philippines — Alessandra de Rossi may look like your typical independent millennial, but she is turning out to be as conservative as she can be. At a time when women her age live in and bear children outside marriage, the actress wants to look the other way.

“I want a real family.  If the right guy comes along tomorrow, that’s fine. But I want marriage first. I don’t want to be a single mom. Ayoko ng maling proseso,” the star of the new rom-com “Kita Kita” said.

At 33, Alessandra knows her biological clock is ticking. But she will not let this force her to plunge into marriage when she is not yet ready.

Yes, she is open to settling down. But she will not rush things just because she wants a child she can call her own. Patience is one of her virtues.

She cites two cases in her life to prove her point.

“Ten years ago, I bought a TV set whose speaker exploded when I got home,” she recalls.  “I never called the store to have it repaired. I just went with the flow.”

She cites another case of delayed gratification, this time, over a van she wanted to buy.

“After ordering a black Hyundai Starex, I was told that it will take three to eight months for the car company to have one. I said that’s okay.”

Alessandra explains that if she can stay single for seven years, she can always wait for her dream vehicle to be available in a couple of months.

You will not hear her complain about the way things are. It has gotten to a point where her own mom got angry at Alessandra for not complaining about her credit card bill when it showed purchases she never made.

This laidback stance when it comes to material things is the reason why Alessandra prefers to have a manager to represent her, even if she can always get projects on her own.

She is not the type who will demand for a certain talent fee, even if she can very well do so. She needs a manager (in this case Cornerstone Entertainment’s Erickson Raymundo) to do this for her.

Cornerstone’s latest project for her is “Kita Kita,” which teams up Alessandra with an unlikely leading man – Empoy Marquez for the first time. 

Alessandra is beautiful; Empoy, ordinary looking. But she falls for the guy, whom she meets in Hokkaido, Japan, where they are both based. If you think the situation is unlikely, it is. 

The thing is, Alessandra is blind. She only ‘sees’ Empoy’s good heart. That’s how the Alempoy love team was born.

Unlike JaDine (James Reid and Nadine Lustre), LizQuen (Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil) and other love teams, Alempoy is far from glamorous.  Alessandra has that no makeup look. She does not have an OOTD (outfit of the day) to boast of.  Her hair remains the same from start to finish.

But she and director Joyce Bernal, Piolo Pascual and Erickson Raymundo (the people behind Spring Films, which produces the movie together with Viva Films),  think the film is more than your usual feel-good, light viewing fare.

It shares lessons about looking beyond the obvious and seeing the person’s soul.  It reminds you about the Little Prince’s words: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Alessandra, Empoy, director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo and the rest of the team know they are taking a risk by breaking away from tried-and-test storylines of formula films with star box-office royalty.

But they are willing to take the risk. Their hope is that moviegoers will appreciate their courage and give their film a chance when it opens nationwide on July 19.