MANILA, Philippines — Dina Bonnevie confirmed that she was referring to Alex Gonzaga in a 2018 interview, but she stressed that she and Alex had already settled the issue 12 years ago.
In fact, they had cried over it after she spilled her heart out to the actress whom she said she was upfront with due to Alex's tardiness on the set of their 2011 TV5 drama "P.S. I Love You."
She also added that at the end of the show, she noticed the change in Alex's working habit, and that they were okay in the next few years until she was randomly asked in a 2018 presscon if she had ever encountered a prima donna experience on the set.
In today's episode of "Fast Talk With Boy Abunda," the seasoned actress talked about the incident.
"Yes, it was Alex Gonzaga. But let me explain. That happened 12 years ago. We were doing a teleserye then and it didn't come out without reason.
"I mean we were working together kaya lang kasi it didn't happen once. It happened once, twice, thrice so hindi lang naman ako. There were co-workers who were getting irked about sa working habit niya or, you know, they way she was working with us. So napag-usapan na ako ang spokesperson," Dina revealed.
Boy clarified if she was referring to herself as the one appointed by the cast to talk to Alex.
What happened on set
"Si Gabby (Concepcion). Tuloy nabanggit ko na. Si Gabby, Cheska, Inigo, Nadine Lustre. We were all together and nobody had the strength or the audacity to come up to her and talk to her. So okay. Ako ang magiging spokesperson," she confirmed.
She played the mother of Alex in the TV sequel of the 1981 movie with the same name that starred Gabby and Sharon Cuneta.
Dina denied the allegation that she shouted at Alex. Instead, she was trying to stay calm while speaking to the actress.
"Hindi rin totoo na pinagsigawan ko mula ulo hanggang paa kasi 'yung setting namin nasa may simbahan. It was somewhere in Antipolo. May chapel there and then parang may rotonda dito. So that morning, late na naman siya. So nagpipigil na kami nu'n. So umuusok na sila. 'Am gonna walk out of this set if you don't tell her. You better tell her off, D. 'Di ko na kaya.' Ganyan, ganyan, ganyan.'
"Ako ba? O sige, ako lang naman ang may lakas ng loob. So wala pa akong sinabi hanggang sa lunch break, umalis na naman siya. 'Pag alis niya, basa 'yung buhok, walang makeup. So we had to wait na naman for another three hours bago makapag-take," Dina recalled.
This was the turning point on that fateful day. It came to a point that she was frank about her co-star's acting skills.
"Ako naman sabi ko, kasi may eksena na dapat iiyak siya. Eh parang mommy niya ako noon. Hindi siya makaiyak. Sabi ko, 'Alex you know why you cannot cry? Because you're not in touch with your emotions. You're very indifferent to your co-workers. You know, honestly, I want to talk to you kasi we don't like what you're doing. You're always late'," Dina shared.
Alex reasoned out that she has a busy schedule and asked for them to understand her. Dina recalled how Alex talked to her and it prompted her next reaction.
"Sabi ko, hindi pa pinapanganak ang babastos sa akin, Alex, please. Kinakausap kita ng maayos. If you wanna stay long in this business, you cannot last kung ganyan ang attitude mo, na palagi kang late. Dito ka pa maliligo sa set and you cannot even memorize your lines. Hindi ka makaiyak," Dina revealed.
Related: WATCH: Alex Gonzaga allegedly loses projects following cake-smearing issue
She also mentioned how Alex at one time was irked at Nadine Lustre in one of their scenes.
"And then nagagalit siya kay Nadine kung nauunang umiyak si Nadine. Eksena niya daw 'yun," she revealed.
Dina said that she told Alex that she was telling her those things because she wanted her to be successful and last long in showbiz.
Their talk ended amicably with them crying. The next few days, Alex's mom, Pinty, came to explain for Alex's side.
"Parang she talked to the director. Kinausap niya na maraming ganap ang anak niya. Maraming tanggap ng trabaho pero syempre point namin, sige sikat siya, maraming binibigay sa kanya 'yung 5, but this is your responsbility to your co-workers," Dina said.
Not angry
The seasoned actress reiterated that she is not angry with Alex and for her, the issue was already settled years ago, right after their talk.
She even guested in the noontime show where Alex was a co-host. It wasn't until the presscon were she was asked and she replied without naming anybody.
Dina was irked, though, when Alex's podcast came out last December. The vlogger-actress said she was yelled at by an old actor, and it traumatized her.
"Doon ako nainis. Painting you as the bad guy, inventing stories to make you look bad. But I wasn't inventing stories. That's past. It's changed.
"'Yung mga tao sabi sagutin mo. Ang bastos. Tinawag kang matanda. Actually, hindi ako na-offend na tinawag akong matanda. It's true. Matanda na ako. I'm 61 but I'd like to see people at 61 if they're still looking fresh. Sorry, Boy. But I feel fresh and I think I look fresh," Dina said.
She also addressed the cake-smearing issue, where social media users thought she alluded to Alex's controversial cake incident with a waiter during the actress' recent 35th birthday.
"'Yung cake issue naman na 'yun. 'Yung mga tao nanunukso. Sabi ko, no, no, no, no. I won't put cake on your face but not to do something. Parang joke na lang 'yun. It was a joke. But I didn't intend to hurt. If I hurt Alex's feelings because na-post 'yun, sorry, pero it was a joke. Wala. We were just having fun noong birthday ko," Dina said. — Video from GMA Network YouTube channel
WATCH: Dina Bonnevie recalls incident with Alex Gonzaga
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