Kaila Estrada shares love lessonsfrom mom Janice de Belen

MANILA, Philippines — While women have been generally conditioned to use the “wait-and-watch policy” no matter how attracted they are to the opposite sex, Kaila Estrada sees nothing wrong with a girl taking the lead and making the first move on a guy she likes.

“I don’t think there’s any problem if the girl is the first to admit. I mean, it shouldn’t really be a problem,” said Kaila during the virtual media call to drumbeat Love Bites Season 2, where she plays female lead in Closure, one of the eight episodes of the digital anthology series.

But the Kapamilya actress would like to make it clear that being the initiator is not her style when she is physically attracted to a guy.

“How do I behave when I like a guy? Mas hindi ako nagpaparamdam, mas tahimik ako.

Kaila with mom Janice de Belen (second from left) and siblings. – Photos from Actress' Instagram

“Para akong flustered na hindi mo ako makausap ng maayos (laughs).”

Kaila also even finds it hard to directly reject a guy for fear of hurting his feelings. She weighs things several times before making any final decision.

She said, “Usually, I say it when I’m so sure also because I like giving people a chance. And you’ll never know right away if, eventually, maka-develop ka ng feelings.

“Pero kung alam ko na sa sarili ko na hindi talaga, sasabihin ko, pero very rarely in person.

“I couldn’t tell it in person because I’m afraid of hurting (the guy’s) feelings.”

The 27-year-old has already known the feeling of loving someone and of being loved as well. In fact, she readily shared her views on the matter when asked about the worst thing she did for love.

“I feel like the worst thing you can do when loving someone is to forget yourself,” she declared.

“I feel like you need to learn how to love yourself also kasi hindi mo mabibigay ‘yung love na gusto mo, hindi magiging healthy ‘yung love na mabibigay mo kung hindi mo uunahin ang sarili mo.”

She continued, “And I don’t think you should forget about yourself when you’re loving somebody healthily. Love is a choice.

“Sometimes, things don’t work out because you choose to love yourself first and I think that’s very important.”

Kaila, too, shared what she has learned from her mom Janice de Belen when it comes to love.

“My mom taught me to choose myself and I’ll be forever grateful to her for teaching me that because I really do think it is important.

“Of course, you have to take care of yourself, and loving yourself will teach you how to love somebody else better also,” she furthered.

Kaila is the third of four children of Janice and John Estrada, whose marriage was annulled in 2004.

(Directed by Raz dela Torre and Kevin Alambra, Love Bites Season 2 will stream every Friday, 6 p.m., beginning April 28 on ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube Channel.)