MANILA, Philippines — Many young stars, once they got a taste of fame and fortune, opt to move out of their parents’ domain and live independently. There’s really nothing wrong with that. The stars get to enjoy their independence and the fruits of their labor.
Twenty-three-year-old actress Heaven Peralejo, however, still prefers to live with her mom, Shiela Luane, whom she considers her “best friend.” She brings her mom to most of her showbiz functions and events, and even to her out-of-town shoots.
In the Boracay shoot of Viva’s newest romantic-comedy series, The Rain in España, where Heaven is paired with Marco Gallo, the actress was accompanied by her mom. The latter gamely joined the cast in their nights out.
“She got me drunk,” the mom smilingly complained.
It’s easy for Heaven and her mom to get along since they are always together. The mom had Heaven when the former was only 20 years old. So, their age gap is not too wide. She has a younger brother who also lives with them. Her father is Myk Manarang.
“My mom and trust each other, although we also fight,” Heaven disclosed. “As you get older, you will see the decisions that your mom makes will not deprive you of anything. It’s really to protect you so you will not ger hurt.”
Heaven’s mom also acts now as her manager and she even feels better about it. “The world I am in, it can get really painful at times,” she allowed. “If I can give the world to my mom, I will. That’s how much I really love her.”
Heaven officially joined Viva during The Rain in España when they started shooting in November last year. “Most of the cast members are also with Viva, so when we started shooting, everyone was really friendly,” she said.
“Everything happens for a reason. Six years ago, we never thought that our partnership would happen now and we would work in this series. There was no one who had a star complex.
“No one was above anyone else. When they welcomed me into Viva, I felt I had a safe space. There was love everywhere. I am well taken cared of in Viva.”
Heaven didn’t expect her first series to be well-received and readily popular among viewers in the streaming platform (Viva One).
“I’m not the type who expects so I will not easily get hurt,” disclosed Heaven. “I just did my best, we did our best. I’m just really happy the public received our series well.”
The Rain in España is a popular Wattpad novel by Gwy Saludes with 131 million reads. It has been turned into a 10-episode, 45-minute rom-com series that has a story which spans almost a decade.
Directed by Theodore Boborol, the tender and heart-warming romance revolves around two ambitious undergraduate students — Luna, an architecture major at UST and Kalix, a legal management student at Ateneo.
The two fall madly in love against the pressures of studies, family and future plans. Their young love leads them to heartbreak and frustrations that affected their personal lives. After almost ten years, their lives intersect again as young professionals.
Heaven is indeed grateful that she gets to play UST architecture student Luna in The Rain in España opposite Marco. “What the readers imagine Luna to be, we did not change her a bit. They will get that in me playing Luna.
“She’s not the typical demure girl and she’s an achiever. I’m really happy with all my cast-mates, my director and my writer. I’m really thankful.”
Six years ago, when Heaven and Marco were first seen by viewers as teen housemates in Pinoy Big Brother. “We were both super young then,” Heaven acknowledged. “When we meet again for the The Rain in España, he looked really different. He is really manly. I’m so happy for him that he’s so passionate with his work, with his craft and the people he works with.”