MANILA, Philippines — Maris Racal stressed that she was “in the dark” and was “clueless” about the true status of exes Anthony Jennings and Jamela "Jam" Villanueva in a lengthy 14-minute exclusive video by ABS-CBN.
At around noon today, ABS-CBN initially released a teaser of the video and within minutes, uploaded the entire 14-minute video of the actress recalling her July split with Rivermaya frontman Rico Blanco and the developing feelings for her co-star in the shows “Can’t Buy Me Love” and the upcoming action drama “Incognito.”
She started by recalling her confirmation of her split with Rico that transpired in July, where she said that Anthony was out of the picture.
“I was in a very dark place who's lonely and it was getting attention from Anthony, the kind of attention that I needed. When I sensed that there was this brewing attraction between Anthony and I, nadala ako sa emotions ko and I knew that it was wrong. I came clean right away.
“I told my ex (Rico) everything and I admitted things to him and then we broke up. It wasn't easy,” Maris began her exclusive interview with ABS-CBN.
It was hard for her to announce the breakup, the actress said.
“The reason why I became so, so emotional during the interview was because I was holding back a truth. ‘Yun ang totoo. I wasn't really able to simmer down. I wasn't able to reflect on what had happened,” she admitted.
She revealed that she immersed herself with work and that before they started working on their new project, she told Anthony that she and Rico had split. She was lonely and vulnerable, and admitted that in the every day that she was working with Anthony, she developed feelings for him.
“Like everybody, na kaka-break lang, you would be so vulnerable. I was working every day until lahat ng trabaho na ‘yun, kasama ko si Anthony. Aaminin ko, sa araw-araw na pagta-trabaho namin, nahulog din ‘yung loob ko,” Maris said.
Maris said that Anthony was sweet and a gentleman to her. He would say things to her on their set in front of other people.
“He would tell all the people who were close to me that he was single. So I was confident to act a certain way around him on the set because in the eyes of the people there, we were both single,” she said.
Italy, IG stories
She and Anthony, along with their “Incognito” co-stars Richard Gutierrez, Kaila Estrada and Daniel Padilla, flew to Italy to shoot last September.
Maris admitted it was at this point that they got to know each other more “deeply.”
“Doon nag-start naging deep 'yung pagkakakilala namin sa isa’t isa. I really fell. Noong pauwi na kami ng Italy, it was my birthday and we were stuck at the airport the whole day. He would say things to me that are sweet. He would say promises, we would tell promises to each other.
“And then noong pauwi na ng Itay, I felt so happy that I had to post something on my IG (Instagram) Story just to appreciate him during that day. And then pagka-uwi ko, I think that the next two days, I saw a post or repost ni Jam on Tiktok. Nakita ko lahat 'yun,” Maris said.
She and Anthony went viral for her Instagram stories. At around the same time, Jam was also the talk of the town for her intriguing reposts on TikTok about cheating.
Related: Maris Racal celebrates 27th birthday with Anthony Jennings
Maris also addressed a portion of the viral screenshots that Jam shared last Tuesday about the actress asking about Jam.
Maris said she was asking because she knew Jam must be going through something. It was at this point in the long interview where Maris repeatedly said that she had repeatedly asked Anthony about the real score between him and Jam, who he has been in a relationship with for five years before they separated. Last week, in the side lines of the press conference for “Incognito,” Anthony admitted that he and Jam had parted ways “months ago.”
Related: Anthony Jennings confirms split with non-showbiz girlfriend
“Sa screenshots din, na ngamusta ako. I said, ‘Kamusta si Jam?’ Nangamusta ako kay Jam. It wasn't because dahil alam ko na sila pa. Dahil alam ko she was going through something and Anthony had to take care of her.
“But at the time, nagta-trabaho pa rin kami and he would still be the same way to me. I would ask him, God knows. I asked him, ‘Nagka-balikan ba kayo?’
“He said, no. ‘Do you still love her?' He said, no. He would say things na ako 'yung gusto niya and all. I really asked him so many times,” Maris said.
Maris said she had asked Anthony when he was planning to release a statement regarding his status.
“And then, the first wave of bashing on TikTok. Masakit 'yun para sa akin. I asked him, ‘When are you going to release a statement? Na wala na kayo? When? Because in the eyes of the public, you are taken. I know that you're not.' He wouldn't be very sweet to me. 'When are you gonna release a statement?' He would tell me he was waiting for the right moment,” Maris said.
She did not want to come across as “pushy” and didn’t want to “aggravate things” so she chose to wait for Anthony's statement.
“I waited and kept quiet because it wasn't my story to tell anyway. I kept quiet,” Maris said.
She revealed that they kept working and they went out for their first night last Halloween. The following day, she noticed Jam posting on her Instagram Story. Maris noted the post had no names but people were insinuating about her and Anthony, and another wave of bashing came.
She again asked Anthony when is he going to release a statement.
“God knows how many times I begged for a statement. I begged him to fix this because I was so tired of getting bashed. He said, wait, he's waiting for the right moment. I waited. I still kept quiet.
“I was really, I really wanted to speak up, but it wasn't my story and it would look, I would look really pathetic,” Maris said.
The realization
It wasn’t until the “Incognito” presscon that Anthony spoke up, but for Maris, it was “too late.”
“To me, it was too late because I, at that time, I was slowly distancing myself from him romantically, the infatuation and the attraction died. But thank you for the statement,” the actress said.
Maris thought that it was settled and things will be okay, but then the screenshots of Jam went viral on Tuesday night at 10 p.m.
“When I read it, I was gutted. I was shocked, I'm truly, truly embarrassed dahil nakita lahat ng tao 'yun without my consent, against my will. I read the screenshots over and over and over again,” she said.
It dawned on her that both she and Jam were clueless about their standing with Anthony.
“Ang pinaka-na-shock ako doon, I read it. It was the perfect narrative. There was this other woman, that there was this apologetic boyfriend and the avoidant boyfriend toward the other woman and the scarred woman. That's the narrative.
“That's her side of the story and there's nothing wrong with that. But this is my side. This is my side and I've been reading those screenshots, doon ko napagtagpi-tagpi lahat, na kaya pala hindi siya makapag-release ng statement, dahil sila pa pala this whole entire time.
“I didn't know. I was in the dark. I didn't know; I had no idea. God knows, ilang beses akong nag-tanong. Ilang beses akong nanghingi ng statement. Doon ko rin na-realize bakit ganoon ang reactions ni Jam,” she said.
Maris said she understands Jam’s "hurt, pain, wrath, and anger."
“Kaya pala ganon because she was clueless about everything. I was clueless about everything. We both believe kung ano ang mga nasabi sa amin. Maybe iba ‘yung sinabi sa kanya, and I can attest that iba ‘yung sinasabi sa akin. That's my side of the story,’ Maris said.
She added that she has many things to say and that she couldn’t believe that she would be embarrased in her entire life.
“To the public, I’m sorry that you got to see that very intimate side of me. Gano'n talaga ako ‘pag nagbigay ng pagmamahal.
“It was supposed to be private. It was supposed to be a private, intimate thing. I'm sad na nakita 'yun ng tao,” she said.
Maris said she is not one to play victim and admitted that she had committed a mistake. “I don't want to play the victim here. Nagkamali din talaga ako. “
She added that she reached out to Jam last November. She is also sorry for her supporters who have been with her and who have seen her struggle and try to reach her dreams in showbiz.
“And truly sorry for those people who supported me for 10 years. Alam nila ang lahat. Pinaghirapan ko ang career ko mapunta lang kung saan ko gusto. Ginawa ko lahat. Pinaghirapan ko lahat sa tulong nila. Nagagawa ko 'yung mga gusto ko. I don’t know where I’m gonna go. I don't know saan ako pupunta.
“‘Yung dignidad ko, hindi ko na mahanap. Whenever I go out, whenever I walk, I feel like I'm a naked woman walking. Hindi ko alam anong gagawin ko.
“I’m so embarrassed and I'm sorry that you get to see that. But I can assure you, tuloy pa rin ako. Tuloy pa rin ang laban. Magta-trabaho pa rin ako kahit nahihirapan. Hindi pa rin namamatay 'yung apoy sa puso ko.
“I’m still looking for that little girl inside of me. It's hard to look for her now. But someday, I get to find her and I will be able to hold my shadows.
“What you saw, who's not a perfect human and far, far from being perfect, what you saw was a human being, just a human being. That’s it,” Maris ended.
RELATED: ‘I'm so embarrassed’: Maris Racal speaks up after alleged Anthony Jennings cheating issue