MANILA, Philippines - This thing has been bothering me since 2005. I couldn’t really make odds and ends of it at first and when I finally did, after much reluctance, I had trouble accepting it. I just didn’t understand why things played out the way they did. I am, of course, talking about the divorce of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, followed by the news of Brad playing house with Angelina Jolie.
As things go with the gossip mill, nearly everyone I know has moved on from this, but I still haven’t completely forgotten about it. I’m aware that it’s not the first time for a Hollywood marriage to end in divorce. Maybe it’s because I can’t believe how accepting everyone has been of the Jolie-Pitt union, especially with the confirmation that Brad did cheat on Jennifer. (In an interview with The New York Times, Angelina stated that she looked forward to having her kids watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith because “not a lot of people get to see the movie where their parents fell in love.” The movie was filmed in 2004, when Jennifer and Brad were still very much married.) Then again, it’s been six years. It happens. People change. That’s what they say. But if you’re being really honest with yourself, if it happened to you, how capable would you be of accepting that?
In the film No Other Woman, Christine Reyes plays the lovely, doting, faithful wife, Derek Ramsay is the devastatingly handsome, yet torn husband, and Anne Curtis is the smoking hot mistress. Sound familiar? For some moviegoers, the film could be enlightening; for others, the experience might be excruciating. Still others might watch just to get a kick out of Carmi Martin’s campy lines (take a look at the movie’s poster to see what I mean). While not everything plays out as neatly in real life as it does onscreen, when the credits roll, the one thing you should be able to take away from the film is the knowledge of where you stand on the issue. Everything else stems from that, I suppose.
With the film having just been released this week, to packed cinemas ranging from Megamall to Powerplant, I thought it would be appropriate to ask Anne, Derek and Christine to each give me their perspectives on the matter:
Cristine
Who are more capable of cheating men or women?
Of course men. Given naman yun diba? Parang ever since bata pa ko lahat nalang parang namulatan ko, lahat halos ng mga news or bali-balita, mga chismis, puro men. So for me, men, kasi sabi nga nila born polygamous daw ang men, pero di naman sigurado yun, kung totoo….
Why do you think people cheat?
Well, sa woman, out of fun. Meron talaga akong kilalang ganun. Di siya seryoso, even though married na siya. Siguro may ganun lang na tao. Sa men naman, siguro yung iba, pride.
Do you believe in the saying “once a cheater, always a cheater?”
Well, para sa akin kasi, lahat naman ng tao pwede naman magbago. Pero kung paulit-ulit na ginagawa yun, eh cheater talaga yun, diba?
If you had a choice, would you rather be Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
Kung alam kong wala naman akong inagaw, at ginawang masama, okay lang, kasi ako yung pinili ng lalaki, diba? Yung lalaki naman, may paninindigan lang naman siya. So Angelina Jolie ako, at least meron pa rin akong partner habang buhay.
Do you believe that it’s possible for two wrongs to make a right if it means ending up with your soulmate?
Yun nga yung sinabi ko, lahat naman ng tao pwedeng magbago. Kung nagsimula sila sa mali pwede naman nilang baguhin yun, pwede silang magbago, magkapatawaran sila kung may na-hurt man silang iba or silang dalawa mismo. Possible talaga yun.
If you caught your significant other cheating on you with a member of his own sex would that soften the blow?
Ang sakit naman nun, diba? Kasi parang, babae na ako, na sa akin na lahat, nagche-cheat ka pa, diba? Tapos sa same sex mo pa? Kailangan niyang mamili. Kailangan niyang ituwid yung tama. Kung dun, siya, okay lang go.
If you were caught cheating, what would you say?
Well, if I were in that position… ang pangit… umm… Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sarap naman, eh? Joke. Sorry. Di ko alam kung ano sasabihin kasi malabo sa akin na mangyari yun pero kung dadating talaga sa point na yun siguro hihingi ako ng tawad, siyempre kasi alam ko nasasaktan siya, eh. Yun lang siguro.
Derek
Who are more capable of cheating men or women?
Before, men, but times have changed. The women are coming back with a vengeance. I think women are more capable of infidelity than men now.
Why do you think people cheat?
I guess the biggest (reason) would be the lack of communication, appreciation. I think that would cause either a man or a woman to cheat. Kapag wala na kayong mapagusapan in your relationship, parang pinipilit niyo nalang kasi no one wants the hassle of a break-up, I think that’s what pushes someone to cheat.
Do you believe in the saying “once a cheater, always a cheater”?
I think you have to be positive and think that somebody can change. If someone who’s cheated admits to their fault, I think that person is in the right direction of changing himself or herself. Everybody’s capable of making that mistake, and once that mistake is made, you learn from it and in your future relationships, you learn not to do that.
If you were Brad Pitt, would you have chosen Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
I’d rather be with Angelina Jolie because with Angelina Jolie, the result was a family. They adopted kids, which I’m all for. With Jennifer kasi, hindi natuloy yung relationship, so I think I’d rather stay with Angelina Jolie. At nandun yung pangalan ni Angel, Angel-ina Jolie…
Do you believe that it’s possible for two wrongs to make a right if it means ending up with your soulmate?
When you’re with somebody, you really never know if that’s the person that you’re gonna spend the rest of your life with. Like in Brad’s case, I guess he fell out of love and he fell for another woman. Every time you go into a relationship you learn more and more about that person, and you learn more and more if that’s the person you want to be with for the rest of your life, and in the case of Brad and Jennifer, hindi sila, eh.
If you caught your significant other cheating on you with a member of her own sex would that soften the blow?
Would it soften the blow if my girlfriend cheated on me with another girl? Um…(laughs) That’s hot! (laughs) It’s really hot! No, um, if she fell in love with another girl, and she was leaving me for another girl, no, it wouldn’t soften the blow. I’d still end up alone.
If you were caught cheating, what would you say?
I’m sorry. Yun lang. It’s not really me. (laughs) No, wala na, wala ng excuses, nahuli ka. ‘Fess up. I’d apologize.
Anne
Who are more capable of cheating men or women?
I think both. Men, I think, because it’s in their nature. For women, it could be lack of attention from their husbands or boyfriends. It really depends on the situation.
Why do you think people cheat?
Like I said, I think a woman would cheat if there was lack of attention or insecurity. For men, it could be in their nature because, for example, it’s really natural for them to look at a sexy girl when she passes by. Or it could be he’s bored with his partner, or he’s out of love, because I believe when a guy does that, he’s not in love anymore.
Do you believe in the saying “once a cheater, always a cheater”?
Well, I like to give people chances, but my way of putting of it is, if I had a boyfriend and he cheated on me, no more na. But if let’s just say, I got into a relationship with a guy who previously cheated on his ex-girlfriend, I wouldn’t say that he’s gonna cheat on me. I’m going to give him a chance.
If you had a choice, would you rather be Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
Love ko si Angelina pero I know that it’s not right what happened between the two of them. I can’t say if I’m Team Aniston or Team Jolie. I am more of a fan of the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie relationship, but I don’t believe that he should’ve cheated on her. Sana he ended it before he got into a relationship.
Do you believe that it’s possible for two wrongs to make a right if it means ending up with your soulmate?
Well, of course, I mean, try and try until you find the right one, diba? If you’re lucky enough to find your soulmate in one go, then perfect, diba? But that’s really a fairytale.
If you caught your significant other cheating on you with a member of his own sex would that soften the blow?
It’s not gonna soften the blow. I think I might even get insulted kasi hindi ba ako enough? Pero if it turns out na yun talaga siya, and he chooses to (make) that change in his life, tatanggapin ko yun and I’ll be happy for him even if it just so happened na ako yung realization niya para malaman niya na hindi pala girls ang gusto niya.
If you were caught cheating, what would you say?
This wouldn’t happen because I wouldn’t even think about cheating on anyone.