Ruffa on Yilmaz: Hindi siya importante sa akin

Almost a year after her role as Daniella Valencia in ABS-CBN's "I Love Betty La Fea," actress-TV host Ruffa Gutierrez will again appear in a primetime show, TV5's second original television series, "Mga Nagbabagang Bulaklak."

Ruffa will play the role of Orchidia Ortega or Ms. O, a top executive of the fictitious network EVTN and wife of network boss Apollo Ortega portrayed by Richard Gutierrez.

In a press interview during the "Mga Nagbabagang Bulaklak" grand launch last Tuesday at the Teatrino Promenade, Greenhills, San Juan City, Ruffa explained her character in the highly provocative teleserye.

"(My character) is friendly, lahat ng tao mahal na mahal ako pero nasa loob ang kulo meaning in terms of my husband, si Mr. A [Richard Gomez] na walang ginawa kundi patulan yung mga artista sa kumpanya namin at lahat ng mga young stars; mga starlets na gusto sumikat, pinapatulan niya so instead na awayin ko katulad ni Mommy [Anabelle Rama] na inaaway lahat ng babae ni Daddy, ako hindi, kinakaibigan ko. And mas wise yata yun kasi hindi nila alam na meron na akong pinaplano sa likod nila. And that's what I meant by nasa loob ang kulo. Nothing to do with Tita Charo, mahal na mahal naman natin si Tita Charo," said Ruffa.

The actress-host was quick to clarify her earlier statement in the group press conference "Actually, like Tita Charo Santos-Concio, I'm super very nice, pero nasa loob ang kulo" to avoid confusion and intrigue. "Tita Charo is very nice. Naku, teka muna... She's very nice, approachable, palangiti. Pero yung character ko, yun yung nasa loob," she explained.

Members of the press also asked Ruffa if in real life, she ever experienced the same situation as her character Orchidia.

"Na naloko na ako? Hindi ginawa lang akong punching bag. Kasi ang pambababae pwede mong patawarin once, twice, okay pero third time hindi na. Yung self dignity mo, pagmamahal mo sa sarili mo di mo kayang bigyan ng isa pang chance yun eh, gaya ng pagpapalaki sa akin ng parents ko, hindi naman ganun. But I had affairs wherein yes, may ibang babae and I make sure na alam nila na hindi ako kayang tapak-tapakan. HIndi na uso ang martyr ngayon. So it depends lang. Kung asawa mo ipaglalabas ko siya because he's the father of my kids pero kung boyfriend mo lang siya, goodbye na goodbye! Ayoko magkaroon ng wrinkles ng dahil sa kanya."

Ruffa separated from her ex-husband, Turkish businessman Yilmaz Bektas, because the latter allegedly hurt her physically. Since then, Ruffa has been linked to several showbiz personalities, most recently, John Lloyd Cruz.

Recently the former beauty queen's recent tweet, "Nabuhay ulit," was referring to Yilmaz and not John Lloyd as what other netizens thought.

"Nabuhay ulit, clinear ko nga na hindi Pinoy, baka mamaya yun na! Nabuhay lang nung minsan malamig yung pakikitungo niya, [Yilmaz] minsan mainit, minsan galit na galit. So at that moment, at that day when I tweeted, ano siya, galit na galit kasi yung mga bata kausap siya, super tagal ng hindi siya nakakausap. So naturally, the kids miss him, malapit na yung father's day sa school ni Venice which is on Friday, meron silang gathering with the fathers. HIndi ko nga papasukin si Venice that day para hindi siya masyadong malungkot, so when they spoke to him yung dalawang bagets iyak ng iyak.'We miss you bubba, why aren't you here?' So little by little I think at their age, six and seven years old, kailangan ko na iexplain sa kanila ang sitwasyon namin. Dahil si Lorin mahilig yang magpunta sa library, very smart at binabasa niya lahat ng mga diyaryo so kailangan malaman niya kahit papaano sa akin kesa naman malaman niya pa sa iba."

Despite Yilmaz's mood swings, Ruffa maintained that Yilmaz does not bother her anymore. For her, she said, Yilmaz is unimportant.

"Si Yilmaz hindi siya importante para sa akin dahil, first of all, hindi siya dapat magreact dahil hindi niya naman ako sinusuportahan. I support myself and I support my kids so if he was giving me everything that I need, okay then I'll sit down and be quiet. So hindi ko na lang pinapansin yung mga messages niya. Ang importante kasi para sa akin is the welfare of Lorin and Venice."

For now, Ruffa continues to be a hardworking mother, a trait she said was instilled by her family growing up.

"Well tinuruan kami ng mga magulang namin wag maging tamad. If you notice my mom works everyday. She has 35 talents. It's not like we're hungry. Para sa amin kasi ang work ethics sa pamilya namin kailangan magsikap talaga kami and we have to make our own money hindi lang iaasa sa isang lalake or kung kanino man ang kabuhayan namin. Para sa kin, it's more empowering as a woman to be able to work, to be able to do whatever I want and to be successful as a woman."

But how about her love life?

"Ang puso ko naman nagbabaga? Hindi pa nga eh, hinihintay ko pa lang bumaga siya," she said, smiling.