Eula Valdez on romancing younger men: Not in my wildest dreams
The actress says her 2 consecutive relationships with younger guys is just plain coincidence
Eula Valdez swears she never planned to have a May-December affair—not once, but twice.
"Hindi ko siya hinahanap. As in not in my wildest dreams na binalak ko na magkaroon ng relationship sa mas younger guy. Nagkataon lang,” she said on the sidelines of the press conference of GMA series “Ilustrado.”
‘Bihasa na ako’
Eula’s statement was in reply to Yahoo Philippines’ question about entertaining younger guys the way her character in the Cinemalaya film “Dagitab” did. The movie, for which she won Best Actress, cast Eula as a middle-aged professor dragged into a scandal involving a young student (Martin del Rosario) who happens to be her godson.
"Actually nauna na ko sa role na ‘yan. Dahil yung ex-husband ko 13 years younger sa ’kin. ‘Yung current relationship ko naman of 6 years ay 12 years younger sa’kin. Nauna na ko. Bihasa na ko dyan,” she said, laughing.
Eula’s current partner is 34-year-old Rocky Salumbides, a model-turned-actor who had short-lived stay in the “Pinoy Big Brother” (PBB) house in 2009. Eula and ex-husband Richard Litonjua, an Australia-based electrical engineer, separated in 2008 after being a couple for 5 years.
Romance with Rocky
Eula shares that Rocky, her partner of six years, is trying his luck in showbiz again after his career took a backseat for a while.
"Hindi na kasi siya nag-aabroad ngayon for modeling. Pero may ginagawa siyang film, "Shake Rattle & Roll," I think. Half-hearted siya mag-showbiz, never daw kasi niyang pinangarap mag-artista so wala talaga dun 'yung puso niya.”
The “Ilustrado” star says she advises him to take showbiz seriously this time.
"Sabi ko, ‘Ano ka ba? Yung ibang modelo nga ginagrab nilang mag-artista. Ikaw naman baligtad. Wag mong sagarin.’ Maraming chance na binibigay sa kanya pero ayaw siya nang ayaw. Sabi ko, ‘Baka magtampo na 'yung oportunidad. Sana this time decided na siyang tanggapin 'yung fate niya."
Rocky helps Eula raise her two kids—20-year-old Miguel Luis (her son with Ronnie Quizon) and 10-year-old Juliana Gracia (her daughter with Richard).
She relates, "Tinutulungan niya ko sa bahay. Kapag ako nagwowork, siya sumusundo sa mga bata. 'Yung eldest ko naman is 20 years old na. Magkasundo sila, nagwo-workout sila together.”
Fountain of youth
Eula shrugs off observations that she doesn't show signs of aging.
"Siguro late-bloomer lang ako. Siguro ngayon lang ako nag-aayos. Masayahin lang akong tao. At hindi ko pino-problema 'yung pagtanda.”
She’d rather embrace aging than go under the knife.
“Ayoko. Hindi mo na mababalik kapag hindi mo nagustuhan. Sabi ko nga kanina kay Tito Lito (Legaspi, her co-star in “Ilustrado"), ‘Ayan o, andami nang kulubot sa mukha ko. Puhunan ko ‘yan. Kapag nawalan ng wrinkles sa mukha ko, hindi ba ang pangit? Puhunan ko din yan, tanggapin ko na.”
Eula shares one anti-aging secret anyone could achieve: be happy.
"Choice 'yan (maging happy). Kahit ano pang problema, you choose to be happy."
