Andrea Brillantes opens up about love and being ‘free’: ‘Nagmahal ako ng totoo’
Andrea Brillantes got real about love and life, saying she still has yet to feel completely free as there are things she still couldn't let go of after her rumored split with Ricci Rivero.
In a June 14 interview on Magandang Buhay, the actress was asked how her heart has been lately. “Yung puso ko po, tingin ko ay okay naman siya. I mean kasi it could be worse sa mga nagaganap ngayon, puwedeng wala rin ako rito today kasi hindi ko kayang humarap sa mga tao. Pero tingin ko naman po, sa lahat ng nagaganap ay okay siya ngayon,” she said.
While she has been sharing posts about freedom lately, she opened up about not feeling 100% free at the moment. “Tingin ko kasi, kapag sinabi na freedom, mayroon ding part doon ng acceptance kasi na-accept mo na na kailangan mo nang i-let go 'yung mga bagay-bagay. Ako po kasi, aminado ako na since ang bago-bago pa lang po talaga ng lahat, at alam mo ‘yun, naging totoo kasi sa akin lahat. Ako, nagmahal ako ng totoo, hindi ko ‘yun male-let go agad-agad.”
"Hindi ko masababing malaya ako ng 100% kasi may mga bagay pang ayaw ko pang pakawalan and may mga bagay pang na pino-process ko pa. Kasi ganun naman talaga, normal lang naman na dapat ay namnamin ko itong mga feelings na 'to para makapag-heal ako ng maayos. Ayoko naman maging pretentious na maki-trend lang na 'I'm unbothered,' para lang masabi na 'unbothered queen.' Aminado ako na nakakaramdam ako kasi tao pa rin po ako," she added.
While she admittedly is still in the process of healing, she's still choosing to be happy after everything she's been through. "Kahit gusto kong magsalita ay pinipili kong 'wag na lang para walang gulo. Kahit ang dami kong gustong gawin, pinipili kong piliin na lang ang sarili ko at mag-focus sa kung anong mayroon ako at sa mga taong nagmamahal sa akin," she said.
Andrea seemingly took a swipe at her reported breakup with Ricci last Independence Day, June 12 on It’s Showtime.
“Happy Independence Day,” Vice said, to which she cheekily responded, "I know, happy Independence Day to me and to all of us."
For days, social media was abuzz with rumors of Ricci and Andrea breaking up, especially that the basketball player was seen in the Instagram Story of Leren Mae Bautista, a former beauty queen who's now a municipal councilor in Los Baños in Laguna.
He also spent his birthday with Leren in Los Baños last May 25, distributing food packs to constituents. Andrea wasn't seen together with him that day, much less posted about him.
Netizens were quick to speculate that they've already called it quits, while alleging Ricci of cheating on Andrea.
But Ricci, in a June 9 tweet, addressed the rumors, saying he owns up to the "mistake" of not making his relationship status public. He didn't explicitly mention Andrea or their assumed breakup.
He asked the public to stop creating their "own versions" of the story and "dragging other characters into these false accusations."
Leren, for her part, on June 12 dismissed claims of "romantic involvement" with Ricci, saying they're "entirely false and have no basis in reality."
She said Ricci's visit, which is part of an "outreach activity," is "not an indication of a romantic relationship between them."
Ricci and Andrea became official on April 9 last year, when he asked for her hand in court after the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons won against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
They went viral last March with Andrea's “promposal” to Ricci during K-pop supergroup BLACKPINK's concert at the Philippine Arena.
