Contentment becomes Pauleen Luna

CEBU, Philippines - Actress-TV host Pauleen Luna is once again the woman viewers can’t help but abhor in the GMA-7 afternoon drama “The Borrowed Wife,” playing a character who so desperately chases after a man (Rafael Rosell) still mourning over the loss of his wife (Camille Prats.) The blooming beauty often slips into the shoes of TV tormentor, but it’s a stereotype she doesn’t mind. For Pauleen, it’s all in a good day’s work.

“At the end of the day, this is just a business. I’m just grateful with what is handed to me, as long as I can hack the role,” said the 25-year-old “Eat Bulaga” host.

Pauleen, a fixture in many a Filipino’s household thanks to her regular stint in the country’s longest-running noontime show, is a luminous sight to behold in person. Outfitted in a maxi dress and a beige cardigan with no trace of makeup during this interview, the star is as pretty and perky as they get.

The sweet off-cam persona is a far cry from the roles constantly offered to her, but like clock-work, Pauleen has learned to bring out the Maleficent in her when cameras start rolling. The challenge comes in differentiating one kontrabida assignment from another, she said.

“They are usually written the same way — the rich girl or the socialite. So there are very few differences from one soap opera to another,” she explained. “What I do is, I try to give each character her own nuances to make it a bit different. This one in ‘The Borrowed Wife,’ my character Tessa is very smart and speaks in English often. She’s a rich businesswoman, and even at home, she’s dressed to the nines.”

Have over-eager viewers called her out in real life for torturing their drama idols? Not in Pauleen’s case, no. “What’s nice is, my presence in ‘Eat Bulaga’ becomes a breaker because here is where they see my real personality. So viewers don’t strongly feel I’m nasty in real life because of the kontrabida roles I often play.”

Old soul

Having a daily live show doesn’t exempt Pauleen from pulling all-nighters to tape episodes for “The Borrowed Wife.” These days, she almost always wraps up shooting in the morning, with barely enough time to prep for “Eat Bulaga.” Again, it’s a happy hectic chaos she won’t whine about, for work should always be seen as a blessing, according to Pauleen.

She makes up for all that during Sundays, her official rest day. “I wake up late, hear Mass. Normally, I just stay at home and relax. I don’t usually plan anything for that day,” she shared.

Staying at home might be ho-hum for typical 25-year-olds, but Pauleen has discovered how she has grown more comfortable being an old soul. “Maybe because I am surrounded by people older than me, like in ‘Eat Bulaga’ where I am the youngest. I just got used to conversing with people who are older and more mature than me,” said Pauleen, who builds and sells units as another source of income.

Being a member of the close-knit family that is “Eat Bulaga” was likened by Pauleen as “going to school for three hours.” The veterans on the program are always rife with career and life advice that Pauleen draws much wisdom from.

“Career-wise, Tito Joey would always tell me not to say no to work. At one point, I came across Tito Joey juggling six shows at the same time, and at his age! That became an inspiration to me. I thought to myself, if he can do it, why can’t I? Tito, Vic and Joey — they all worked their way up. They’ve been at it for 36 years. To hear where they came from and see where they are now is a constant inspiration for me,” she related.

Looking back at how she luckily nabbed a spot on the program, Pauleen narrated, “I left ABS-CBN, and I got Manay Lolit [Solis] as my manager. That time, Eat Bulaga was looking for a new host, so I went to their go-see. I was told to prepare a demo tape, but I don’t sing. So, first stage of the audition, I thought I had no chance at all since I had no demo tape to give. After that, they called me and I was told I was already in. Hosting wasn’t really among my plans then, but I wanted to do something light, because at one point, drama gets tiring. Drama requires you to get in touch with your emotions, that’s why it’s so draining.”

Bossing’s girl

Of course, a chat with Pauleen these days isn’t complete without her famous, well-loved beau cropping up. There’s no escaping the public and media scrutiny, as she’s now one-half of tinseltown’s most popular May-December romance (a 34-year age gap).

Asked if she takes offense at being labeled this generation’s version of Dolphy and Zsa Zsa, Pauleen replied with a big laugh, “Well, it’s true! I don’t take offense. We’re not stepping on anyone’s toes and we’re not doing anything wrong. Plus, there’s the fact that Dolphy and Zsa Zsa stayed together for a long time.”

Pauleen was politely mum when prodded to share how her romance with comedy icon Vic Sotto flourished. All she could say was, “It was really a long process. It was at least one year. Pakiramdaman lang. He did something that really made my heart open up.”

On whether wedding bells are on the horizon, the TV personality said, “It’s something that should come from a guy. It’s not nice for something like that to come from a girl. If it will happen, it will happen. Of course, when you’re serious with someone, you want the relationship to end with a nice scenario like getting married and having a family. But I don’t want to get ahead of things. I always believe that whatever you have right now was made for you. Right now, I’m just in a very happy state.”

If and when Bossing does put a ring on it, is Pauleen prepared to take that step at this stage in her young life? “I don’t know,” she said shyly. “I’m the type of person who takes everything that comes as a blessing.”

What Pauleen does know for sure is that there is no truth to talk her mom dislikes Vic for her. “My mom is anything but judgmental to those who have pursued me. For her, as long as the guy is respectful and shows good intentions by visiting at home – then that’s okay with her. I don’t know where all those issues come from.”

Nevertheless, rumors and online hecklers who question her intention of dating an older man no longer hurt Pauleen as much as they used to.

“Not anymore. I’m more affected for others now. They say if your loved one is being bashed, you become even more affected. It’s that way with me now. It’s just too much. Everybody has an opinion. Something that’s too much already, like social media noise, you feel immune to it eventually. I just realized, ‘Am I going to get affected by all these?’” (FREEMAN)