Cristine on love, friendship & stormy weather

MANILA, Philippines - On the night Typhoon Yolanda is expected to hit the country, Cristine Reyes obliges with a short chat with some members of the media, most of whom are curious about her recently-ended love affair with Derek Ramsay.

She is aware of the typhoon signals and for the record, she actually had a close encounter with nature’s wrath when she was caught hanging on to dear life on the rooftop of her Marikina residence at the height of the floods spawned by Typhoon Ondoy four years ago. She was happily rescued by Richard Gutierrez who braved the flood waters with his versatile motorboat.

That near-death experience taught her an unforgettable lesson on life and living.

“That frightening experience taught me to start living a full life and to live the moment,” she says. “Because you’ll never know when your time is up. It has taught me to spend more time with my loved ones.”

In a blue outfit that reveals her quiet sensuality, she is fair game to media persons prying on her private life.

It is a month full of work and the stress and fatigue is taking a toll on her immune system. She is actually on her way to the hospital to have a physical check-up and notably to have her uric acid examined.

 For now, the country’s spate of stormy weather somehow found reflections on her equally “stormy” love life.

Of her recently-ended love affair, she declares she is not keen on saving the relationship but then she is equally determined to save the friendship.

They had time to bond again in Hawaii and to review their priorities.

“Perhaps it is for the better,” she says. “For now, my present love is my work and the coming projects. We have agreed on the fact that for now, it is better to seize the opportunities coming our way.”

Only 24, Cristine was discovered in the reality show, StarStruck, and was soon built up as a sexy star with the success of the remake of Eva Fonda and her subsequent appearances in top-rating teleseryes like Dahil Sa Pag-ibig and Bukas Na lang Kita Mamahalin.

She was crowned one of the country’s box-office queens with the movie blockbuster, No Other Woman.

Like it or not, Cristine’s films are cases of art imitating her love life.

By coincidence, the title of her latest film opening on Nov. 27 is When Love is Gone, where she is paired with Gabby Concepcion along with Alice Dixson and Andi Eigenmann.

In the film, she finds a new love in a married man played by Gabby Concepcion, when she discovers her young husband played by Jake Cuenca is gay.

Jake says he is thankful for this different role as it allows him to explore new challenges way above his image as showbiz playboy. Indeed, he has gone far in gay roles with his earlier revealing film, Lihis directed by Joel Lamangan who tarried on bed scenes of two gay revolutionaries.

When Love Is Gone director Andoy Ranay says the film is a remake of the Danny Zialcita classic, Nagalit Ang Buwan Sa Haba Ng Gabi.

Cristine says she was equally challenged to finally work for the first time with Gabby and Alice. “They have made a mark in the industry and I am honored to be in that film with them,” she adds.

She admits that with the many projects she has done and the many love affairs she has figured in the past and present, the year 2013 she describes as “makulay” (colorful).

For now, her work comes as her first priority although she is not closing the door on past relationships. “If that someone makes effort to show that a relationship can still work, I will probably give it a second chance. But busy as I am now, the move will not come from me.”

It is possible that Cristine’s life replays of her past TV projects like Precious Hearts Romances and Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin. But through it all, she has found a way to find her own brand of happiness.

“My idea of happiness is really so simple,” she concludes. “All I need is fulfilling work and the company of true friends.”