MANILA, Philippines — The romantic-drama series Unbreak My Heart is now down to its last few weeks but the bond that its lead actresses — Jodi Sta. Maria and Gabbi Garcia — were able to form while filming it will continue in real life.
Jodi and Gabbi, portraying the mother-daughter duo Rose and Alexandra in the GMA, ABS-CBN, and Viu collaboration, developed a genuine real-life friendship beyond their roles as co-actors.
“It’s a good experience to be working with Kapuso actors,” declared Jodi in a media conference, referring to Gabbi.
“I’ve had a lot of scenes with Gabbi here and I can really say that we became close. And we shared one dressing room so we really looked forward to taping days.”
Gabbi also earned the respect of Jodi in terms of her acting flair. The Kapamilya star shared, “I witnessed her hunger for growth in her craft. Nakakatuwa yun na marinig from younger stars. It’s a good experience. So, thank you Gabbi for sharing your talent with us and of course other Kapuso actors (like) Maey Bautista, Will Ashley… Thank you.”
Gabbi, for her part, said that she didn’t expect that Jodi would become her “ate” off camera. “The connection that we built here through the show until off-cam, we jibed (with each other). Iba yung connection, trust, and love that we built with each other.”
They became so close in real life that Gabbi would visit Jodi in her house. “We really bonded and it’s not just a taping relationship. It has gone beyond that and it’s rare for you to find that in this industry so I really treasure and value that,” offered Gabbi.
Their favorite bonding moments together is chit-chatting. “As in kaya naming magkwentuhan four hours straight. Ganung level. We would talk about everything. Hindi nauubos.
“Our conversation doesn’t only involve showbiz, talagang usap. I asked for her advice. Sometimes, nag-e-emote ako sa kanya and vice-versa. We really update each other about our lives.”
The Kapuso actress was also able to meet Jodi’s fur babies, including her rescued cat Naia, Jodi’s mom and everyone in her family.
“Her No. 1 advice to me is, you’re not a robot. It’s OK to commit mistakes. It’s OK to get tired sometimes because you’re not a robot, you’re human,” Gabbi shared Jodi’s advice.
“I appreciate that because she always tells me that she is happy to have worked with me because I’m serious with my craft and all. And because of those compliments, I get inspired to do better.”
Meanwhile, the story continues in Unbreak My Heart with Rose who is still struggling to get forgiveness from Alex who continues to grieve after suffering a miscarriage with Renz (Joshua Garcia). As secrets from the past slowly start to arise, Rose and her ex-husband Matt (Richard Yap), will do everything it takes to make sure that Alex is safe from any kind of harm.
On what they have learned from their mother-daughter tandem, especially when it comes to the joy and pain of loving someone, Jodi said, “I think what’s beautiful with what happened to Rose and Xandra’s (Alex) story is that, you know, something has to break first before it becomes beautiful.”
She further related their story to a shattered vase. “But then when you put it back together, it gets to have a new value, meaning and new story. And for Rose, there’s no important person in the world but Xandra (her daughter). She is her strength (and) energy.
“Her entire life until her last breath, it’s fixed on Xandra. And I think wala ng ibang pagmamahal na mas gaganda pa tulad ng pagmamahal ng isang ina para sa kanyang anak.”
Gabbi also reflected on the value of a mother’s love in reference to her character as Alexandra. “No. 1 is that you don’t see it but grabe ang pagmamahal ng isang ina, walang katumbas (at) walang kapantay. And No. 2, you can never ever or you have no right to disrespect your parents, especially your mom. That is the No. 1 lesson that I got from Xandra.
“It’s because you don’t know how hard it is, how much sacrifices your parents did for you and we should value that as their children,” she added.
Without divulging much details on what will happen to her character in the end, she teased, “Justified (Alexandra’s character) in a sense pero mas nasasayangan ako. That’s what viewers will have to watch out for.”
Unbreak My Heart has become the most-watched series on Viu Philippines since it premiered in May.
It also stars Jeremiah Lisbo, Bianca de Vera, Nikki Valdez, Romnick Sarmenta, Sunshine Cruz, Eula Valdes, and more.
The romantic-drama series also airs on GMA Telebabad, Pinoy Hits, and I Heart Movies at 9:35 p.m. from Mondays to Thursdays, 11:25 p.m. on GTV, and it is also available on GMA Pinoy TV and TFC. It streams 48 hours before its TV broadcast in the Philippines on GMANetwork.com and iWantTFC, as well as in 16 territories outside of the Philippines on Viu.