Change Of Heart

I was never fond of Enrique Gil. I remember first seeing him in person on the defunct teen show “Shoutout”. I found him cute, yes. Marunong sumayaw. I’ve seen him in other shows like “Mula Sa Puso”. Thought he was good.bBut alam niyo yung, ‘di mo type for some reason.

So when I found out that he was going to be paired to Kathryn in the series we were working on, I was like, “talaga ba?” A part of me, dumi-disagree. I was rooting for Daniel Padilla then. Alam ng team yun. What they did was, sinama nila ako sa press conference ng “You’re My Home”, where he was paired with Kathryn. To see Kathryn, and meet Enrique.

My first picture with Enrique, at "Way Back Home"'s press conference.

Nag-iba bigla ang dating niya sa akin. Natahimik ako nung lumapit siya sa akin. Ang gwapo, may appeal, deep inside me. We were casually introduced, and we had a picture together. Na-intriga ako sa kanya at sa sarili ko why I was beginning to like him after that moment. Pinanood ko ang “Way Back Home” sa sinehan, at pati “Budoy” where he played BJ, the kontra-bida to Gerald Anderson. I didn’t realize, I was really growing fond of him. Bukod sa gwapo, malaki ang potensyal niya as an actor, I thought.

That moment when we were formally introduced to one another.

We were formally introduced to one another in October 2011. He learned that I was part of the series he was told na follow up project niya after “Budoy”. Nakakatuwa yung pagiging friendly niya, at pagiging matanong. And he wasn’t asking much about the show… His questions were about me. Kung paano daw ako naging writer. Kung sino ang favourite kong artista. Mga ganung bagay. At chumi-chika na siya about his work and some personal stuff. Nagpatuloy lang yun sa tuwing nagkikita kami sa ASAP, or nagsasalubong kami sa ABS-CBN. Na-realize ko, nagiging close na kami. The guy I didn’t imagine na makakausap ko nga at all. Choosy pa ba ako?

On the set of "Budoy" before he left for Bhutan.

Before he left for Bhutan for “Princess And I”, he was still taping his last few scenes for “Budoy” somewhere in Novaliches. His fans, the Quenatics, who befriended me after I started posting pictures with Quen, invited me to visit him. He was surprised to see me. Niyakap ako ng mahigpit. Ako naman ang nagulat. E medyo kinilig ako, kasi hindi naman palaging may lalaking kasing-gwapo niya na yayakap sa akin nang ganun. Namula raw ako sabi ng Quenatics, so they started joking and teasing me to Quen.

But for me and Quen, that was a point when na-break na namin totally yung ice. Mas naging comfortable na kami not just as workmates, but more so as friends. Deep down, I already had a feeling na magiging masaya at smooth ang magiging samahan at trabaho naming sa “Princess And I”. I officially had a change of heart for Enrique Gil. 

Unexpectedly saw Enrique after our two-week
creative lock-in for "Princess And I" in February 2012.

During a magazine photoshoot in ABS-CBN,

Dinner with Enrique and Kathryn, organized by their supporters
sometime January 2012.