Sa "Gimme Mo!" segment ng Showbiz Central kahapon, March 22, ay inamin ng host na si Mo Twister na medyo ninenerbiyos siya dahil ang guest niya has been his long-time crush—si Sheryl Cruz.
Sabi nga ni Mo nang makaharap na si Sheryl, "I will make an admission, my dear. Noong high school ako, yung mga pictures mo sa tabloid, ginugupit ko talaga at inilalagay ko sa isang book. And that was my inspiration."
"You did tell me already," nakangiti namang sagot ni Sheryl.
"Now that you're here and you're single, puwede!" natatawang hirit ni Mo.
Ilan sa mga taong malalapit kay Sheryl na namili ng top five questions para sa kanya ay sina Leony Diaz (her stylist), Laynie Cafranca (Sheryl's yaya for 25 years), Marvin Agustin (her co-star in SRO Cinemaserye Presents Ganti), at ang kaibigan niyang si Manilyn Reynes.
Most Wanted Question No. 5: You were called Princess of Philippine Movies and at that time, bata pa sina Maxene Magalona at Geoff Eigenmann [her co-stars in "Ganti"]. Now that katrabaho mo na sila, is there some sort of insecurity as you see how the generation has passed?
"There is no insecurity," sagot ni Sheryl. "I guess the reason why there's no insecurities is because I'm confident about my age. I love my age. And it's so refreshing to be working with these teen stars. It's not naman na sikat na star kundi somewhat popular na teen star. Kung bata pa sila, siguro ang age ko na ngayon, e, parang over na." (Sheryl will turn 35 on April 5.)
Nakikita mo ba sa mga stars ng Kapuso ngayon that they resemble you very much?
"I can't say na merong isa. I could see some of my qualities in some of them."
Namely?
"Probably yung pagka-sweet ni Heart [Evangelista]. Since I got the chance to work with her in Luna Mystika. That she gets along with the staff, pati yung mga locals kung saan kami nagte-taping, also the executives. So she knows how to deal from A to the C class."
Most Wanted Question No. 4: Sa lahat ng mga naging ka-batch mo sa That's Entetainment, sino ang pinaka-naging personal rival mo?
"I wouldn't say personal rival kasi halos lahat naman sa That's, wala naman akong naging personal rival or kaaway. Although people are competing with each other, kumbaga pinag-aaway-away kami. Wala naman akong natatandaang personal kong kaaway, kasi lahat sila kaibigan ko.
"Probably what I can tell you, Mo, is that during the time of That's Entertainment, ang sinusubaybayan talaga ng mga tao ay yung mga love team. Probably it's not only me who gained popularity because of that era. I have to thank of my partner also, Romnick Sarmenta."
You worked with Romnick in Luna Mystika, do you see that love team as connection with him?
"Natatawa na lang siguro kami sa isa't isa when we reminisce about those times. It's nice that when you look back, masaya yung memories, hindi malungkot, kasi hindi naman kami nag-away. At nagkakatrabaho naman kami nang maayos."
Most Wanted Question No. 3: When your father (Ricky Belmonte) died, why did you not come back?
"Well, first of all, Mo, I was just a new mom and I only have one child. And as a first-time parent, you will do everything para dun sa best interest ng anak mo. And during those times, my daughter was sickly. Kakapanganak pa lang niya, siguro mga less than two months. She was in and out sa hospital.
"To cut the long story short, sometimes things happen na hindi mo talaga mako-control of your life. There's nowhere to go. Although you would wish na some of your relatives will be the one understanding you, that was the time na I was misunderstood," paliwanag ni Shery, who was already living in the States when her father died.
If there's one thing for you not to come here, it happened?
"Yes! And it wasn't intentional. Kumbaga..."
Bakit hindi naiintindihan ng family mo?
"Di ba, to each his own naman? I cannot insist."
Another person's life is at stake also, so bakit hindi nila naiintindihan?
"I really don't know... Basta yung sa akin, I don't wanna judge anybody. Kumbaga, from the very start naman, I never judged anybody. I never talked ill with anybody. Most especially kung family ko pa, yun ang akin.
"If you'll gonna ask me, of course, I was hurting at that time. Especially at that time when you lose somebody so dear to your life. But I made my peace already. Uncle Cesar knows about that, he's the eldest brother of my dad... He has seen his apo already from me and my brother Chris. And so far naman, the communication line is open already.
"Ang sa akin lang naman, what I want to say here is that, hindi lang naman ang mga pinsan kong artista ang mga pinsan ko. Meron din akong ibang mga kamag-anak, and I made my peace already."
How's your relationship with your other cousins, like Donna Cruz, Geneva Cruz, and Sunshine Cruz?
"Personally, I have not seen them. But I have seen my other relatives."
Most Wanted Question No. 2: Masasabi mo ba na ang reason ng hiwalayan n'yo ni Norman Bustos is that you want to stay here in the Philippines, and is it true that you found out the divorce in the paper?
"No, it's unfair naman to say that the reason is because of me," sabi ni Sheryl. "There are several reasons and I can say, for one, that's one of the reasons that we didn't agree on. Me on wanting to continue my career here because, siyempre, kahit naman sino, nasimulan mo yung something na ginagawa mo noon pa man, gugustuhin mong i-continue. Like, nagkakilala naman kami, he was a police officer and I was already Sheryl Cruz.
"Ang sa akin lang, hindi naman ako nag-alter ng anything. Ang sa akin lang, I was just hoping na he'll gonna be supportive the same way I have supported his career. There's a lot of factors, it's just that it's hard right now to spell everything. It's not because I want to hide something from all of you, but because the papers are being processed right now. So we cannot talk about it."
Most Wanted Question No. 1: May album ka, There's No Place Like Home. Literally, ang Pilipinas na ulit ang home mo. Looking back when you were living in the U.S., do you missed it or ito talaga ang place mo? You'd rather be here than there?
"Well, this is my emotional answer. I fought long and hard about this. Of course, those happy moments, all those better days back in the United States will forever be inside my heart, will forever be treasured in my memories, within my memories.
"Coming back here, home, or continuing what I left... Actually, it's not starting over something I've done earlier but merely continuing of what I left. So, there's really no place like home kasi dito ako lumaki, dito ako ipinanganak. I'm living my life here. I'm doing the career that I love, dito sa homeland ko. So, what else can you ask for?
"It's good to be home."