As Philippine showbiz continues to get hit by a wave of high-profile breakups, discussions about infidelity come to the forefront.
PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) remembers its exclusive interview with Arjo Atayde on June 1, 2023, at the Cattleya Killer press meet.
This is one month before he would tie the knot with Maine Mendoza on July 28, 2023.
It is also a full five months before November 30, 2023, the date Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, the biggest love team in showbiz, confirm their breakup.
The subject is cheating.
Arjo is not addressing any particular breakup happening in or around showbiz.
Simply, he is being asked about fidelity because news of his upcoming marriage has been announced.
And because, where the press is concerned, this is a period when showbiz is abuzz with stories of beginning and breaking relationships.
There is the Carlo Aquino-Charlie Dizon-Trina Candaza story in early 2023, which ends with a confirmation in July 2023; and the Jason Hernandez-Moira Dela Torre story that begins in May 2023 and remains an ongoing narrative.
Read: Maine Mendoza's wedding gift to Arjo Atayde sparks humorous reactions among netizens
Arjo says calmly and quietly: "Cheating is cheating. No reason to deny. No reason to... I feel like if you're cheating, you're unhappy."
So before getting entangled in an affair, his advice is to address the issues head-on rather than prolong the inevitable.
"One of the things I learned is you shouldn't make it stay longer if you know you're gonna cheat. Just stop the relationship because it's gonna be more painful for anyone in general."
The 33-year-old actor continues, "If you keep going and knowing you're just gonna cheat with the person, not even breaking up, there's no excuse for that."
GIVING CHANCES
Doesn't he believe in second chances?
He answers: " [It's] only the person or the woman or the man's decision either if they're gonna forgive the person or not.
"And those things, especially for us conservative Filipinos, we won't decide on it overnight."
Reflecting on his past experiences, the actor-politician admits that he too had gone through similar situations, and had in fact given multiple chances to someone who did him wrong.
"In my younger days, I think everyone has experiences like that.
"I have my own. I'm [not] trying to be dramatic about it. It happened back in the past.
"Yeah, you give chances. We all grow up from all those experiences, so, you know, definitely it happened.
"It's not just to me. A lot of men, a lot of women experienced this and it's such a horrible feeling."
But one thing that cannot be changed: "Definitely, cheating is cheating."
Read: Arjo Atayde gifts Maine Mendoza with Hermès Mini Kelly worth PHP6.5M on their wedding day
REGAINING TRUST
Being happily married to TV host and actress Maine Mendoza for five months now, Arjo finds himself lucky that he never gave up on love even after going through heartbreaks in the past.
He recognizes mistakes in relationships, but he does not want to let this get in the way of his happily ever after.
"It's a dealbreaker in a sense that you not believing that the person loves you. And either you could get back the trust coming from that certain person or not."
He adds, "As I said, to each his own. Anything is possible.
"But, I guess it's really, it's really a choice. It's really a choice. Either you're gonna fall for whatever lustful, I don't know.
"But, is it gonna break my idea of love? No, because it will ruin the idea of you believing that the person loves you."
Arjo also points out the importance of self-care after such heartbreaking event.
"More than that, I think once you're that broken, one thing that you have to take care of is yourself.
"Because it's definitely something hard to get through. Definitely.
"There's no easy breakup. Either good or bad breakup, it's always gonna be a bad breakup.
"Accepting facts like that is very hard. Only aliens wouldn't believe it.
"Even if you both agree it's a mutual decision, I'm sure there's a bit of hurt. Any human would feel that. We all have hearts. We all have emotions."
ED'S NOTE: Changes have been made to this article to clearly indicate that this interview happened during the premiere of Cattleya Killer, a psychological thriller drama television series top-billed by Arjo, in June 2023.
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