Noon pa man ay nali-link na si Francis Magundayao sa aktres na si Ella Cruz na nakapareha niya noon sa fantaseryeng Aryana sa ABS-CBN.
Naging bukas din noon si Francis na may paghanga siya sa dating kapareha. Inakala nga ng iba na naging girlfriend din niya si Ella bago pa man ito nagkaroon ng relasyon kay Bret Jackson.
“Ka-clarify ko, Ella is a really close friend, one of the closest friends that I have both, in this career, kahit sa personal na buhay ko.
“We’ve been through really long time, really hard works, projects and dun na-develop ang relationship namin as friends.
“But yes, I can say na nagustuhan ko siya. Sinabi ko yun, in a way, kasi lahat naman tayo dumarating sa punto na akala natin na decided na tayo sa isang bagay because we are kids.
“As time goes by, nagma-mature tayo, when we think about our decisions as we were kids, we actually think about it.
“Kaya ko sinabi yun, 'coz I like Ella, and until now she’s really beautiful and very loving.
“Ella is a good friend. Kung mayroon kang friend na nirerespeto in a way such as I respect Ella, you don’t really think, 'Ay, liligawan ko kaya siya kasi maganda siya.'
“You don’t do that, if you consider someone with such respect as I respect Ella as a friend.
“Yes, she is loving, yes she is pretty, she is talented, she is a good actress, but I guess, everything has it’s purpose. Everything has a reason,” pahayag niya sa interview ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) at Cinema News sa nakaraang set visit ng ilang entertainment press sa set ng Born For You kahapon, September 9, sa Benpres Bldg. sa Ortigas.
MOTHER KNOWS BEST? Hindi naman itinago ni Francis na ang rason kung bakit hindi niya itinuloy ang panliligaw kay Ella ay dahil sa payo na rin ng kanyang ina.
Saad niya, “Sabi ng nanay ko, I have to wait for my proper time.
“Hindi siya sagabal, I just think my mom makes good decision for me and I follow it.
“Sabi niya, 'Wait for your time, wait for the proper girl.'
“Parang testimony ang life ng mommy ko. She got her husband, yung daddy ko nga ngayon, nagkita sila without pushing each other na pilitan.
“Kung sa kanila nangyari that love comes without pushing it, puwede ring mangyari sa akin.”
STILL COMMUNICATING. Alam ba ni Francis na break na sina Ella at Bret? May komunikasyon pa ba silang dalawa?
“Yeah, I’m quite aware of it. She tells me.
“Right now, we occasionally call, tell each other kung ano na ang nangyayari sa amin, and we ask for our schedules.
“The last time we went out was yung shooting namin sa dance cover namin.
“That’s the last time we saw each other. That was a year ago but we still message each other on social media.”
Siniguro naman ni Francis na hindi siya third party sa paghihiwalay ng dalawa na siyang maaaring iniisip ngayon ng ibang tao.
Balik-tanong niya, “Why? I won’t do anything to break anyone’s relationship. Please don’t misunderstand.”
Hindi rin naman nagsasara ng pinto si Francis na maaaring sa huli ay maging sila pala ni Ella.
PRIORITIES. Sa ngayon nga lang ay wala pa sa prayoridad niya ang pag-ibig, lalo’t gusto niyang makatapos muna ng pag-aaral.
“I guess if the Lord gives me a chance, siyempre.
“Everything is predestined. I believed in that.
“Kung binigyan ako ng sign ng Diyos na Ella is for me, then ano pa ang magagawa?
“As of now, I really want to finish my grade 11 and grade 12.
“Sobrang lawak ng buhay, e. Ang dami kong gustong gawin.
“Gusto mong gumaling sa pagsayaw, gusto mong gumaling sa pag-arte, gusto mong tapusin yung studies mo.
“Medyo naa-isolate yung pagtingin ko sa relationship as of now, as of this moment.
“Maybe you can ask me again after I finish my college. Have a good university where I can study. Media arts, sobrang na-in love ako sa movies, sa cinematography, sa scriptwriting.
“So I hope one day, I can get into one of those in universities,” panalangin niya.