Sharon Cuneta’s advice to JoshLia tandem: ‘Treasure each other’

MANILA, Philippines – Sharon Cuneta has had her fair share of heartaches, especially during her teenage years. She was paired with Gabby Concepcion in the ’80s and togethertreasure, they made one of the biggest love teams of the decade. Years later, the Megastar has this advice for young onscreen tandem Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto: treasure each other.

During the press conference for their new movie Unexpectedly Yours on Saturday, November 25, Sharon shared that she can’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy after seeing Joshua and Julia’s sweet moments on set. (READ: Sharon Cuneta to star in romantic comedy with Robin Padilla, JoshLia)

“Ang nangyari, nakikita ko sila, naiingit ako. Because ang magnet ko noon – ‘di ko nilalahat pero, ‘di ko alam anong ginawa ko sa buhay na mali, ako ba taga-bayad utang ng tatay ko, ng kapatid ko – so parang magnet ko mula nung na-inlove ako, masasaktan lang ako. ‘Di naman lahat, pero some more than others,” she said.

(What happens is, when I see them, I feel jealous. Because I was such a magnet back then – I’m not saying this about everything, I don’t know what I did in life that was wrong, I paid for my father’s debts, for my siblings – so I was like a magnet in that when I fell in love, I got hurt. Not all the time, but some more than others.)

“Nakikita ko sa kanila yung hindi ko nakita sa akin noon. ‘Yung devotion ni Josh… Nakita ko naman ‘yun noon, kaya lang si Joshua mukhang faithful. Feeling ko may mararating itong dalawa personal life-wise, love life-wise.”

(I see in them what I didn’t see in my situation before. Josh’s devotion… I saw that before, but Joshua seems faithful. I feel like the two of them will achieve something personal life-wise, love life-wise.)

“As you watch them you’re thinking, nakakaiyak nga (you feel like crying), parang (like), how blessed you are and you don’t know it. So ‘yung akin lang (for me), it’s one thing to be a love team for public consumption, but remember you are two real life human beings and you have each other. May you be there for each other. Please treasure each other because this business can do things to your mind and make you believe you can play around with someone’s feelings. It’s not right.”

Pointing to the two, she said: “So whether you mean to or not, kasi ang daming babaeng hahabol sa’yo (Many girls will chase after you) [Joshua], ang daming lalaking hahabol sa’yo (many boys will chase after you) [Julia], focus on who is most important and then you don’t lose each other. Para pagdating ng araw ‘di kayo nagsisisi (So when the time comes, you’ll have no regrets).”

Sharon also revealed that she feels at ease, knowing that the next generation of actors is as talented and hardworking as Joshua and Julia.

“It’s such a joy na ‘yung (that the) next generation after us, or two generations after us, kung aalis kami at magre-retire or semi-retire, maiiwan sa katulad ng dalawang ito (if we ever leave and retire or become semi-retired, the industry will be left with the likes of these two) because they have their values in the right place. They have each other and it’s such a healthy lovely relationship that I didn’t always have when I was at their age.”

Sharon also encouraged the two to admit their relationship, saying that she doesn’t want people to get the wrong idea of Julia. 

“Umamin na tayo. D’yos ko naman. Ayoko lang kasi na may kalamabingan ‘tong anak kong ‘to na wala namang kaanu-ano ‘di ba? Mabuti na ‘yung alam nila kasi mahal mo,” she added. 

(Let’s admit the truth. My goodness. I don’t want my child [Julia] to have someone she has affection for without an actual relationship, right? It’s best that people know, because you love her.)

Unexpectedly Yours premieres in cinemas on November 29. – Rappler.com