Juday admits she’s very nervous. “Nakakatuwa na magteleserye uli but I can feel pressure kasi antagal ko nang di napanood sa primetime na umaarte,” she says. “The last time was in ‘Habang May Buhay’. 2010 pa yun. Three years na. Nakaka-tense to anticipate kung ano ang magiging reaction ng viewers ngayon. But kami ng mga kasama ko sa cast, we trust in the material kasi naiiba siya. It’s not your typical love story or the usual drama na may nawawalang anak. It’s about woman empowerment pero punong-puno ng iba’t ibang situations and emotions that us women usually go through and experience in life. I’m really grateful to ABS-CBN kasi ito ang binigay nilang project sa’kin as it shows na dapat, ang babae, hindi sinasaktan at marunong ipaglaban lalo’t inaapi ng mga asawa nila.”
Oh, very Ai Ai de las Alas! How does she feel about what happened to Ai Ai? “Of course, I sympathize with her and I feel sad na yung love story nilang akala natin, ang ganda-ganda, biglang naglaho. I don’t know her husband personally pero mali naman talagang pagbuhatan ng kamay ang sinumang babae. Hindi naman namin ito sinadyang gawin dahil sa nangyari sa kanila. Nagkataon lang na ganito ang tema ng bagong soap namin and I’m sure marami namang babaeng makaka-relate dito na naging victims of domestic violence.”
Has she and own hubby Ryan Agoncillo ever experienced something like that? “Naku, nagkakaroon din kami ng issues, aling marriage ba ang hindi, but never umabot sa ganyan. At anuman yung nagiging experiences namin, it helps make our relationship to be stronger and us, to be better persons.”
How come stories of marital rift between them continue to float? “Tinatawanan na lang namin yun and we pity yung mga humahabi ng ganyang stories about us. Our marriage is not perfect, but huwag naman tayong masyadong magpaka-nega. Bored ba kayo sa buhay nyo kaya kailangan nyo mag-imbento ng ganyang mga balita? Ako, personally, hindi ko na lang pinapansin ang ganyang mga tsismis dahil I’m really so happy now, with my family, with my career, sa pag-aalaga ng ABS sa akin, so ayoko ng nega. Let’s just focus on the positive.”
