“I expected this and I told Janine this is bound to happen, being asked about it, and it’s happening now,” Lauren says, laughing. “Janine and I know each other but we’re not really close, so during our workshop before the show, I really appreciated it when she approached me first, para mawala yung any awkwardness sa amin. Matagal na rin naman yung issue so we’ve both moved on. For us to work together effectively, we have to get along fine and trust each other. Lalo na nga, ang mga eksena namin sa ‘Legally Blind’, puro mabibigat. Younger sister niya ako pero naiinggit ako sa kanya kasi favorite siya ng parents namin. Pinahinto ako sa pag-aaral para makatapos siya ng law. Tapos, inagaw ko yung boyfriend niya, si Rodjun Cruz, and later on, na-in love naman ako sa rapist niya, si Marc Abaya. May mga eksena kaming sasampalin ko siya and ayoko namang isipin niya when I slap her, it’s because I hate her. Gusto ko lang, maisip niya, wow, Lauren is a good actor. Kaya it’s good na we’re okay nowso that it will make the lives of everyone around us easier and they don’t have to tiptoe around us dahil may issue pa kami. Sa ngayon, I’d say this is the closest that Janine and I have been in two years.”
Lauren is loveless now and prefers it that way, but she has a non-showbiz BF whose name she doesn’t want to reveal. (But someone told us it’s Roberto Garcia.) “Basta, two years na kami. We have a wonderful relationship.”
Is she friends with Elmo? “Not really. We’ve both moved on and I say hi to him when I see him, but we’re not really friends. Pero his mom, si Tita Pia (Magalona,) remains naman to be my manager and his sisters, Maxine and Saab, are both good friends of mine.”
As for Janine, working with Lauren is a non-issue. “Matagal ko na nga siya gustong makatrabaho kasi alam kong magaling siyang artista,” she says. “It’s my mom (Lotlot de Leon) who told me about it kasi nagkasama sila noon sa isang soap with Kris Bernal. Kaya when I was told na magkakasama kami sa ‘Legally Blind’, okay, game agad ako. At yun, nagkasundo naman kami agad at nagkakatulungan pa kami sa mga eksena namin. Never naming napag-usapan yung ex namin dahil hindi na kailangan. So far, nakaka-six tapings pa lang kami and as we go along, I’m sure we’ll be better friends.”
Going back to Lauren, her last show was still “Marimar” with her Ate Megan and that’s more than a year ago. It seems she gained so much weight during her vacation as she now sports such wide hips and thighs, giving her a pear shaped figure. She should hie off to the gym pronto to get rid of her unwanted pounds.
