ARIEL RIVERA is happy to be back doing a drama series as a Kapuso in “The Fake Life” that starts airing on GMA Afternoon Prime on June 6.
His last show with GMA was five years ago in “Mulawin vs. Ravena” where he played a half-Mulawin.
Most of his shows after this was with ABS-CBN and then he became one of the hosts of TV5’s lunchtime show, “Lunch Out Loud” which he left last November. So what’s his role in “The Fake Life”?
“I play Onats Villamor,” he says. “I’m a loving husband to my wife Beauty Gonzalez who plays Cindy and a devoted father to our daughter Jaycee played by Shanelle Agustin and our son Carlos Dala as Jonjon.
"We have a peaceful family life but I didn’t know that my wife has a dark secret from her past which will mess up our lives. We thought we have a good life but it turns out to be an illusion as we have a fake life.
"I just want to say that I love being back in GMA. I have many friends here and I really enjoy working here.”
Also in the cast are Sid Lucero as Mark, the ghost from Beauty’s past; Tetchie Agbayani as Ariel’s surrogate mother, Sonia; Jenny Miller as Margaux, Ariel’s best friend; Rina Reyes as Jean Luna, Faye Lorenzo as Jai, Saviour Ramos as Caloy and Will Ashley as Peter Luna, a boy who wants to take revenge on Ariel as he thinks Ariel had something to do with the death of his own dad.
Appearing as guest stars are Kristoffer Martin as the young Ariel, Bea Binene as the young Beauty and Jake Vargas as the young Sid.
Jake is Bea’s first boyfriend and Kristoffer is an older friend of her brother. But Jake breaks up with her when their family migrates to the States. Bea then falls for Kristoffer and eventually marries him.
Ariel is elated to head such a big cast.
“We all bonded well during our lock in taping,” he adds. “Everyone really cooperated. Maayos ang samahan ng lahat and they all contributed their best to make the show really worthwatching for all the viewers.
"Sacrifice ito kasi our lock in taping was 5 weeks. Sabi ko, next time, ayoko na ng ganun katagal. Hanggang 3 weeks lang ako as I really miss my family.”
“The Fake Life” will replace “Artikulo 247” that will end on June 3. Off cam, Ariel’s marriage to Gelli de Belen remains one of the most stable in local showbiz and they just celebrated their silver wedding anniversary.
They were married in 1997 and their relationship is still growing strong with their two sons, Joaquin who is 23 years old and Julio who is 21. Both of them studied in Ontario, Canada.
So what’s the secret of their lasting marriage?
“I just listen to my wife, that’s it. We try to respect and understand each other’s views. There are a lot of other factors, but yun ang root, the respect we have for each other.”