Maricel Soriano: I don't miss sex
Nini Valera
Inquirer News Service
"I DON'T MISS SEX," SAID MARICEL SORIANO IN an exclusive interview with Inquirer Entertainment.
Maricel, 40, confided that she had not been intimate with a man for about 10 years now.
"Honestly, I prefer to be alone in bed with my pillows. I have only one 'man' ... ang nasa taas (the One above). He's enough for me," she said.
The actress has had her share of romance. Her one marriage-to actor Edu Manzano-ended in separation after four years.
"But we have remained friends," she insisted. "The marriage just didn't work out."
She refused to dig up the past, saying that it's better left in her memory. Right now, it's the future and her family that are most important to her.
"I have my children to be happy about," Maricel proclaimed.
Marron, 17, an adopted son with former boyfriend Ronnie Ricketts, and Tien, 11, her son by Congressman Cesar Jalosjos, are a hovering presence in Maricel's current existence.
"It's tough to reason with Tien," she said with good humor. "Like, he would insist that I come home early even when I'm on location shooting. He would nag me endlessly. One time, we were talking on the phone when I told him that I would not be home until late. And he said, 'How come you were early yesterday?' I told him I just got lucky the previous day."
Survivor
But luck and Maricel are more than just nodding acquaintances. She has survived the pitfalls of her show biz career, which now spans more than three decades and more than a hundred movies. She was only 8 when show biz called. As a young star, she seemed to suddenly lose her naivete, embracing as she did the trademark "taray" image.
The years, however, have softened the toughness and smoothed out the rough edges.
"There are movies I made in the past that make me cringe now," she admitted. "But they are still part of what I am and what I have become."
What she has become is the "Diamond Star," a tag she earned with her glowing dramatic performances, the most recent of which was her role as the spinster in the family drama "Filipinas" in 2003. The role bagged her several acting awards and reaffirmed her status as an A-list actress.
"I love what I do," she said. "My work is interesting, and my roles keep changing. Still, there's that routine in my life which has given me peace. It's nice to come home every night and drink tea."
It's also nice, she said, to be working again for television, a medium that has always been kind to her. Starting tonight, Maricel will be seen on ABS-CBN in the teleserye "Vietnam Rose," in the role of a Vietnam War survivor, who has to confront her past in order for her to make peace with her future in the Philippines.
"When I was asked to do 'Vietnam Rose,' I did not hesitate," Maricel said. "I knew I would be working with Direk Joel Lamangan, whom I really respect and admire. Just give me a good script, a good director and a good company, and I will jump."
