00:00 How's your heart?
00:02 My heart? My heart is so full and I'm happy but I'm still single.
00:08 Oh.
00:09 I'm still single but I'm enjoying my single era and I feel like I can't see myself in a relationship with someone.
00:22 It was a tough year for me.
00:24 I cried a lot. I don't want to pretend that I don't want to feel this.
00:30 I would allow myself to feel it so I can release it.
00:33 I think that's where I healed.
00:35 I don't need a guy in my life.
00:37 I am happy. I am happy. I'm at peace.
00:40 I'm really blessed. Super blessed.
00:48 Updaters, it's so hot. But we'll cool it down because our next guest is a mixture of hot and cold.
01:00 She is the hottest ice queen I know.
01:05 Let's welcome my friend, Ashley Ortega.
01:09 Hello! Hello everybody. I am back. Thank you.
01:14 Yes, you're back.
01:16 Ashley, okay. You said that you're back.
01:21 It's been a year since we last talked here on Updated.
01:27 I remember my last interview with you here.
01:30 I was promoting Hearts on Ice.
01:33 Wait a minute. I'll just go back, Ashley. If I may.
01:37 Last year when I interviewed you, you were moving on from that relationship.
01:46 How's your heart now?
01:49 My heart is so full and I'm happy.
01:53 But I'm still single.
01:55 I'm still single but I'm enjoying my single era.
02:01 I feel like I can't see myself in a relationship with someone because I have so much on my plate right now.
02:12 I'm focusing on my new teleserye.
02:16 We launched Sparkle 10 Girls.
02:20 I'm happy. I'm contented.
02:25 But of course, I'm not closing my doors. If someone comes to me, I feel like I have potential.
02:31 I will embrace it.
02:34 But for now, I don't.
02:37 Do you go out on dates?
02:40 I do. Actually, yes.
02:42 I've been single for a year and a half.
02:46 I do go out and hang out with guys to get to know them.
02:51 But that's it. I always tell them that this is a casual hangout.
02:58 I just really want to explore and get to know a lot of people.
03:03 I'm at that stage.
03:05 You're saying that upfront?
03:08 Yes, upfront. So that there are no expectations.
03:12 So that they won't be hopeful about me.
03:16 I don't know if it works out together.
03:21 I can feel it when there's a spark.
03:24 I don't feel anything.
03:27 Nothing yet?
03:29 You can't force it.
03:33 I want it to be natural.
03:36 I want it to be okay.
03:38 Actually, I get to vibe with everybody.
03:41 But maybe because that's not my priority.
03:45 I'm not looking for love.
03:48 Maybe that's why.
03:50 But if I have more than three dates,
03:54 I'll tell them, "Let's just see where this goes.
03:57 You can't expect anything from me.
04:00 Let's just enjoy each other's company."
04:03 I'm busy with work. That's my priority.
04:06 If they're willing to wait, they'll wait.
04:10 I won't force it.
04:13 It's good that you're with them when you're busy.
04:17 Sometimes, I'm not going to deny it.
04:20 I do get lonely and bored.
04:22 I want to go out.
04:23 But recently, I've been with my girlfriends.
04:27 Shuby, Roxy, Sky.
04:29 We're always together.
04:31 I'm happy with them.
04:33 I'm okay even if I'm single.
04:35 Because you're all so busy.
04:37 You're there when I need you.
04:39 I really love them and I appreciate them.
04:42 You said you don't have a significant other.
04:48 Now is your time to enjoy with friends.
04:53 Because if you have a boyfriend,
04:56 you're focused on him.
04:58 That's true.
05:01 I'm really enjoying my time with myself,
05:05 with friends, with family.
05:07 It's okay.
05:08 If there's a right time,
05:12 it's good for me.
05:15 But if not, I won't stop.
05:17 Especially now that there are so many plans for me
05:22 this year in my career.
05:23 I'm super excited.
05:24 I noticed that you've been resting.
05:27 Did you become choosy in your roles
05:29 after you did Hearts on Ice?
05:32 I didn't become choosy.
05:35 Yes, I did rest and travel.
05:38 But I said, "This is the next thing I want to do."
05:43 You know how the lines are so hard?
05:46 So, in Pulang Araw,
05:49 when they told me about that project,
05:51 I immediately agreed.
05:52 Because it's a beautiful project,
05:54 it's a beautiful role.
05:56 I didn't become choosy.
05:58 Your role in Pulang Araw is really challenging.
06:02 We saw it in Comfort Women's Home.
06:07 It's really challenging.
06:09 You really cried in your research.
06:13 Yes, I also need to balance my role.
06:18 Because it's challenging to be a Comfort Woman.
06:21 But at the same time,
06:22 I'm also the bad one there.
06:24 So, I need to balance how to do that.
06:27 The pitiful, bad one.
06:31 Because you're a victim of the situation.
06:34 Yes, exactly.
06:36 And I'm doing this role for them.
06:41 For all the Comfort Women.
06:43 Because you were there and we heard everything.
06:47 I want to do this to my role.
06:50 Ash, you said earlier that you didn't become choosy,
06:53 but you rested.
06:54 And you focused on self-love.
06:57 You traveled.
06:59 Tell us about it.
07:00 Yes, I traveled.
07:02 But it was only here in Asia.
07:05 I traveled with my friends,
07:07 with my best friend,
07:08 with a family member.
07:10 It was fun because
07:12 there was no diet, no KJ.
07:15 When I'm here,
07:17 I would spend time with my friends.
07:19 Also, Roxy, Sky, Shuby.
07:24 I think that's where I healed.
07:27 I realized that I don't need a guy in my life.
07:30 I am happy.
07:32 I am at peace.
07:33 I'm really blessed.
07:35 Super blessed.
07:36 I'm also excited because
07:38 As If It's True will be released on Netflix.
07:41 The movie I did last year for Cinemalaya
07:44 will be on Netflix.
07:46 I'm so happy and really contented in life.
07:51 You said that it's fun
07:54 to focus on self-love and friends.
07:58 You don't need to find a significant other.
08:02 You can find love in your friends.
08:06 They can fill up the gaps
08:10 that other people think you don't have.
08:14 Yes, that's true.
08:16 And of course, I also learned how to enjoy my own company.
08:19 Of course, my friends are not there 24/7.
08:22 I don't want to be a needy friend or a needy person.
08:25 I've been living alone.
08:28 I learned how to enjoy my own company.
08:31 I just stay at home.
08:33 Before, I always had to go out.
08:36 But now, at least I can just sit back and relax with my dog.
08:40 Just enjoy my own company.
08:42 I don't need to call my friends.
08:44 I can just be myself.
08:48 That's so nice.
08:50 You have the house all to yourself.
08:53 You don't need to take a bath.
08:57 Yes, oh my gosh.
08:59 That's true.
09:02 Your house, your rules.
09:04 You don't need to be bothered.
09:06 True.
09:07 You don't need to be bothered.
09:09 But yourself, if you're hungry, eat.
09:11 If you don't want to eat, don't eat.
09:13 I know.
09:14 If you want to wake up late, you'll wake up late.
09:17 That's so nice.
09:20 You're imparting so much to me about self-love.
09:25 I'm sure a lot of people can relate to that.
09:28 You said earlier that you're into being alone.
09:34 You're enjoying your condo.
09:37 They also said that when you turn 25, you'll have a quarter-life crisis.
09:42 Do you experience that?
09:44 Or do you just get stuck in that?
09:47 I think there was a time when I thought about what's next.
09:54 What will I do next?
09:56 Especially now or earlier?
09:59 I think this was maybe last year.
10:03 The Bermond's.
10:05 What will I do next?
10:08 I was on break.
10:11 It wasn't a big deal to me.
10:15 I've been through a lot.
10:18 I'm always out and about.
10:19 But I asked myself, "What do I really want?"
10:23 "Do I want to have a boyfriend?"
10:25 "Or do I just want to be alone?"
10:28 "Or maybe because I can't choose?"
10:31 I asked that to myself.
10:33 I answered that if I wanted to have a boyfriend, I think I could get one.
10:39 You could.
10:40 I could, but it's my choice to not be in a relationship with someone.
10:48 I enjoy my time.
10:51 I enjoy being single.
10:53 I just want to explore and meet a lot of people.
10:56 I don't want to think about it.
10:58 If I have a boyfriend, I'll have to say goodbye.
11:02 I don't want that.
11:04 You're still a different person.
11:06 One thing I've realized about living with somebody, even if you say you love them,
11:11 you're still an individual.
11:12 You're still different.
11:14 You'll adjust.
11:17 That's true.
11:19 I'm not there yet.
11:21 But I think that's the only question I asked myself.
11:26 Career-wise, I'm super blessed and super grateful that
11:31 there are so many plans for my career.
11:36 I'm really happy for that.
11:38 I'm more happy for myself.
11:40 What do you want for yourself?
11:42 Those are the questions I ask myself.
11:45 But I think I'm okay now.
11:49 I'm really, really happy.
11:51 While you're telling your story,
11:53 I cannot help but think that in my younger years,
11:58 I went through something.
12:01 I call it "sadness pangs" as opposed to "hunger pangs."
12:07 This is sadness pangs.
12:10 How do you get out of it?
12:12 Because you don't have a boyfriend.
12:15 You enjoy company with your friends.
12:17 You're alone at home.
12:19 Sometimes it hits you.
12:21 "Why am I sad today?"
12:24 I do feel that when I'm lonely.
12:27 When I'm alone, I just drink a glass of wine.
12:33 So you enjoy--
12:35 "Oh, wait. I'll drink with myself."
12:38 Yes. I'll just play good music.
12:42 I love music.
12:44 So when I listen to--
12:46 Actually, I allow myself to feel sad.
12:48 When I feel sad at night, I'll cry.
12:51 It's not nice to pretend that I don't want to feel sad.
12:56 I allow myself to feel it so I can release it.
12:59 And then after, I feel better.
13:01 So while I'm doing it,
13:03 "Tonight is the night I'm going to have a mental breakdown."
13:06 I'm going to allow myself to feel it.
13:08 And then after that, I'll wake up and I'll be okay.
13:11 Of course, there are days when you feel lonely, you feel sad.
13:16 Is it okay to be dramatic?
13:18 Yes. I really let it out.
13:21 But it makes me feel better the next day.
13:25 I just think, "I'm acting again last night."
13:30 That's it. The morning after, you'll realize that you were dramatic last night.
13:36 Yes, I was dramatic last night.
13:38 But I'm only human.
13:40 Of course, we feel those loneliness and sadness.
13:44 And it's okay to feel things also.
13:47 So I allow myself to feel it.
13:49 Because the more I allow myself to feel it,
13:51 the more it will build up inside.
13:54 You'll just explode one day.
13:56 I don't want that to happen to me.
13:58 If I feel sad, I'm going to allow myself to feel sad.
14:01 And then after a while, I'll go back to normal life.
14:05 You know what's weird? I'll impart it to you.
14:08 I know what you're going through now.
14:10 It's a happy phase.
14:12 You'll realize that you cry at different things now
14:20 compared to the things that you used to cry about two years ago.
14:25 Right?
14:26 You cry more in movies now than in real life.
14:30 That's true. That is so true.
14:33 And what I used to cry about, I just laughed about it now.
14:36 Exactly. Right?
14:39 Yes. Yes.
14:41 So, yeah.
14:42 Yes, it's different. It's true.
14:44 The reasons why I cry are different.
14:47 But last year, I think it was a good year for me.
14:54 I was lucky in my career.
14:55 But also, it was a tough year for me.
14:58 I cried a lot.
15:00 But in the last few months, last year, I was really happy.
15:04 I don't cry that much anymore.
15:08 I just laugh and smile.
15:12 You know?
15:13 And I'm grateful for that.
15:15 Because of the people around me.
15:16 They say that laughter is the best medicine.
15:19 That's not true. It's evolved.
15:21 Self-love is the best medicine.
15:25 That is so true.
15:27 That's true.
15:28 Because who would love you if you don't love yourself?
15:32 True.
15:33 You know, the updaters who are listening to us now,
15:36 there are a lot of things that will be taken away from what you said.
15:39 Number one, you don't need to have a boyfriend if the timing is not right.
15:44 Right?
15:45 And two, even if you don't have a boyfriend, you can still be happy.
15:49 Yes, that is so true.
15:51 Just have to hang out with the right people.
15:54 Yes, that is so true.
15:55 Right people, right crowd, healthy environment.
15:59 Or if you're on a trip, not to hang out with the right people,
16:04 hang out with yourself.
16:06 Yeah, that's true.
16:08 Actually, I was able to hang out with the wrong people.
16:12 I don't want to say that they're bad people.
16:14 But it's also nice to witness it, to experience it.
16:18 So you know the people you will avoid in life.
16:22 What's your red flag?
16:23 Red flag?
16:25 In general?
16:27 Maybe...
16:28 Like, "Ah, this is not the crowd for me."
16:31 Or "This is not the person I will hang around with."
16:36 Maybe...
16:39 The...
16:42 The plastic, the wearing...
16:45 The skinny person in front of you.
16:48 Like...
16:49 Oh, yes.
16:51 But when you're around, you hear a lot of things about you.
16:56 So I think those are my red flags.
17:00 If you don't like me, don't talk to me. It's fine.
17:03 But if you don't like me, but you're still gonna...
17:06 When you see me, you'll be like, "Ah, how are you?"
17:08 Like that, right?
17:09 Like plastic.
17:11 So I...
17:13 Maybe the red flag is people who's not genuine.
17:17 Yes.
17:18 What else is there?
17:19 Be your authentic self now.
17:22 Yes.
17:23 You know, it's also nice that it's now a trend
17:25 that if you're someone, you're that.
17:27 A lot of people are really...
17:30 They're showing what they really are.
17:32 Which is a good thing also.
17:34 But there are also people who are not like that.
17:38 So avoid that.
17:40 Ashley.
17:41 Yes?
17:42 There's a question.
17:43 When do you feel the sexiest?
17:46 When do I feel the sexiest?
17:49 Hmm...
17:51 Maybe after taking a shower.
17:55 Because I feel so clean and fresh.
17:58 Yes.
17:59 Why?
18:00 Or when I smile.
18:03 When I smile, when I laugh.
18:06 So that's your sexy part.
18:09 Your smile.
18:11 My smile when I laugh.
18:13 When I'm confident with myself.
18:17 So that's it.
18:18 Why do I look arrogant?
18:20 I'm just like that.
18:21 Just confidence as it is.
18:23 Yes.
18:24 Confidently beautiful with a heart.
18:26 Yeah. And I feel like...
18:27 Why not?
18:28 No.
18:29 You don't have to wear a sexy dress to be sexy.
18:33 But of course, I also feel sexy when I'm clean.
18:37 Because I like rituals in my body.
18:40 So after taking a shower, I feel fresh.
18:43 Yes.
18:44 That's good.
18:46 What's your love language?
18:48 My love language?
18:50 Actually, I'm a physical touch.
18:55 I don't have a boyfriend now.
18:57 For my friends, I love hugging them, kissing them.
19:01 My dog also.
19:03 And maybe giving gifts.
19:07 But not like...
19:08 You're giving gifts.
19:09 It's more of...
19:11 I always plan ahead.
19:14 So when we plan, I really love spending money on good food, good drinks
19:21 when I'm with good company, with my friends.
19:24 Yes. Why not?
19:27 As long as it's good food and good company, I'm okay with that.
19:32 You can get your money back, but the memories are super worth it.
19:37 So I think that's my love language.
19:40 And words of affirmation.
19:43 I think...
19:45 I'm basing this on my friends right now because I don't have a boyfriend.
19:50 But yeah, my advice is...
19:53 They listen to me.
19:56 A good talk, right?
19:58 I always share my experience.
19:59 And if they're going through something, I'll tell them, "Girl, I'm just a phone call away.
20:02 Don't worry, I won't talk to you.
20:04 If you're going through something, I'm just here.
20:06 I won't judge you."
20:08 So I would always talk to them if they're going through something.
20:13 I do have a group chat with different groups of people.
20:17 I'm always active in the group chat.
20:21 You're the one who's always up to something.
20:27 They said, "Ash, you're so active right now.
20:30 You reply so fast."
20:32 I said, "Hey, I have a lot of time right now."
20:37 "Why?"
20:38 "I have a lot of time."
20:39 I said, "You should be happy.
20:41 I'm spending my time with you, not with others."
20:45 Yeah, compared to other people who are mean.
20:48 Ash!
20:54 Before I let you go, I'm going to turn the tables around.
20:58 We have a segment, right?
21:00 Ask Nelson.
21:01 I don't know if you're prepared for this, but you can ask me one question.
21:06 What's happening with your love life?
21:10 You know, okay.
21:12 I will not say it's stagnant.
21:16 I mean, we've been together 10 years this year.
21:23 We celebrated our 60th year of marriage last Feb 21.
21:30 And, you know, plain is good.
21:36 You know, steady is good.
21:39 Once you reach a certain age, you'll find that steady is good.
21:44 Yeah, no more rollercoaster.
21:47 No more rollercoaster.
21:49 I mean, there are still times.
21:51 Because, of course, just like a heartbeat, there are times like that.
21:54 But it's not always like that.
21:56 Okay.
21:57 Because it's tiring.
21:59 So, my heart is very okay.
22:02 I'm, uh, it's where it's supposed to be.
22:07 Aww.
22:08 There.
22:09 And I hope it stays that way because I'm getting older.
22:13 And I'm enjoying what we have, what I have.
22:19 That's why, just like you said, self-love is important.
22:24 I'm focusing more on that.
22:28 That's nice.
22:29 That's nice.
22:30 Yes, self-love is the key.
22:32 Ash, I hope to see you one of these days.
22:34 Aww, me also.
22:36 We'll see each other.
22:37 Yes, yes.
22:38 Okay, okay.
22:39 Anyway, Ash, I'll see you one of these days.
22:41 Thank you.
22:42 Thank you for guesting again.
22:44 I love you.
22:45 Thank you.
22:46 I love you.
22:47 [Music]
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