MANILA, Philippines — Belle Mariano is not accustomed to not having onscreen partner Donny Pangilinan in a series or movie project, but “somehow it was a good challenge” for her to work without him as she would get to know other actors and learn something new from them.

Belle will star in the third season of the original anthology series, Click, Like, Share, along with newbie Shanaia Gomez, for the episode Swap.

As per synopsis, Swap tells the gripping tale of two sisters whose bond is torn apart by jealousy. Jessie (Belle), a deeply insecure jologs who envies the life of her famous vlogger sister Jenny (Shanaia), gets her ultimate wish when she wakes up to find out they have switched bodies. What follows is a startling realization that there is more to their lives than meets the eye.

“Somehow naninibago rin ako,” said Belle, during a virtual call, about Donny’s absence. “In Click, Like, Share, iba naman mga kasama ko. Somehow it was a good challenge for me as well since kasama ko na sila Ms. Nikki (Valdez), sila kuya Bernard (Palanca). Andami ko ding natutunan sa kanila and sobrang natutuwa ako sa mga kasama ko.”

The Click, Like, Share episode is somewhat a “breather project” for Belle and Donny’s loveteam, known as DonBelle.

“Nasanay ako ‘cause of the several projects I’ve done with him (He’s Into Her and Love is Color Blind). But now I’m also happy that I get to do this project with my co-Rise Artist, with Shanaia and meet new actresses… I get to learn (from them) as well. Natutuwa ako na I was given this opportunity,” shared Belle.

For DonBelle fans, there’s no reason to panic. They still get to do more undertakings as an onscreen pair. She said, “When it comes to our passion naman, we are both supportive of one another.”

Belle Mariano plays a deeply insecure girl in the series.

“As an actor po kasi, I always look at the material and the story po. I’m open to more opportunities and I’m open to learn. When it comes to stuff like this, both of us are very supportive with our respective passion and what we love doing,” added the 19-year-old singer-actress when asked if she is open to the idea of being paired with another actor, aside from Donny. However, “Right now, I can’t see myself being paired with anyone else,” stated Belle.

Since the storyline of the upcoming Click, Like, Share episode involves body swapping, Belle was queried on whom she wants to switch personality with. She chose Ariana Grande, explaining: “I would want to be her in real life. Imagine ganun kaganda yung vocal cords ko. Ever since po kasi she’s my idol when it comes to singing. Also imagine, kung may ganun ka kagandang boses ‘di ‘ba why not araw-araw siguro ako kakanta nun.”

She is willing to also swap bodies with co-star Shanaia for a Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) stint. “Yeah, of course, ‘coz whoever’s life it may be, kung kanino man ako ma-swap, I know I will learn through that journey. Alam kong may matutunan ako sa bawat buhay ng kung sino man taong makikipag-swap ako,” she said.

On the other hand, among the Top 5 celebrity housemates of PBB: Kumunity Season 10, Shanaia picked one of the winners, Alyssa Valdez, to switch bodies with. “Kasi hindi po talaga ako athletic. So parang it’s so interesting to see what it’s like to be (her),” said Shanaia.

In a separate Zoom interview, Shanaia told The STAR how much she loved collaborating with Belle in this episode. “It was great na my first project (was) with a Rise Artist din. So medyo we already knew each other. Belle is very kind. She is easy to get along with and she really helped me din if I had questions. I really enjoyed working with her. I learned a lot from her.”

Shanaia also found it “amazing to work with great actors like Nikki Valdez, Sir Bernard Palanca and direk Andoy Ranay. I got to watch them work, and see how they (were) when they’re acting, so I learned a lot from that din po.”

Shanaia Gomez plays a famous vlogger.

On her first acting experience after PBB, Shanaia said she “had a lot of fun and really enjoyed it. I really gave my best po talaga. It’s a chill episode lalo na po na I got to experience the ‘conyo girl’ na ‘Oh my gosh, welcome to my blog.’ And then I turned into Jessie who (is) ‘Anak ng Pares,’” added the celebrity newcomer.

“I got to experience both spectrums of acting and it was just really a lot of fun. That’s one thing that I learned, something like, you act the best when you’re just relaxed, you just have fun and you just really become the character po talaga,” she further told The STAR.