PHOTOS: @coleen & @billycrawford on Instagram

 

Pagpapakatotoo ni Coleen Garcia, mahirap daw na malayo ang asawang si Billy Crawford sa kanilang mag-ina pero nararamdaman umano n’ya na mas nahihirapan ito dahil mag-isa lang ito ngayon sa France. “Ang hirap, ang hirap. S’yempre, it gets lonely pero nasa akin kasi ’yong bata so mas mahirap para sa kanya [Billy]. Nalulungkot na s’ya,” sabi n’ya.

Hiwalay daw muna sa ngayon ang celebrity couple na sina Coleen Garcia at Billy Crawford para matutukan umano nila ang pansarili nilang career.

Sinabi ’yan ng aktres ng maka-tsikahan s’ya ng entertainment press kamakailan pagkatapos ng press con proper nila for their upcoming Viva One digital series na Kung Hindi Lang Tayo Sumuko.

Hindi na kasi makakasunod sa France si Coleen at anak nilang si Amari gaya nang nauna nilang plano. May 18 shows daw kasing gagawin si Billy doon bilang nagka-resurgence ang kanyang European career matapos mag-champion sa French version ng Dancing with the Stars kaya in demand ngayon doon ang singer-actor and TV host. At nagkataon namang dumami na rin ang offers kay Coleen.

Naisip daw ni Coleen na it’s about time na rin para balikan niya ang akting na matagal niyang naisantabi dahil inuna ang pamilya.

Naramdaman umano bi Coleen na after three years ay bigla raw s’yang nagkaroon ulit ng time for herself dahil magkahiwalay daw sila ngayon ng mister n’yang si Billy—physically.

“The original plan was after this [series], dapat susunod na ako. Tapos parang biglang tuloy-tuloy ’yong projects,” paliwanag ni Coleen sa amin.

(Katunayan, nasa Malaysia na s’ya ngayon dahil nagko-compete doon ang award-winning movie nila ni Direk Roman Perez, Jr. na Kaluskos.)

“Na-push back nang na-push back ’yong trip namin. It was supposed to be one month si Billy doon tapos pag natapos ito, one month naman kami doon with him.

Pero dahil nagsunod-sunod ang dating ng projects ay nagpasya daw s’ya na dumito muna sila ng anak nilang si Amari sa bansa.

Na-realize din umano n’ya na parang ang dami raw nilang time na ginugol sa pagta-travel lang.

“Kasi we’ve been traveling so much in the past two years, like we spent three months there in France. Tapos dito naman parang palipat-lipat and I haven’t been able to find my footing for the longest time so I really need this time also,” paliwanag pa n’ya.

“So, naiisip ko, and I really prayed so hard about it. And I felt God told me to stay talaga. So, nu’ng naramdaman ko agad, I told Billy, ‘Love, I think I need to use this time na for me.’ And what he said was, ‘It’s okay, Love. Go, fill your heart first.’”

Aminado naman s’ya tila napabayaan n’ya rin ang kanyang career sa mga nakalipas na taon dahil nga naging priority n’ya ang kanilang pamilya.

“Ako talaga ’yong naiwan. I was left behind talaga for the past three years,” she said.

“I really took my mental health and everything in the back seat. So now I’m finally recovering and si Amari pinapayagan na ako mag-work,” pagpapatuloy n’ya.

“I just had to tell him, ‘Mommy is gonna go to work.’ I think, you know, the three years, the almost three years that I really bonded with him, it helped, it helped.”

Masaya raw s’ya na makadalong muli sa mga face-to-face media conference na na-miss daw n’ya.

“Na-miss ko mag-ganitong event. It’s a part of me na hindi ko alam na until now na, ‘Okey parang it’s really a part of me,’” she went on.

Pero paglilinaw n’yang happy at kuntento rin naman daw s’ya sa bahay kasama ang kanyang family. It’s just that for her own personal growth, kailangan din niyang may gawin para sa sarili.

“Masaya ako at home and I think those three years, very important na ma-realize ko na this is all I need and everything outside is a bonus para mas ma-enjoy ko,” paliwanag ng aktres.

“Parang those years, just with my family, I realized na, ‘Ito pa lang masaya na ako.’ So, whatever’s outside, plus na lang ’yon. Walang minus. Plus lang.”

Going back to Billy, patuloy naman daw ang communication nila ng kanyang mister ngayong magkalayo sila.

“We call each other everyday pero parang minsan ‘Good night’ na lang, ganu’n. Sometimes, it’s easier to let the day pass na sobrang busy ka kasi sobrang busy ni Billy,” pag-amin n’ya.

Mula kasi nang manalo ito sa 12th season ng Danse avec les Stars sa Paris ay dinagsa na ito ng projects and offers doon.

“He has 18 shows now in France. Ang dami,” pagmamalaki ni Coleen.

“Umaabot ng 40 to 60 thousand people [ang audience n’ya] and they’re all singing along with his songs and they all love him na. They’re all cheering for him kaya nakakataba din ng puso na [nandu’n s’ya],” saad n’ya.

S’ya naman daw ay magpo-focus sa career n’ya dito sa Pilipinas.

“I’m just trying to find myself again slowly so we’re both going in completely different ways. And I think this is a stage na we both have to focus on our individual paths first. Pero nag-a-update-tan pa rin kami, ’di ba?” lahad pa ng Viva actress.

Supportive naman daw sila ni Billy sa career and growth ng isa’t isa.

“Me and Billy kasi, parang we found love in a hopeless place ang peg, ’di ba?,” natatawang bakik-tanaw niya sa love story nila. “Pero we’re helping each other grow so it doesn’t end after you get married. Talagang when you have the right partner continuous dapat ’yong growth,” aniya.

Hindi ba naman sila mahirapan ngayong ito na ang pinakamatagal na magkalayo silang mag-asawa?

“Ang hirap, ang hirap,” pagpapakatotoo ni Coleen. “S’yempre, it gets lonely pero nasa akin kasi ’yong bata so mas mahirap para sa kanya [Billy]. Nalulungkot na s’ya.”

Ganu’n pa man, she’s looking at the brighter side of things daw na ngayong magkalayo sila dahil magkakaroon s’ya ng time for herself hanggang sa muling pag-uwi ni Billy.

When asked if she could recommend this kind of setup sa ibang couples—na subukan ang maglayo physically for a period of time to focus on one’s self—hindi raw niya masabi.

What’s working for them may not work on others daw.

“I think it will vary talaga with every couple, ’di ba? I thought na perfect na magkakasama kami all the time. But then, now I’m seeing na okey naman,” sabi n’ya.

“Ang kulang lang talaga sa full dynamics is I needed to carve out time to myself talaga kasi napabayaan ko talaga ’yong sarili ko,” pagtatapos ni Coleen.

Samantala, mapapanood na ang romantic drama series na Kung Hindi Lang Tayo Sumuko, kung saan kasama ni Coleen sina Ryza Cenon, Jerome Ponce, Kiko Estrada, Rhen Escano, at Carlo Aquino, simula August 21 sa streaming app na Viva One.