Ruffa Gutierrez

One of the most glamorous and beautiful women in the local entertainment scene, Ruffa Gutierrez couldn’t help but cry on live TV during the last taping day of her daily morning show with Comedy Concert Queen Ai Ai delas Alas called “Ruffa and Ai.”

The tears fell not because she became jobless. She cried because she imagined how it would feel when she receives her annulment papers and is finally freed from her marriage in a few months time. Soul Siren Nina’s performance during their last episode reduced her even more to tears, according to Ruffa.

“I became sentimental because Nina was singing. And I cried because I told myself that it doesn’t mean that when you’re annulled you failed. Maybe it is a failure in a sense but annulment happens for different reasons,” sighed the actress at the set of her new film under Regal Films entitled “Ukay Ukay” which is part of the horror trilogy in “Shake rattle and Roll XI.”

What helped in conjuring the image of being annulled are the stories she heard from showbiz colleagues who recently gut annulled from their marriage.

“Ai Ai told me that everyone who got their annulment papers bawled. Whether it was your fault or it wasn’t, once you receive those documents, you’re going to cry because it was a manifestation of your failed marriage and your failure in that aspect. Even John Estrada cried when he was annulled from Janice de Belen,” shared Ruffa.

She added that it was but natural if someone cries after she gets annulled because that means the “Marriage Chapter” has been closed and a new one is about to be opened. And having a one last crying episode in one’s life is worthy of the price of freedom. For Ruffa, freedom is more important than her house in Istanbul, Turkey, or the riches she once has in her life when she was still married.

“It’s a good thing that I have work because the more that you receive from someone the more that he has a hold on you…I have a job here and I can take care of my kids on my own. I’m glad that ABS-CBN and Regal Films have always been there to give me work. So I hope ABS-CBN would give me another show because I’m a single working mom,” related Ruffa.

When it comes to having a new relationship, Ruffa said no. Getting married or even having a boyfriend is not her goal at the moment.

“I don’t like to get into a serious relationship. That’s why ‘marami akong na-busted’ because they were offering a serious relationship and marriage. I’m not emotionally ready,” she exclaimed.

This doesn’t mean though that she has become a “happy-go-lucky” person.

“I don’t also go for flings. Companionship is okay with me especially if we understand each other. It’s okay for me too to have an inspiration but where it will lead to or if I will be serious in the future, I don’t know. That never crossed my mind. Let’s just believe in God and if it’s meant to be it’s meant to be,” she pointed out.

In the “Ukay Ukay” episode of “Shake Rattle and Roll XI,” Ruffa plays Kyla who is engaged to long-time boyfriend Harold played by her former movie love team Zoren Legaspi. In the movie she likes to shop in “ukay-ukay” or thrift stores. In one occasion she came across a secondhand wedding gown. Since she has always wanted to get married to her boyfriend, she bought it. Unfortunately her secondhand wedding gown only brought her relationship misfortunes!

So would she advise women to buy and wear wedding gowns from “ukay ukay?” “For me I’d rather that they have a wedding gown made so there won’t be any bad spirits attached to it. But for me it doesn’t matter what gown you wear. What is important is that God is at the center of your marriage. Because weddings happen only for a night and what happens after that is the most important aspect of one’s marriage,” replied Ruffa.

Though a horror movie, she finds the title “Ukay Ukay” very timely especially during times of recession and the recent Ondoy typhoon disaster. “After the tragedy that struck our country, we can’t afford anymore to spend big and be a fashionista and buy branded clothes. Actually I don’t even buy imported magazines so I won’t be tempted to spend. I’d rather use my money to help the needy,” commented Ruffa who’s known to own a lot of high-end designer products.

“But what is once about our episode is that it talks about to what extreme a person can go to because of love. Kyla here would do anything for her love for Harold and it doesn’t matter what kind of bad spirit is in her way,” described Ruffa.