Jomari picks up the pieces

Jomari Yllana’s love life has always been the stuff of which intrigue-laden talk shows are made. With rumors linking him to Miss Denmark, Thea Froejcker, he still gets asked about former girlfriend Ara Mina.

Yes, he admits. He failed to greet her on her birthday last May 9. But he is quick to point out why.

"I did remember that it was her birthday, but I didn’t want to disturb her," Jomari reasons out. Talk about a politically-correct, gentlemanly explanation for keeping communication lines closed between him and his ex, whom Jomari says he has not spoken with since January.

But don’t get him wrong. Jomari wishes Ara well. He’s happy about reports that a suitor filled her van with flowers on her birthday. He’s also willing to work with her again in a romantic movie "if the project is good." Yes, he’s willing to set aside personal feelings in the name of professional growth.

Besides, he himself has not been lonely lately. After he met Miss Denmark, Thea Froejcker in a party last November, the rumor mill has been working overtime about a budding romance.

"She’s simple, practical and not demanding," Jomari is quick to sing hosannas for the beauty titlist-law student. "She is here to review for her studies. But she’ll leave for Denmark in August to take her exams."

But much as he enjoys her company, Jomari says he’s not ready to commit himself to Thea. Long-distance romance, he says, are difficult to maintain. And, at 28, Jomari’s priorities have changed. They signal a more mature, more grounded Jomari who knows he must focus on his career more than ever.

Early this year, ABS-CBN gave him reason to hope for the best. The network offered him a role he can’t resist: that of the villain in the fantasy series Kampanerang Kuba. So, after packing his bags in GMA, Jomari turned Kapamilya once more, together with Anne Curtis, who plays the title role in the new series.

"It’s my most mature role on TV so far," he says excitedly. "I play the devil incarnate, seeking to destroy a whole kingdom and using a woman (Eula Valdes) to get close to the one I really love (Jean Garcia)."

The prosthetics took all of one-and-a-half-hours to put on, but Jomari didn’t raise a whimper. How could he, when switching to a meaty character role has always been on his to-do list as an actor?

Ask any character actor and he’ll tell you one of the surest ways to showbiz durability is through an offbeat role like this. They don’t limit actors in a box they can’t get out from once they’re snuggly inside.

Forget those suave, matinee idol roles. They not only have a shorter shelf life, they’re also harder to come by.

That’s why Jomari is focusing on his new role with the intensity of a jaguar intent on his prey. If it means letting his love life take the backseat, so be it.

He has a lot of catching up to do with Andre, his seven-year-old son by Aiko Melendez.

"I want Andre to finish school first before even embarking on a showbiz career," Jomari the dad declares. "Otherwise, his priorities might change. He might give more importance to what gives him more money (referring to showbiz)."

Jomari is speaking from experience. After he got hooked on showbiz via Regal Shockers at age 12, Jomari considered showbiz as the Land of Milk and Honey. He finished high school but didn’t get around to enrolling in college. Yes, his auto business may be doing well. But this car lover insists there’s still no substitute for education.

"Andre (a grade school student at the Ateneo de Manila), must finish school," Jomari insists.

The boy remains his link to Aiko Melendez, with whom Jomari can easily laugh and trade jokes with, years after their split-up. Televiewers themselves saw how the animosity has flown out the window when Jomari guested in Aiko’s show recently.

"I feel more comfortable working with an ex (girlfriend). I know what makes her tick, how to make her laugh or cry," explains Jomari.

Hopefully, the same formula will work on Ara Mina, if and when they find themselves in each other’s arms again, not as lovers, but as co-stars. After all, the audience still looks for reliable names such as theirs to watch on screen. And producers will continue banking on Jomari and Ara Mina the way they stick to tried-and-tested names in the biz, whether the un-couple like it or not.