Angelica Panganiban almost gave up on love until she met Gregg

MANILA, Philippines — Angelica Panganiban said she initially had no plans of sharing about her new love, but she realized that she is a public figure and there were people who would also want to see her happy.

"Wala akong plano," the actress shared during last Saturday's virtual mediacon for her upcoming movie with Coco Martin titled "Love or Money."

But then, she immediately said she changed her mind. "Parang gusto ko lang din maging proud and siguro para i-share lang din 'yung happiness dahil maraming tao ang nalulungkot at nasasakatan para sa akin. Ayokong ipagdamot 'yung happiness ko ngayon. Sa simpleng bagay na gano'n, kahit papano siguro na-share ko. Napakita ko sa mga tao na, 'Uy si bakla masaya na.' So magbunyi kayong lahat."

She's currently dating non-showbiz guy, businessman Gregg Homan who is from Subic, Zambales. Angelica greeted the New Year with a photo of hers kissing Gregg and captioned it, "Kung isa kang pelikula, sana wala kang ending."

She also revealed that she came to a point that she gave up on love. "Umabot ako sa point na ayoko na. Nakakapagod na rin kasi ang relasyon. Magsisimula ka na naman, kikilalanin mo, eestimahin mo, pakikisamahan mo. Hindi mo alam ano 'yung pinasok. Eto na ba 'yun or masasaktan ka lang ulit? Para kang magba-bungee jumping or tatalon ka sa eroplano. Wala, kung hindi ko ito gagawin, manghihinayang ako. Choice siya e. Lahat tayo may choice. Ano ba gusto mo? Masaya ka mag-isa or masaya ka na may kasama ka?"

Prior to her current love, she was in a relationship with known celebrities. The last had her figure with her teenage flame Carlo Aquino with whom she did the movie "Exes Baggage" in 2019. People thought the two rekindled their romance but they did not.

Angelica continued, "Mahirap maging single. Mahirap ding magkaroon ng relasyon, so parehas siyang mahirap. Mahirap magpapayat pero mahirap din maging obese. It's a matter of choice kung ano talaga 'yung magpapasaya sa'yo. Umabot lang talaga ako siguro doon sa point na parang bakit hindi ko subukan? Bakit kaya kong mag-take ng risks noon sa mga maling tao and baka ma-miss ko 'yung opportunity ko sa tamang tao? Kailangan ko lang talaga mag-take ng risk. Enjoy lang. Test the water. So siguro, lakas ng loob, tapang lang talaga at paniniwala sa sarili."

She also noted that the difference now with her current flame is that there was no rush on her part. It just happened. "Parang kalmado lang dumating 'yung lahat. Hindi binigla, pinilit. Nangyari na lang siya. Slowly nag-open na lang," she described.

With her heart now happy, Angelica said that she takes to heart a valuable lesson she learned through all the years and heartbreaks.

"Unahin ang sarili kahit anong mangyari. Ayokong mawala 'yung ini-vest ko sa sarili ko. Sa lahat ng natutunan ko. Respeto sa sarili, hindi na talaga 'yun pwedeng mawala kahit gaano ka ka-inlove dito sa taong ito. Importante na dapat mas mahal mo sarili mo. Una lagi sarili talaga."

RELATED: Angelica Panganiban on Coco Martin: 'Masarap siyang pag-tripan'