Best Actress or Best Girlfriend: Maja Salvador’s Choice

Best Actress or Best Girlfriend: Maja Salvador’s Choice

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Maja’s truth: her relationships have borne the brunt of her dedication to her craft

Related: Showbiz stars and their non-showbiz partners are making it work

Maja Salvador has crafted some of the most memorable characters in both daytime and primetime drama. Roles like the iconic and duplicitous Lily Cruz/Ivy Aguas character in Wildflower where she earned the Best Actress award at the Asia Contents Awards in Busan, South Korea, the tempestuous mistress, Nicole in The Legal Wife, and the tough and rebellious Krista in Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin, where she played opposite the King of Teleseryes, Coco Martin.

Behind The Scenes

“Si Krista sa Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin. ‘Dun yung nag-click talaga yung team up namin ni Coco. Kaya favorite ko siya, iconic rin kasi, girl version ako ni Robin Padilla. So ganun yung role ko so favorite ko siya and isa yun sa mga parang tumatak sa kanila,” Maja relates.

In fact, the chemistry she created with Coco Martin was so palpable, many mistook their closeness for something more than the professional kind, and even her boyfriend at the time, Matteo Guidicelli, somehow felt the discomfort over their undeniable and intense chemistry.

Maja was so focused in her work that she did not realize it was already affecting her real-life partner at that time. For Maja, it was just within the boundaries of her job to be always open to the things her role required of her. She had overlooked the fact that some may inevitably get carried away, and that was when her boyfriend at the time felt a few lines had been crossed. This brewing feeling of her partner explains the brawl that took place during the Star Magic Ball many years ago.

The Big Fight

“Kinausap ko na si Matteo na behave na tayo. Sa Salon de Ning, si Matteo, sabi niya kukuha siya drink, ‘Okay!’ Tapos si Coco ‘nung nakita niya ako mag-isa, lumapit, nag ‘Hello.’ Eh sakto bumabalik si Matteo, tapos yun na! Tapos hindi ko na alam yung nangyari biglang narinig ko nalang ‘Clack!’. May mga nabasag na!” Maja recollects.

“Stressed ako, girl! At walang magkakagusto ‘non…” she confesses.

This just goes to show how Maja approached her work before—the professional blurs with the personal.

She and Matteo broke up because their relationship was a combination of her wanting to give everything for work and him being too young and passionate to handle a relationship as high-strung as theirs.

“Syempre na-realize namin na parang mag-work na lang ako. Siya kasi parang hindi niya pa kayang mag-handle ng relationship talaga. Kasi mas mature nga ako, mas matanda ako,” Maja explains.

(Maja maintains she in good terms with Matteo who is now happily married to Sarah Geronimo.)


Read more about how Maja Salvador’s truth and past loves helped shape who she is today in MEGA Entertainment’s May 2021 issue available in ReadlyMagzterPress Reader and Zinio

Photography: SEVEN BARRETTO assisted by CLAUDE VILLAHERMOSA

Text: G3 SAN DIEGO

Art Direction: NICOLE ALMERO

Beauty Direction: TRINA EPILEPSIA BOUTAIN

Makeup: OWEN SARMIENTO

Hair: JAY WEE

Stylist: CATH SOBREVEGA assisted by RIRI VERANO

Production Designer: ERWIN BOTIN

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