ONE of showbiz’s hottest hunks, Derek Ramsay, has decided to semi-retire from showbiz to spend more time with his loved ones.
The decision seems to have formed after the pandemic and lockdowns, as well as his marriage to Ellen Adarna.
In an interview with PEP.ph, Derek explained his decision to semi-retire, and GMA Network’s agreement to terminate his contract after he had approached management to ask for its termination.
“You know, after the pandemic [there were] a lot of realizations. First thing is, after lockdown, I was locked down by myself, my parents were in Tagaytay and I was home alone,” Derek said. “It made me realize [that] the world is changing so much and my parents were in their twilight years, and if I keep grinding myself and working so hard, I’m gonna lose out precious time with my family and I’ll never forgive myself when that day comes.”
He added, “No money that you earn, no award, no project will replace the pain you will go through because you regret not spending time with those people that you love. So I was, like, ‘What is it for you to be content?’ Okay, I’ll lose millions but I should be content with my life. I’m so blessed.”
Derek admits that his and Ellen’s decision to get married also played a part in this decision.
“I got married [and] I got blessed even more with a beautiful wife and I have my son [Austin], Elias (Ellen’s child with actor John Lloyd Cruz), I have my stepson. So I was, like, ‘Wow! This is a sign. This is life,’” he stated.
The actor revealed that he may yet accept projects, but it would have to be something that really piques his interest.
“It would have to take something very, very special for me to decide to do a project,” Derek said. “Especially with the rules now, you have to take two months off, right? You’re in a bubble. It’s difficult for me who just got married to stay away from my family.”
Derek said that he and wife Ellen are one in mind when it comes to slowing down with their careers. In fact, he divulged that his wife just did the TV5 sitcom “John en Ellen” in 2021 just to kill time and have John Lloyd spend time with his son. It was during this time that they met one another.
The actor isn’t that worried about money as he has been careful with his earnings.
“We’ve paid our dues, we worked hard. I saved money, I did not spend the money aimlessly that came in. Other people, they would spend it immediately, right? I invested it,” Derek said. “I don’t have to be the richest person. You don’t judge your richness with money. It’s with love, it’s with family, and I have all that. I have to be content and I’m just content.”
And Derek seems to be putting words to action as it was his dad who accompanied him to a charity golf tournament organized by Samantha Lopez.
“Again, my dad is 80 and he’s still playing [golf]. He’s really, really strong when I look at him. I’m so proud, it always puts a smile on my face. But then, you also see that your parents are ageing and you get that, it’s hard to explain, e. I guess you get afraid. You don’t want to think negative things but you can see that they aged so much and I don’t know how I’ll handle it when that day comes. That’s why I said I got to spend more time with them. So now I brought my dad. I could have invited anybody else. I could have invited my boys, my friends and all that, but no, I want to spend a day here with my dad,” he related.
Derek is grateful to the Kapuso network that they allowed him to get out of it. He had about a year-and-a-half remaining in the deal.
During the start of the pandemic, the actor revealed that he agreed with the network to restructure the deal so that both parties would come out winning.
“Again, the great relationship that I had with GMA, we both decided to suspend [the contract] and then when they offered me my teleserye when things are getting back to normal, I got married and we still have that whole COVID scare, that we got to stay in a bubble. It felt as though I can’t handle it,” he stated.
“And slowly, that’s when I got my realization. So, I told GMA, ‘I think we should sit down and talk about this,’ and I let them know how I feel,” he added. “And they said, ‘Okay, we respect that,’ and I was able to get out of my contract.”
“I think if you show them that respect, then that respect will come back. I was honest to tell them that this is where my heart is telling me to go. If they were not able to understand that, it would be hard to call the network Kapuso,” the actor further said.
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Actress Kylie Verzosa has been honored as actress of the year (Philippines) at the 6th Dubai International Arab Film Awards (DIAFA) for her superb performance in the Philippine adaptation of the South Korean erotic-thriller “The Housemaid.”
According to the film’s director, Roman Perez Jr., Kylie will be attending the awards ceremony in November which will be held at the Dubai Creek Harbour Marina in the United Arab Emirates.
“I am so happy for Kylie for bagging the best actress award. I knew at the onset that Kylie would win an award, but here (in the Philippines) no one took note,” Perez said. “Even the performance of Jaclyn Jose was great, Albert Martinez was great, but they were not noticed by the local award-giving bodies.”
Perez revealed that he and Kylie were not on the same page at the start of the shoot, but that things became better when they developed some trust with each other.
“During the shoot, Kylie and I were not okay. We could not agree on some of the principles. She didn’t trust me (at first). When she finally learned that she could trust, then her character came out fully,” he related.
“Her acting ability came to the fore, with the help of her acting coach Angie Castrence,” he added. “I enjoyed working with Kylie, after a few days that we did not understand each other. She’s like fine wine – as you drink it, it becomes warmer and warmer, it becomes more pronounced.”
Perez believes that in due time Kylie will get the recognition that she deserves.
“I think overdue na achievement ni Kylie ang kanyang acting award. She deserves to be best actress,” he said. “I believe that if Kylie gets a great project, she will win acting awards.”
