Jennylyn happy for Marian

"No, we’re still together," she says. "May nag-akala lang na wala na kami when I said gusto ko nang magka-baby. And it’s true. I want to have my own child. Hindi ‘yung ampon. Gusto kong ma-experience magbuntis at ‘yung manganak. I want to deliver the natural way, pero I don’t want to get pregnant the natural way kundi by in vitro fertilization na kukunin ang sperm sa isang male donor. ‘Yun kasi ang kahilingan ng mother ko since I’m an only child, ang mabigyan ko siya ng kahit isang apo man lang. But the procedure is very expensive, so pag-iipunan ko muna. I want a donor na pogi at matangkad, para naman maganda lumabas ang magiging baby ko at taller than me."

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Jennylyn Mercado wants to make it clear she’s not sulking because GMA-7 didn’t give her the plum role of "Marimar" when she was expecting she’d be their choice after Angel Locsin turned it down.

"That’s not true at all," she says. "Hindi ako nag-expect at all. Natatawa nga ako dahil may nagsulat pang nagpalaki raw ako ng boobs in preparation for the role, which is definitely not true either. If Marian Rivera was the lucky girl, then I’m happy for her. Ang dami ko namang ibang projects kaya hindi uso sa akin ang inggit. I hope tigilan na nila ang pang-iintriga sa’kin dahil nanahimik naman ako rito."

She’s glad that her first movie with real-life boyfriend Patrick Garcia, "Angels," is getting good feedback. She’s leaving with him next week for the US premiere of "Angels" in LA, San Francisco, San Diego and Las Vegas. She’s also been tapped by Sen. Bong Revilla to join him in the cast of his Metro filmfest entry, "Resiklo." How come she was absent again in the second presscon of her new movie with Mark Herras, "Tiyanaks"?

"The first time, talagang nagkasakit ako. Sa second presscon, hindi ako nasabihan. They presumed I was notified by Elaine Lozano who’s the production supervisor. Pero hindi ako natawagan. Sayang nga, wala naman akong ginagawa and I really want to help promote the movie dahil pinaghirapan namin ito, lalo na ang action sequences ng paglaban ko sa mga tiyanak. Mapapaangat talaga sa upuan ang viewers when they watch the film’s scariest scenes."

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Derek Ramsay, 28, gets his biggest break as an actor as one of Judy Ann Santos’ two leading men in the new soap "Ysabella." He plays a cooking show host called "Sexy Chef" who meets his match in Juday, an expert cook herself. Aside from this, Derek also gets to host "U Can Dance" where he gets to dance, too. Off cam, he admits he’s dating Angelica Panganiban, who’s eight years younger than him. He’s now more open about their relationship.

"At the start, wala akong masabi except that we’re taking things slow. Ayoko rin kasing ma-jinx whatever we’re having as it was just beginning," he says. "Now, I’m more open about it kasi mas may depth na ang understanding namin about one another. Right now, I can say we’re really enjoying each other’s company so much and we do spend a lot of time together. Mas magkakilala na rin kami ngayon."

So theirs is not a case of love at first sight? "I don’t really believe in that as it’s impossible for you to know ang buong pagkatao of a person the first time you meet him or her. Attraction lang ‘yun and you have to know the person well bago mo talagang mahalin. Angelica and I have known each other for eight months but it’s only in the last six months that we really got to know each other better at mas enjoy na kaming kasama ang isa’t isa."

What did he like in her? "Totoo siya, straightforward and very caring. She prefers speaking in Tagalog than in English and I like that dahil mas nahasa akong mag-Tagalog with her. She also likes to cook for me. I’ve met her mom and she has met my dad (who’s British) and so far, so good. But we’re not thinking of facing the altar anytime soon. We don’t want to rush things. Basta as of now, maganda ang samahan namin. On my birthday on December 7, I am inviting her to join me to a trip to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil where I’ll join an international frisbee competition. I hope she can make it."

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GMA Network successfully staged their first Kapusolympics last Saturday at the Marikina Sports Complex as part of their 57th anniversary. Almost all of GMA-7 stars were there to join the various fun games. The irony is that two of their biggest stars were absent, Richard Gutierrez and Angel Locsin, who were both in Bangkok shooting TV commercials. But they were able to catch up for the awarding ceremonies in the evening. They both went there straight from the airport and helped in handing out the trophies to the winners. The fans had a great time ogling their favorite stars. There were supposed to be fireworks to conclude the affair but it rained so the awarding was held at a clubhouse in Marikina.