Maris revealed that Anthony claimed he was single during the alleged affair.

PHOTO: (left to right) Instagram/mariesteller, Instagram/ anthonyjenningss

After three days of nonstop online bashing, actress Maris Racal—onscreen partner of actor Anthony Jennings—finally spoke up about the issue. She addressed the controversy surrounding the screenshots of private conversations between her and Anthony, which were posted by Anthony’s non-showbiz and now-ex girlfriend, Jamela Villanueva a.k.a Jam.

“I made a mistake, and I want to say sorry for everything I have done. I was lonely and getting attention from Anthony—the kind of attention I needed,” Maris said. “When I felt there was a growing attraction between Anthony and me, I got carried away by my emotions. I knew it was wrong. I can’t clean right away,” she added.

During a  video statement via ABS-CBN, Maris explained what happened from her perspective. She admitted there was an overlap between her growing feelings for Anthony and her relationship with her ex, Rico Blanco. Feeling guilty, she told Rico the truth, which caused their breakup.

“I became so emotional during the interview because I was holding back the truth. I couldn’t calm down or fully reflect on what had happened,” Maris shared. She was referring to the on-cam interview she did with Star Magic Spotlight on July 12.

Maris Racal Addresses Cheating Allegations With Anthony Jennings

Here’s how Maris explained what really happened: When she broke up with Rico, she shared the news with Anthony. He allegedly told her the same—that he had also ended things with his girlfriend, Jam. Because of this, Maris believed Anthony and Jam were no longer together. Feeling there was nothing wrong, she began to reciprocate romantic gestures towards Anthony. Throughout her statement, Maris insisted that she repeatedly asked Anthony to release a public statement announcing his breakup with Jam. But Anthony allegedly didn’t oblige.

“He would be very sweet to me. He would be such a gentleman to me. He would say things to me. He would tease me on the set in front of other people. He would tell all the people who were close to me that he was single,” Maris explained. “So, I was confident to act a certain way around him on the set. Because in the eyes of the people there, we were both single. We worked every day,” she added.

By September, Maris recalled their shoot in Italy—a moment included in the screenshots Jam posted about their alleged cheating. “Nung pauwi kami ng Italy, it was my birthday. And we were stuck at the airport the whole day. He would say things to me that are sweet. He would say promises. We would tell promises to each other,” Maris shared.

“And then when we got home, I felt so happy that I had to post something on my IG Story just to appreciate him during that day. And when I got home, I think that the next two days, I saw a post or repost of Jam on TikTok. I saw all of that,” she added.

Maris addressed one of the screenshots posted where she asked Anthony about Jam. She explained that her confusion led her to ask, as she thought Anthony and Jam had broken up. Maris admitted she often questioned Anthony about it, but he always that he and Jam were still together.

Instagram/anthonyjenningss, Instagram/jamelavillanuevaa

“It hurts for me. I asked him, ‘When are you going to release a statement that you’re not together anymore? Because in the eyes of the public, you were taken. But I know that you’re not,'” Maris said, adding that she pushed Anthony to release a statement because she was exhausted by the online backlash.

“He would tell me. He was waiting for the right moment. I didn’t want to be pushy. I didn’t want to aggravate things. So I waited and kept quiet,” Maris added.

Instagram/mariesteller

Maris Racal Breaks Her Silence: ‘I made a mistake’

Maris admitted she was shocked when screenshots were posted without her consent, describing the situation as the perfect narrative to paint her as the “other woman.”

“There was this apologetic boyfriend. And the avoidant boyfriend towards the other woman. And the scorned woman. That’s the narrative. That’s her side of the story. And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Maris confessed, guilt evident in her tone.

“Doon ko napagtagpi-tagpi lahat. Kaya pala hindi siya makapag-release ng statement dahil sila pa pala this whole entire time. I didn’t know…I had no idea…I was clueless about everything. We both believed what was said to us,” Maris explained.

While Maris acknowledged that she is not the victim in this story, she took accountability for her actions and apologised for her mistakes. She revealed that she had reached out to Jam last November but did not receive a response. Although she feels bad about the situation, Maris assured that she is determined to rise from it and continue searching for the “little girl” within her.