Liza Soberano says the hit film “Hello, Love, Goodbye” was first pitched to her and Enrique Gil. Images: Screengrab from YouTube/Bea Alonzo, Star Cinema

For the first time since Liza Soberano was beset by abortion rumors, the actress addressed the issue saying she never got an abortion simply because she never got pregnant.

In a vlog interview by actress Bea Alonzo, which was uploaded on her YouTube channel, Soberano claimed that speculations about her supposed abortion came about when she flew to the United States to undergo finger surgery due to an injury she sustained during the shooting of her teleserye “Bagani” in August 2018.

Soberano is currently in a relationship with her perennial love team, Kapamilya actor Enrique Gil.

“I was accused of that when I [had my operation] in the U.S. for my finger. I was so frustrated about that because I got injured on the set of ‘Bagani.’ I was not allowed to talk about it, for some reason. And I wasn’t posting for a long time pero paano ako magpo-post, I was wearing a cast. I was always sick because I was taking antibiotics constantly,” she said while she was hooked up to a polygraph for Alonzo’s lie detector test segment.

She said that a certain male showbiz reporter supposedly alluded to her about wanting to get rid of her unborn child abroad. She also pointed out that at that time, she was gaining weight for lack of exercise due to her finger injury, coming off two years of strenuous exercises for “Darna,” which ultimately went to Jane De Leon.

“He (reporter) started making accusations towards me and there were blind items. He didn’t name-drop me, but it was so obvious because there were words like ‘Ang darnang hindi lumipad,’” she said. “It’s just sad that I couldn’t defend myself like that so I had to post the picture na nagpa-opera ako and for some reason people still didn’t believe it. And I was in a really good relationship that was accepted by many people. If I did get pregnant, why wouldn’t I come forward with it?”

Alonzo interjected if Soberano would ever get an abortion should she get pregnant in the future, to which the “Lisa Frankenstein” star replied “no,” adding that it is not an acceptable idea for herself.

“I would never get an abortion because that’s not just something I believe in personally. For myself, I wouldn’t do that, just because that’s my personal belief. But I don’t hold it against anyone else that does that,” she added.

Soberano also said that her romance with Gil remained steadfast even though she already changed management and they are no longer being seen together for a while because of her career priorities.

Back in December 2021, Soberano’s former manager Ogie Diaz also dismissed the speculations that the actress got pregnant. “Someday, dahil sila naman ni Enrique ay talagang mukhang hindi na mapaghihiwalay, darating din tayo diyan. Pero for now, it’s a no,” he said on his YouTube channel.

‘Hello, Love, Goodbye’

Meanwhile, the actress expressed regret she had to let go of the offer to star in the 2019 film “Hello, Love, Goodbye,” together with Gil. The film eventually went to Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards, and became the “highest-grossing Filipino film of all time,” according to Star Cinema in September 2019.

Soberano said the movie was offered to her and Enrique Gil, but the offer fizzled out because her network supposedly had other plans for her and Gil at that time, which was to film “Bagani.”

“‘Yung ‘Hello, Love, Goodbye’ nina Kathryn [Bernardo] and Alden [Richards] was actually offered to [Enrique Gil] and I first. And then I wanted to do that movie so bad, but then they were like, ‘There’s another project lined up for you.’ Tapos while we were doing ‘Bagani,’ nabalitaan ko (I found out) that they offered it to Kathryn and Quen,” she said.

The actress admitted that the casting news initially scared her since she didn’t want to upset her fans, especially those who are supportive about the LizQuen (Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil) loveteam.

“That scared the sh*t out of me. I was like, ‘Why did they do that?’ I asked them to save the project for me and Quen. Kasi they told us noong pitching na hindi pwedeng gawin agad kasi they have to develop it more. Then we said, ‘Okay, we’ll hold it. Please wait for us.’ And then nalaman ko that they were offering it to Quen still, but with Kathryn,” she shared.

“I was scared like after ‘Bagani,’ then I would do ‘Darna,’ wala na ‘yung LizQuen. For me, I didn’t want to [end LizQuen] because I would hurt the fans, and Quen is my comfort zone,” she further explained.

‘Taken for granted’

The “Forevermore” star eventually realized that she missed out on a lot of opportunities, where she wondered if there were moments if ever her acting was taken for granted in the industry.

“It was until later when I realized that, ‘Oh my god, ang dami kong hindi nagawa sa career ko.’ That’s why everybody takes for granted my talent or acting capabilities because they’ve only seen me in a loveteam,” she said.

The actress then lamented about the loveteam culture in the local industry, where she admitted that LizQuen being compared to KathNiel (Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla) and JaDine (James Reid and Nadine Lustre) was “unhealthy” since “money is involved.”

“It’s not because of the media. It became a competition of who can make more hits, especially with newbies. I don’t see it as a healthy competition when money is involved,” she said.

Soberano also admitted that having onscreen partners can be harmful to female artists, especially if they have plans of establishing themselves as individuals in the future.

“Everything that I’m trying to do now as a solo artist is not being taken seriously, or is not being respected, and it’s seen as something that is negative. They think that I am some kind of wild child now just because I am not in a loveteam or I’m not seen around the same man constantly when it is not normal,” she began.

“Love team is a phenomenon [that is] only created in the Philippines, and it only exists in the Philippines. To box a woman like that is so dangerous for her mental health and growth [in the entertainment industry],” she further said.

The “Bagani” star has been making headlines since her “life update” vlog in February of this year, where she spoke about giving into the “pressure of doing what everybody else wants” and her past experiences as an actress.

Soberano also clarified that while she wants to be known as her birth name “Hope,” she opts to use the name “Liza” pertaining to business and career matters. EDV