At the “Spotlight” press conference of Star Magic last Friday, an emotional Maris Racal announced the end of her five-year relationship with singer-songwriter Rico Blanco.
“Ang rami kasing tanong about him and I’m tired of smiling and nodding,” Maris began.
“I’m so scared because if I announce it, then it’s real,” she continued. “Rico and I are over,” she added, her words laden with the weight of the past weeks, which she described as the “loneliest and emptiest” she had ever experienced.
The romance between the 26-year-old Maris and 51-year-old Rico had been idyllic. Maris painted a picture of a “beautiful universe” filled with love, laughter, and music. While she did not specify the reasons for their separation, she alluded to her desire to focus on her career and personal growth, mentioning a wish to skip her 20s.
“I told him my problems, my issues, and he took it like a man,” she related. “It was a very difficult talk because I love him so much and he loves me, but I have so many questions about my life and how I will go on sa buhay.”
She added that their relationship remained rooted in love until the end. “It was a very polite separation. Up to the very end of the relationship, it was full of love,” she emphasized.
Maris also took the opportunity to clear her “Can’t Buy Me Love” partner, Anthony Jennings, from any accusations of being a third party, firmly denying any involvement of another person in their breakup. “It’s just mainly me and Rico. Mainly me, I’m the issue,” she stressed.
In a notable departure from typical celebrity breakups, Maris and Rico have not engaged in public unfollowing on social media, nor have they aired any grievances or ill feelings.
Rico, meanwhile, has yet to release his statement on the separation.
