ACTOR Arjo Atayde had a sweet birthday message for actress Maine Mendoza.
Atayde took to Instagram to greet Mendoza on her birthday over the weekend.
“My reason for being. Happy birthday to my main,” he wrote in the caption.
It was only on Saturday that Mendoza admitted to dating Atayde, based on her blog entry.
According to Mendoza, she and Atayde “have been going out for quite some time now” as many of her followers know since they have been spotted numerous times together.
“You might be waiting for an explanation as to why I chose him. Excuse me for saying this but… why not?” she said.
Mendoza’s admission came a month after Atayde broke his silence and admitted he and Mendoza are “exclusively dating.”
Citing Mendoza’s blog entry on March 2, Pep.ph reported that the “Eat Bulaga” mainstay finally admitted to dating Atayde.
“You may have listed a long list of reasons why I shouldn’t but we all know it’s made out of hatred, anger and disappointment. I choose not to judge his character for whatever he’s done in the past because that does not define him as a person. I was raised to never judge a person, to always see the goodness of people no matter how other people see them,” she added.
Mendoza said she chooses to go out with Atayde so she could get to know him better.
Saying she doesn’t see anything wrong with that, Mendoza said she welcomed Atayde into her life just like what she would do to other people.
Nonetheless, Mendoza admitted that their friendship is “growing deeper with time.”
“He always goes out of his way to make me extra happy and actually puts in effort in everything he does. I appreciate everything he does for me and I am happy that I get to experience such wonderful things,” she said.
In fact, Mendoza said Atayde has already met his family and friends.
“He went to our house in Bulacan to personally talk to my parents and tell them that he has nothing but good intentions for their daughter. My parents also gave him a warning that they’d kill him if he does something bad to me. Haha,” she said.
Mendoza said that was the first time she introduced someone to her parents, so she heaved a sigh of relief when “everything turned out fine and he made it out alive.”
She also reiterated that she and her onscreen partner Alden Richards are just good friends and nothing more.
“I believe I have already made myself clear last November 2017 that Alden and I are just friends. Still good friends and workmates up to this day. If you missed that part, please do read the letter again,” she said referring to an open letter she previously released.
Meanwhile, Pep.ph also quoted Mendoza when she addressed her supporters who keep on attacking Atayde on social media.
“I know how you feel and I respect you for feeling that way but I believe it will never be right and acceptable to resort to personal attacks to get back at anyone or to relieve your frustration. This applies to everyone, not just Arjo,” she said.
“A lot of people close to me have experienced the immense bashing from some ‘fans’ and haters combined, including my family and friends. It has to stop. You may not be required to love the people around the person you idolize but I don’t think it’s too much to show them at least some respect,” she added.
Mendoza also apologized to some of her supporters who may be hurting with her “truth.”
“I know how you feel, believe me. I know you invested so much time, effort, and money on us just to show how much you love us and we really do try our best to make you feel that everything you did/do for us is much appreciated and treasured – that we love you dearly and all of you are special to our hearts, too,” she said.
“Sadly, I cannot stay as Yaya Dub forever. This is Maine, the real me. And this is real life. And I cannot go on with my life behind a fictional character,” she added.
Mendoza ended her lengthy post by saying there are things beyond their control and “sometimes, we just have to let life happen and move forward.” (Push)
