Maris Racal breaks silence on cheating controversy with Anthony Jennings
Maris Racal was in tears as she addressed her cheating scandal with Anthony Jennings, which started when the actor's ex-girlfriend, Jam Villanueva, exposed their private conversations on social media.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News, the actress confirmed the cheating rumors that had been surrounding her and her onscreen partner for months.
"Nagkamali ako, and I want to say sorry for everything that I have done," she said, adding that it started in June 2024, when she was "in a very dark place." (Maris announced her breakup with her then-boyfriend, singer Rico Blanco the following month.)
"I was lonely and I was getting attention from Anthony, the kind of attention that I needed," she recalled. "When I sensed that there was this brewing attraction between Anthony and I, nadala ako sa emotions ko and I knew that was wrong."
She stressed she "came clean right away" to Blanco before calling off their relationship. "I admitted things to him and then we broke up. It wasn't easy. It was very hard for me."
"Bago nagsimula 'yung mga daming trabaho namin, I told Anthony that I broke up with my ex and he also said the same thing. Mind you, I was in a very lonely place. I was so lonely and I was so vulnerable at that time," she said.
Maris says Anthony kept reiterating he was 'single'
Maris recalled how she kept working every day while dealing with her split from Blanco. "Sa lahat ng trabaho na 'yun, kasama ko si Anthony."
"Aaminin ko, sa araw-araw na pagta-trabaho namin, nahulog din 'yung loob ko. He would be very sweet to me, he would be such a gentleman to me, he would say things to me, he would kiss me on the set in front of other people, he would tell all the people who are close to me that he was single. I was confident to act a certain way around him on the set because [in] the eyes of all the people there, we were both single."
According to Maris, things started getting "deep" between her and Anthony during their Italy visit in September. "I really fell," she said.
When they got back from their trip, Maris recalled seeing Jam's TikTok reposts about pain, girl instinct, and cheating, which made the rounds on social media in no time.
"At that time, nung timeframe na 'yun, nasa screenshots din na nangamusta ako. I said 'Kamusta si Jam?' Nangamusta ako kay Jam, it wasn't because alam ko na sila pa, dahil alam ko na she was going through something and Anthony had to take care of her," she said.
Things remained the same between Maris and Anthony, who kept assuring her he was single. "I would ask him, God knows I asked him, 'Nagkabalikan ba kayo?' He said no. 'Do you still love her?' He said no. He would say things na ako 'yung gusto niya and all," she emphasized. "I really asked him so many times."
Maris noted that she kept asking Anthony when he will announce to the public he was no longer with Jam. "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 because it wasn't my story to tell anyway."
On the viral photos of her and Anthony's private conversations
"When I saw, when I read it, that was 10 p.m. on a Tuesday night. When I read it, I was gutted, I was shocked. I'm truly, truly embarrassed dahil nakita ng tao lahat 'yun without my consent, against my will," she said.
Maris recalled reading the screenshots "over and over again."
"It was the perfect narrative that there was this other woman, that 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," she said, referring to Jam.
It was only when she read the screenshots that she knew Anthony was still with Jam.
"Doon ko napagtagpi-tagpi lahat na kaya pala hindi siya makapag-release ng statement, dahil sila pa pala this whole entire time," she said. "I didn't know. I was in the dark. I didn't know. God knows ilang beses ako nagtanong, ilang beses ako nanghingi ng statement."
Maris noted she understands Jam's pain, after all.
"I get her pain. I get her wrath. I get her anger. Kaya pala ganun, because she was clueless about everything, I was clueless about everything."
The local star said she reached out to Jam last November as she "wanted to know what's up," but didn't get a reply.
Anthony announced that he and Jam have called it quits in the same month, saying it was due to "personal reasons." At the time, he also noted that he and Maris were "just friends."
'I'm sorry to those people I have hurt'
Maris apologized to the public as they "had to see that very intimate side of me." She added, "Ganun talaga ako 'pag nagbigay ng pagmamahal. It was supposed to be private. It was supposed to be a private, intimate thing."
"I don't want to play the victim here and I want to say sorry to those people I have hurt," she continued.
She also thanked her supporters and apologized for what happened. "Most especially, I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry to those people who supported me."
Maris admitted she doesn't know where to go from the cheating scandal. "I don't know saan ako papunta. 'Yung dignidad ko, hindi ko na mahanap. Whenever I go out, whenever I walk, I feel like I'm a naked woman walking."
"Hindi ko alam ano gagawin ko," she continued. "I'm just so embarrassed.”
Maris assured her fans that she will continue to try to move forward from this. "I can assure you: Tuloy pa rin ako. Tuloy pa rin ang laban. Magta-trabaho pa rin ako kahit mahirap. Hindi pa rin namamatay 'yung apoy sa puso ko."
"I'm still looking for that little girl inside of me. It's hard to look for her now but someday, I'd get to find her, and I'd be able to hold my shadows," she said.
"What you saw was not a perfect human. I'm far, far from being perfect. What you saw was a human being. I'm just a human being," she concluded.
Social media noise broke out on Dec. 3 after Jam shared Anthony and Maris' text exchanges, which showed that the two had an intimate affair while Anthony was still with Jam. She also posted photos of the two seemingly getting cozy during their work trips together.
"I've been trying to hold myself together through everything that's been happening. But after hearing all the things being said about me—about my character, my intentions, and even my family, I can’t stay silent any longer,” Jam said in her initial story entry. "There's only so much silence a person can bear when rumors twist the truth. I'm sharing this because I need to set the record straight—not to create more drama, but because I deserve to be heard, just like anyone else."
"When Maris came into the picture, I was genuinely happy for you both. I even chose to be supportive, despite the red flags I couldn't ignore. I respected your craft. I believed in you both. But betrayal like this cuts deep,” she added.
Moments after Jam exposed the two, her IG stories had been reposted by various pages on Facebook and X, garnering thousands of reactions, comments, and shares.
