MANILA, Philippines – Anthony Jennings’ ex-girlfriend Jam Villanueva took to social media on the evening of Tuesday, December 3, to speak up on the actor’s alleged betrayal of her with his Can’t Buy Me Love co-star Maris Racal.
“I’m grateful that Anthony finally chose to speak the truth because I had been carrying the weight of it all on my own for so long. It’s painful to be attacked by others when all I ever wanted was to protect my personal life — and to protect him out of respect,” Villanueva wrote.
“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 continued, adding that she was speaking her truth with the hope that better days are coming.
This comes just after Jennings confirmed in an interview with Mega Kapamilya that he and Villanueva had split up. In the same interview, he also said that he and Racal are just friends.
Villanueva’s Instagram stories
On her Instagram stories, Villanueva shared screenshots of Jennings’ private messages with Racal. She said that the two actors’ off-screen affair began before a brand event, where they were both revealed as its ambassadors. In the screenshots dated June 28, Racal is seen asking Jennings if they can delete their conversations, adding that someday, they wouldn’t have to do that anymore.
Villanueva said that on that same night, Jennings was telling her that the close nature of his relationship with Racal was merely for work, often passing off his exchanges with the actress as “method acting.”
“He explained that he needed to make her feel loved and appreciated because she was going through something as well. He believed that showing her care was the only way to make their work go smoothly and for his partner to function well. I fully supported him because I believed in him and trusted him at that time,” Villanueva said.
She added that even as they continued talking to each other via phone and video call, she just let it be because she trusted them. She shared more of their exchanges, with one of them showing Jennings telling Racal he loves her, and the actress replying that she isn’t ready for “I love yous” yet.
In the same Instagram story, Villanueva explained the context behind Racal’s message that reads, “That was so hot.” She alleged that Jennings told her that he and Racal had kissed in a bathroom, and when confronted about it, merely said that he didn’t want Racal to feel that he didn’t like her because they had work together the next day.
Villanueva also shared a compilation of raunchy text messages the two actors sent to each other. She said the exchanges took place in the last week of July, when they were filming for a movie they were both starring in.
Villanueva also shared a screenshot of her own exchange with Jennings, dated August 15, where he told her that he was too tired to keep talking after she asked him where he was.
Jennings’ ex-girlfriend followed this up with a series of screenshots showing Jennings’ actual whereabouts that same night. She said she confronted him about it, and he told her that he was at Racal’s house for karaoke. In the screenshots, Jennings tells Racal to keep his sweater with her first after she informed him that he left it at her place. After Racal told Jennings that she couldn’t let go of his sweater because of its scent, he admitted that he left it behind on purpose.
Villanueva then said that her relationship with Jennings was okay when he was in Palawan from late August to early September for a lock-in taping. During this time, Villanueva said that Jennings would regularly call and update Villanueva on what he was up to, stating that she was happy to see him enjoy his work.
Days after the lock-in taping, Jennings headed to Italy with Racal to work on another production, with the actor still constantly communicating with Villanueva.
During their trip, eagle-eyed netizens noticed in a viral photo that the two actors were wearing matching pairs of shoes. However, Racal later clarified in an ambush interview during the Opulence Ball in late October that it was a mere coincidence.
While Jennings was still in Italy, Villanueva said that she and Jennings were overwhelmed with trying to work things out between themselves, but he assured her that they would sort it out when he got home. She also told him that she had been sick for the past two weeks. With this, as soon as he got back to the Philippines, Jennings accompanied Villanueva to get an MRI.
“We were still talking things through, but we hadn’t broken up yet. He kept reassuring me that everything was okay between us, and that he was just focused on doing his work,” Villanueva wrote.
Racal and Jennings made the rounds on social media when she celebrated her birthday during their flight back to Manila, as she posted an Instagram story of Jennings smiling while holding a cake that said “happy birthday.” Villanueva said the photo raised her suspicions on the nature of their relationship, prompting her to check Jennings’ phone. There, she saw messages between Racal and her then-boyfriend telling each other that they’ll miss each other.
When the photo from Racal’s birthday went viral, Jennings asked Villanueva to make all her social media accounts private, promising her that he would stop everything that was going on between him and Racal.
Even then, however, Villanueva said that Racal and Jennings continued to chat over text. She also attached photos of the onscreen couple cozying up to each other on a train, along with photos of them sharing kisses with each other, which Villanueva said “shattered [her] heart into pieces.”
“This is the other side of the story — the photos that she posted in her story, where people started attacking me, saying that the photo was just ‘fan service’ and that I was overreacting. I even asked Anthony about it, and he brushed it off, saying it was nothing,” Villanueva said, referring to the photo Racal posted on her birthday.
Villanueva then said that while she “ended things with him as peacefully as [she could],” she reposted TikTok videos on hurt and betrayal because she was devastated about what had happened. The reposts reached Jennings, and he apparently promised that he would end things for good with Racal.
After posting the screenshots of Jennings’ exchanges with Racal and detailing how their relationship came to an end, Villanueva penned an open letter to Jennings, expressing gratitude to the actor for being there with her to experience many of her firsts.
She ended her lengthy Instagram stories with a message calling on women to “gather strength” to put themselves first if they find themselves in a similar situation.
An overview of Racal and Jennings’ respective relationships
Villanueva and Jennings had been together for seven years before their breakup.
Meanwhile, in July, Racal admitted that she and her longtime boyfriend, Rivermaya frontman Rico Blanco, were no longer together. She said that they had a “very polite separation.”
Racal and Jennings were onscreen partners in the Netflix series Can’t Buy Me Love, where they starred as Irene and Snoop, respectively, and later became known as “SnoRene” when their love team captured the public’s attention.
For Halloween, Racal and Jennings dressed up as Eye Rodriguez and Cross Sanford, the titular couple in the movie Diary ng Panget.
While Racal and Jennings have yet to address the issue, the former has disabled commenting on her Instagram posts. The two are starring alongside each other in an ABS-CBN teleserye titled Incognito. – Rappler.com