In the 31 years of Sarah Geronimo—where her list of suitors is admittedly short, by choice or circumstance or both—a big-name star that always comes up is John Lloyd Cruz.
Sarah and John Lloyd are certified matinee idols, then and now, and it thrilled the fans no end then to imagine a budding romance between the two.
Back in March 2011, when the story of "Sarah: Her First Real Heartbreak" appeared in YES! Magazine, details of the Popstar's love life unfolded for the first time.
The 39-page story was remarkable for being detailed, for naming names, and for having no anonymous sources.
It also carried the first and only hours-long, sit-down interview ever given by Divine Geronimo, Sarah's mother, to the press.
In a story with several sidebars, one sidebar was titled "John Lloyd Cruz," and was devoted to the what-could-have-beens between Sarah and John Lloyd.
The interview with John Lloyd was conducted by YES! associate editor Jerome Gomez.
The sidebar "John Lloyd Cruz" was written by YES! editor in chief Jo-Ann Maglipon, who also wrote the main story, "Sarah: Her First Real Heartbreak."
Here is a reprise of that small piece of history.
"JOHN LLOYD CRUZ"
John Lloyd Cruz is another major movie star and endorser who has figured in Sarah’s life in a big way.
Together, they set numbers roaring at the box office: A Very Special Love, their 2008 movie earned P176,451,302, second only to Ang Tanging Ina N'yong Lahat that year; and You Changed My Life, their 2009 follow-up movie, topped everything made that year with P202,228,111. (Figures from Star Cinema official sources.)
That the third movie did not push through in 2010 is a puzzlement to many fans.
In fact, it was Sarah who squelched the movie, saying she wanted to do a different project, presumably for her growth as an artist, and thus chose to work with Judy Ann in Hating Kapatid, a mild hit at roughly P86 million. (Viva does not provide official figures of its movie earnings; this is from reliable industry information.)
At the time, the rumor mill had it that Sarah and John Lloyd were becoming cozy with each other on their movie sets.
The rumor mill also had it that, if in the beginning this was lost on Mommy Divine, Sarah's mother and her constant companion, this did not remain so for long.
At the same time, there were rumors that John Lloyd had a roving eye and that Sarah had become aware of it.
However way it really went, there was talk that these things, put together, may have had something to do with the third John Lloyd-Sarah project, despite its clear box-office promise, not pushing through.
John Lloyd has not said much about the project being scrapped. YES! asks him why it was, and if he thinks it was Sarah’s personal decision not to do the project.
“Hindi ko alam kung personal decision kasi at that time halos hindi na naman kami nakakapag-usap no’n e," the actor told YES!
"Siguro at that time naisip nila that was the pinaka-best for her career. Wala kang magawa but to respect that.”
Although his answer sounded a mite too diplomatic, the actor did explain, “I could tell you na parang when I first saw that interview of hers na medyo hesitant na siyang gawin, medyo ‘Ah okay,’ parang gano’n lang ’yong reaction ko. ‘Ah okay.’
"Parang the better half of me is telling me na don’t take it personally. Parang gano’n kasi. At the end of the day, you’re in this business and hindi mo p’wedeng kuwestiyonin ’yong mga intensyon ng mga tao.”
But in the wake of this aborted third installment, there arose insider stories about little tensions between Sarah and John Lloyd, none of them having to do with their professional lives and none of them confirmed by the two stars.
Talk persists anyway that the actor was once interested in Sarah, and that Sarah may not have minded.
He did tell YES! in June 2010, when the magazine was doing a cover story on him, that he thought her “captivating” and “magnetic.”
If so, we ask now, why did he not pursue her?
“It really depends, like, right now if you ask me personally, I would tell you parang bago ako pumasok sa isang bagay, like pursuing a woman or a girl, andami mo nang kino-consider, di ba? Like kung paano ka naa-attract.
“I could be attracted to someone pero pag feeling ko it’s not gonna work, it’s not gonna happen, paano ko pa ipe-pursue? I’m not sure kung pagiging practical ’yong tamang term, di ba?
“Ang pino-point out ko, kung hindi naman puwede ’yong tao, ba’t mo ipipilit? Nakuha mo?”
None of this has changed his good first-hand impressions of Sarah, whom he first worked with in a Maalaala Mo Kaya episode in 2006.
“Well, at that time, ahhh, talagang halos hindi kami nag-uusap e. Ahm, it was more like when I first started out with Bea, as a teamup, parang gano’n, parang gan’on ’yong simula namin."
Bea is Bea Alonzo, the star John Lloyd was first teamed up with in a television series for ABS-CBN.
About Sarah, he goes on, “Well, dati pa kita mo na ’yong professionalism, kung ano ’yong worth sa kanya no’ng trabaho niya. Basically it was all professional. It was all work ’yong experience.”
These things haven’t changed much with Sarah, he says.
“She’s basically the same person. Pero s’yempre ang nag-iiba lang, like many of us, nagbabago tayo, naga-adapt tayo do’n sa environment natin.
"Ngayon pag kino-compare ko s’yempre mas ano siya ngayon, mas at ease, mas comfortable siya sa environment niya.
"Parang mas, ahm, well, mas ano siya ngayon—I’m not sure [how to say this]--parang ngayon siguro mas nakakapagsalita siya, she can joke around.”
He says Sarah, the person, is “very down-to-earth."
He goes on, "I don’t think she’s aware kung ano ’yong status niya, kung ano ’yong mark na nagawa niya sa business na ’to so far."
He volunteers the mention of her family: “[She’s] very dedicated. ’Yong dedication hindi lang sa trabaho e, ahh, kumbaga ang nagmo-motivate doon ’yong family, ’yong love niya for the family, for her family.
“Parang feeling ko kaya siya magaling, that’s why every time, she’d give it her best. Kasi parang ang nagfu-fuel no’n ’yong love niya and respect niya for the family. So that’s how I see her.”
Here is where Sarah's mother, Divine Geronimo, figures prominently.
Industry talk has it that Sarah’s mother, who has real powers over Sarah's career, caused a kissing scene in You Changed My Life to be removed from the script.
The actor confirms this.
“Yeah, hindi pa ready ’yong camp niya," he says cooly. "And I don’t think na ready na siya o sila para sa kanya na magkaroon ng gano’ng scene.”
Despite what can be interpreted as Divine's intrusion, John Lloyd has positive things to say about Sarah's mom.
Mommy Divine is a steadying influence for Sarah, the lead actor says.
“Ako feeling ko parang [Sarah] tends to be more focused pagka nandiyan ’yong mommy niya.
“Parang kung merong pumupuna ng mga flaws niya, or ng mga dapat i-correct it’s the mom, ’di ba? And I’m saying this as Sarah the performer ha.
"So parang, like tayo, pagka nandiyan ang halimbawa ’yong coach mo, if you’re an athlete or something, ’di ba parang mas ano ka e, mas focused ka e. So, parang gano’n ’yong nakikita ko.
"Parang ayaw niyang mag-create ng, umm, gusto niya laging buo ’yong kumpiyansa sa kaniya ng coach niya.”
But he also thinks it has to be Sarah’s call in the end.
“Pero kasi ang hirap dahil,’di ba, pag sinabi niya na parang ang pinanggagalingan niya kasi ’yong values na meron sila as a family e, ’di ba pag sinabi no’ng nanay na I will do anything or everything to protect my daughter, how do you argue with that?”
“Kung nasa harap ka ng mommy mo o hindi, ’yon ’yong choice na pinipili mo."
He takes the moment to say, “Pero I think lahat naman yan motivated ng magandang pinanggalingan, respeto, pagmamahal, so it’s really hard to question…
"Kasi kung anuman ’yong pinagdadaanan niya, ano man yong pinapakita niya sa mommy niya, sa fans niya, I think it’s safe to say na it’s motivated by something good.
"I don’t think people should question that. It should be enough na makita natin siya na masaya. Makita mo siya na nagpe-perform lagi, at her best."
The matinee idol adds, “Kasi parang ako, bago pa man lahat ng ito, fan ako ni Sarah e, kaya may gano’ng understanding ako. Tsaka a little bit of it is nasa business din ako na ’to, so naintindihan ko.”
John Lloyd may understand where Sarah is coming from, but he is honest enough to say he does things differently in his own life.
“Understanding lang, kasi ako ano ’ko e, pinaglalaban ko ’yong akin e.”
She needs friends, we say, people outside of her circle, which is right now largely comprised of family.
“Yeah, ’yong growth, para sa growth.”
John Lloyd also says, “Ako naman naiinitindihan ko in every growth naman you have to gamble…
"Kagaya no’ng ano, pag pinadala mo ’yong anak mo sa eskuwelahan, hindi mo masasabi na lahat ng makukuha niya paglabas ng bahay mo maganda, di ba?
"Marami din siyang puwedeng makuha na hindi maganda o hindi makakatulong sa kanya. But you have to gamble. You have to have faith.”
Now that the Sarah-Rayver issue—it turns out the two were briefly an item, with the 19-year-old Rayver saying the 20-year-old Sarah is his first-ever girlfriend—has gone public, YES! asks John Lloyd if he is in the know.
The 27-year-old actor says, “Not so. And I never tried to find out kung ano ’yong istorya kasi that’s their story. Never. Not to, like, you know, at times parang napagkuwentuhan but between friends, you know, people who are close to me.”
UPDATES ON SARAH, JOHN LLOYD, RAYVER
It is now nearly nine years later, 2020, and the three stars have gone their separate ways.
Sarah Geronimo married actor-athlete-Philippine Army reservist Matteo Guidicelli in civil rites, held in utmost secrecy even from Sarah's mother, just this February 20.
John Lloyd Cruz, after a string of girlfriends, had a child with sexy star Ellen Adarna on June 27, 2018. They separated in 2019. By then, he had stayed away from showbiz for more than two years. The actor is currently single, and is poised to make a comeback through a movie with Shaina Magdayao, a former girlfriend.
Rayver Cruz is in a relationship with rising fashion icon and actress Janine Gutierrez, who is with the Kapuso network, which Rayver himself joined in September 2018, after 14 years with the rival Kapamilya network.
YES! Magazine stopped operations in mid-2018, when its publisher, Summit Media, folded its entire print division in order to transition to a fully digital company. YES! had an 18-year run, through much of which it was acknowledged as the country's leading entertainment magazine.
These days, the many years of lessons from YES! live through this site, the Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP.ph), which is itself propelled by New Media Inc. and Summit Media.