Nikki sees herself married five years from now

Nikki Gil says she sees herself married five years from now.

“Five years from now I'd be married. I'm not sure if I'd still be in the industry,  but definitely I'd be starting my own family and trying to live a peaceful life,” she told Yahoo! Philippines OMG! in an interview after her rehearsals for the musical “Sweet Charity” recently.

The Kapamilya singer-actress shares she and boyfriend Billy Crawford have talked about marriage, but adds that they're considering a number of things before walking down the aisle.

“Billy is of age. I know I'm pretty young but malayo pa. Marami pa syang gustong ma-achieve. Ako rin, marami pa. Nag-uumpisa pa lang ako e,” Nikki said. “I'm also considering din kasi Billy if he really is the one. He's 29. He doesn't want to be too old when he gets married. We've been together for three years. Eight years, that should be enough.”

What's important, Nikki says, is they're happy despite their busy schedules.

“We're both very busy and we rarely see each other but it's a good kind of busy. We both know it's for our own good and it's for our future,” she explains.

Billy was one of the hosts of the recently-concluded “Pilipinas Got Talent” season 2.  Nikki hosts the weekly showbiz talk show “Entertainment Live” and is one of the “ASAP Rocks” mainstays with Billy.

Joint effort

Nikki admits maintaining a relationship in show business can be difficult, particularly because “people in the industry don't give a rip if you stay together or not.”

So what's the secret of Nikki and Billy's stable relationship?

“Communication talaga. I tell him what makes me uncomfortable. It's very challenging talaga to make it work in this kind of industry. But I guess it's really communicating to each other what makes you uncomfortable, what are you okay with,” Nikki says. “Parang, you set certain ground rules na hindi lang yung babae yung nag-i-impose. Pati yung lalaki. And it's not even imposing. If you want it for yourselves, it's like a collective effort. Joint effort talaga dapat.”

Nikki also said she and Billy try their best to separate their relationship from their work.

“We consider kasi our relationship to be a real thing and as much as possible we want to keep it away from our respective professions,” the “Sweet Charity” lead star explained.

Lastly, Nikki said she and Billy are lucky to have met people in the business who are supportive of their relationship and realize that it’s “hindi showbiz;  pang-matagalan, pang-totohanan na talaga.”

Slow and steady

Nikki plays the title role in “Sweet Charity,” where she is cast as a taxi dancer (or dancer-for-hire)  in the `60s who has a big heart but is unlucky in love.

This is Nikki's second musical in two years. Last year, she wowed the audience and the critics as Elle Woods in “Legally Blonde: The Musical.”

“I've been bitten by the theater bug. I enjoyed my very first experience in theater. I definitely wanted to come back given to the opportunity, and 'Sweet Charity' was that window of opportunity,” she said.

Although she already had theater acting experience, Nikki said she's still working hard because she wants to prove she deserves the role.

“I'm still not a theater person. I'm still, more than anything, a TV personality. It's still not my turf. I haven't been doing this for years. I know that I lack that theater oomph, whatever that is. But you know, you only really get through experience. And I'm hoping 'Sweet Charity' is one of those,” Nikki explains.

She adds, “You know, I respect theater. I respect the craft. I'm a fan of theater. That's really the reason why I want to work as hard as I can because I know the standards and the expectations of these theater enthusiasts are.”

As for her career as a television personality, Nikki says she's ”pretty contented, ” adding that she wants her ascent to be slow and steady.

“I’m happy with where I am right now.  You want to set your foundation. Kunwari, magtatayo ka ng building, hindi namab mabilisan yun e.  You want to set your foundation. So eventually you get to the top, you’re equipped and you’re prepared.  I’m just enjoying it because I know I’m very blessed to be in this place at all.  For me, to want more is just plain selfish.”

She adds that there have been offers since her last soap opera, ”Agimat: Ang Mga Alamat ni Ramon Revilla Presents Tonyong Bayawak” in 2010, but decided to focus on hosting and singing.

“Sweet Charity,” which also stars Kris Lawrence and Ciara Sotto, will run all weekends of August at Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza, Makati City.