Can Derek work with Angelica again?

Now that they’ve broken up and reconciliation is out of the question, Derek Ramsay says it will be easier for him to work with former girlfriend Angelica Panganiban again.

“The respect is still there,” he says in an interview after the press conference of his latest movie, Viva Films’ “A Secret Affair.”

“Mas mahirap noon when we were shooting ‘I Love You Goodbye’(a Star Cinema project released in 2009, when he and Angelica were still together),” Derek adds.

No bad blood

And since there is no bad blood between him and Angelica’s rumored boyfriend John Lloyd Cruz, Derek is just as open to working with the Kapamilya actor.

“John Lloyd is the number one leading man today.  I can learn a lot from him,” explains Derek.

While Angelica seems to have found a new love, Derek insists he’s still single.  Sam Pinto and Jessy Mendiola have been linked to him, but Derek states he doesn’t know them personally.

He had a crush on American basketball player Sue Bird, whom he interviewed for his London Olympics coverage, but nothing came out of the meeting.

“We didn’t have time to make a major connection.  Pagkatapos ng interview, umalis na siya,” explains Derek.

Being loveless, however, doesn’t mean being lonely. Derek reveals that he’s happy and moving on with his life. He’s also very busy.

Living out of a suitcase

“I’ve been living out of a suitcase for three months now,” he reveals. One of the reasons is “A Secret Affair,” where Derek reunites with “No Other Woman” co-star Anne Curtis and works for the first time with Andi Eigenmann. Derek and Andi sizzle in many steamy scenes and the latter admitted she felt nervous about going that daring for the first time.

Derek, ever the gentleman, had a long talk with Andi off-cam and shared his experiences to put her at ease.

“I understand where she’s coming from,” Derek explained.

It worked.  Andi admitted the butterflies in her stomach disappeared, and she and Derek have become friends.  Andi even told Derek that people have talked about seeing him in public with Jessy.

“We were together shooting in Tanay at that time,” Andi defended Derek.
The latter in turn, is all praise for Andi.

“People will end up having more respect for Andi once they see the movie,” Derek promises. 

After all, he goes on, “A Secret Affair” is not just a film with sexy scenes, thanks to its love triangle kind of plot.  The scenes, he goes on, are needed to bring out the heavy drama about family, friendship, and betrayal.

The love triangle formula recalls the plot of the highly-successful “No Other Woman,” but this time, there is no wife involved.  What it has instead are three people caught between true love and a deep-seated love affair.

“A Secret Affair” opens in theaters on October 24.