The love team of MarNella (Marlo Mortel and Janella Salvador) was born out of the success of the daytime teleserye Be Careful With My Heart. Their Niccolo-Nikki tandem brought the teen kilig to the show.
They had another show after Be Careful With My Heart titled Oh My G!, but later on Janella was paired with other actors.
Recently, Marlo confessed what he felt when he was replaced as Janella’s leading man.
In an interview by Rider Ph, he said, “Mas bias.
“Pero kasi natural naman yun eh, there will always be someone sa kompanya na dahil kilala ka ni boss, di mawawala yun kaya dapat mong trabahuhin sarili mo and that’s what I’m trying to do now.
“Baka may kulang pa sa akin, kaya yun yung gusto kong i-develop sa akin. Continue learning, continue discovering. Makikita naman nila if may improvement sa ‘yo.”
Marlo expressed how he truly felt when he was replaced without notice.
“Kase sa totoo lang kung andon ka sa situation ko, very heartbreaking, kasi never naman ako nagsalita sa amin ni Janella and [we’re] very close.
“Pero para tanggalin ka sa isang love team na very successful is heartbreaking for a person. Siguro kung yun iba na depress na sila pero ako, hindi ko siya tinake personally.”
Has Marlo ever spoken out about what happened?
“Never naman ako naging vocal. Ayoko naman isipin na bitter ako.”
Marlo also stated that while being in a love team with Janella helped, he’d like to think it was also through his hard work and effort that have propelled his career.
“Pero mostly people are telling after that baka iniisip nila na wala na, dahil lang doon. Kaya sumikat, dahil kay Janella, pero hindi pa kase nila nakikita yung paano ako nakarating doon.
“Yung journey ko, yung potential ko din na trinabaho ko mag isa, inaral ko mag acting mag-isa dahil never naman ako nag acting workshop. Wala akong manager.”
Marlo also has no idea why he was replaced.
“Nung tinanggal nila ako nun, hindi ko alam kung bakit.”
Marlo said he was removed without any notice, too.
“After Oh My G (wala na), wala siyang personal abiso. Parang ganun. Basta nawala na lang ako sa eksena.”
But what was his reaction when he learned that Janella was paired with Elmo Magalona?
“Tinaggap ko yun wholeheartedly.
“Tapos all throughout kinausap ako ng handler ko. ‘Okay ka lang ba?’ pero wala talagang paalam ang nangyari talaga naiwan ako sa eksena.”
Janella is in the primetime series The Killer Bride with a new leading man, Joshua Garcia. What was Marlo’s reaction?
“Hindi kasi ako greedy, hindi ako competitive tulad ng ibang artista. Binigyan ako ng blessing sa Be Careful with My Heart. Binigyan ako ng Oh My G! and thankful ako dun. And naka pag-build ako ng friendship with Janella kaya I’m happy sa kung anong binibigy sa kanya.”
After Oh My G!, the actor revealed that opportunities and projects were few and far between.
“Mas wala ng opportunities ang nag-open after.”
As the interview ended, he shared his struggles as an actor and as the breadwinner of his family.
“Pinagdadasal ko lang ay consistency lang sa work para may pangtustos sa amin, dahil ngayon pa lang ako ako bumabawi sa lahat ng nawala sa akin.”
