MANILA - "Gusto kong sabunutan 'yung sarili ko sa TV!"
Even Maja Salvador, who plays a mistress in "The Legal Wife," does not agree with her character's decisions in the primetime series.
In the drama series, Salvador plays Nicole (Salvador), who has found affection in Adrian (Jericho Rosales), the husband of her best friend Monica (Angel Locsin) with whom she starts having an affair.
"Ay, nakakaloka!" she said of the ABS-CBN soap. "At least okay ako na na-experience ko 'yung role na gano'n kasi, grabe, ang hirap nung character ko, ang hirap maging mistress!"
In the most recent episodes of "The Legal Wife," Nicole and Adrian continue to hide their relationship as Monica grows suspicious of her husband frequently being away.
Despite feeling guilty over the affair, after Monica confided her marital problems in her, Nicole decides to continue seeing Adrian.
"Sa totoong buhay, walang may gusto maging kabit, 'di ba? Hindi mo alam kung paano ka napupunta sa ganoong sitwasyon," Salvador told ABS-CBN News on Tuesday. "Magigising ka na lang, 'di ba, na nandoon ka na, na in love ka na sa isang taong may pamilya. Isang araw, magigising ka, homewrecker ka na."
She added: "Ang hirap, pero iyon 'yung trabaho. At siyempre, may mga Kapamilya tayong nakaka-relate, na at least, dito sa teleseryeng ito, makikita nila 'yung bawat sitwasyon ng mga characters namin."
The April 22 episode of "The Legal Wife," which saw a fuming Monica confronting her husband about his lying, dominated Twitter conversations and became the No. 1 trending topic on the micro-blogging site both locally and worldwide.
Despite its late time slot, the series has managed to draw strong viewership, with Tuesday night's episode getting 24.1% in nationwide ratings, according to Kantar Media.
Salvador is not surprised that many viewers relate to the show, which promised a mature treatment to marital infidelity when it was announced in 2013.
"Natutuwa nga ako e pag may nababasa akong tweet na parang, 'Dear girlfriend, huwag ka na manood ng 'Legal Wife' kung aawayin mo lang din ako.' So parang 'yung mga husband nila, mga boyfriend nila, naiinis na kasi 'yung mga girls, 'di ba, napa-praning. Puwede mangyari sa totoong buhay. Kasi totoo, puwedeng mangyari 'yon."
"Kasi 'yung pinapalabas namin, parang nagmamahal lang sila, e," Salvador added. "Pag 'yung love kasi, ang hirap no'n kalabanin, pero alam mo naman kung ano ang tama at mali. Pero, 'di ba, pag nandoon ka na sa sitwasyon na gano'n, paano mo nga ba iha-handle iyon?
Parang iyon kasi 'yung pinapakita ng 'Legal Wife', e."
"The Legal Wife," which is under the direction of Rory Quintos and Dado Lumibao, airs weeknights after "Ikaw Lamang" during ABS-CBN's primetime block.
