Ryan Agoncillo arrived in Manila last September 13 after spending more than a month in Buenos Aires, Argentina to do work as host of the much-awaited Pinoy Fear Factor. Barely a week later, the host-actor was already at work on his next project Pieta which will be the most physically challenging role he has tackled to date. ABS-CBN.com got a chance to speak to Ryan during one of his Pieta training sessions about his South American adventure and the difficulties of maintaining a long distance relationship with fiancée Judy Ann Santos.

The actress surprised him by picking him up at the airport upon his arrival from Argentina. “It was a family affair. Sinundo niya ako sa airport. Nagulat ako kasi dalawang sasakyan ‘yung sumalubong sa akin. Bumaba lahat ng barkada ko at barkada niya. I arrived early afternoon. Hindi na kami naghiwalay until the next afternoon. Talagang kwentuhan, kainan, inuman. Lahat ng na-miss ko ginawa namin,” he shared. In the business class flight back to Manila, Ryan was the only one cheering. The other passengers—mostly Malaysian tourists—were oblivious on why someone like him was very excited to be back on Philippine soil.

In an interview with ABS-CBN.com before he left for Argentina, Ryan revealed to ABS-CBN.com that he was more worried about the mental challenge of being away from his loved ones than the physical stunts that were to be done in Pinoy Fear Factor. While he missed Judai, he never lost touch with his fiancée thanks to the Internet. “We chat in every free hour that I could get. Baliktad kasi ‘yung oras, kapag gabi sa akin doon, umaga sa kanya dito. Wala kasi akong access sa mobile internet. When I get home or when I wake up in the morning, I log on and when she’s online (she has mobile access on the set), we chat.”

Ryan went on to share the things they usually talk about online. “Lagi siyang nagpapakwento kung ano na mga nangyayari. Ako naman ikinukwento ko sa kanya kung gaano ka-engrande yung set, tuwang tuwa naman siya. She asked kung nasaan na ako, I told her, ‘I’m in my motor home,’ and she went ‘What?! You have a motor home?! Take a picture!’ I took a picture of the motor home and pinadala ko sa kanya. Tuwang tuwa siya.” Ryan bought a shawl that Argentines commonly use as his pasalubong for Judai which she can use whenever she gets cold in her tapings.

Keep checking www.ABS-CBN.com for updates on Pinoy Fear Factor and the upcoming action-teleserye Pieta.