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Gelli de Belen on playing single mom, going back to rom-com via “2 Good 2 Be True”

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Liezel dela Cruz

Playing a single mom of two girls in the KathNiel-starrer “<a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/2good2betrue" target="_blank">2 Good 2 Be True</a>,” seasoned actress Gelli de Belen said she now relates to sister Janice de Belen’s experiences raising four daughters. Apart from being a single mom, her character in the series, Margie, is a reflection of a real and ordinary mother in a sense that she will do anything for her kids’ future. Margie is the energetic but gullible mother who ventures into different online ‘rakets,’ hence falling victim to scammers, forming her eldest daughter Ali (Kathryn Bernardo)’s hate toward dishonest people. Margie’s journey is far from Gelli’s very happy married life. Asked how she prepared for the role, Gelli said the focus was mainly to bring the scripted character to life and not to imitate just another real person, although she has single mom friends to take inspiration from. Having been used to drama, Gelli now finds comedy a bit challenging. Nonetheless, she’s able to pull it off, thanks to the authentic friendships on set. Her two daughters on the show, Kathryn and newcomer Bianca de Vera, also help make work easier with their sweet and happy personalities.Gelli worked with Kathryn in the Kapamilya primetime series “La Luna Sangre” and she saw her bloom into a more confident woman, albeit soft-spoken. She said Kathryn was a bit shy on the set of “La Luna Sangre” since they only had limited on- and off-screen interaction. Now that they’re playing mother and daughter, she saw Kathryn’s desire to connect. Same goes for Bianca, whom Gelli admires for her good energy and willingness to learn.Gelli was in Canada by the time of this interview. But the love for her “<a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/2good2betrue" target="_blank">2 Good 2 Be True</a>” co-stars can be felt from there, and she thinks this friendship is one factor how they’re able to deliver good vibes for the viewers. “It’s a happy set. Masaya lang siya. Walang pa-star. And I think it will resonate when people watch 2 Good 2 Be True. It’s a fun watch, magaan lang siya. Marami nang mabigat na nangyayari sa bansa natin. Happy thoughts muna tayo kahit isang oras lang,” she said on Kapamilya Chat. Beyond the happy vibes, the teleserye topbilled by Kathryn and real-life beau Daniel Padilla will also bring serious lessons about love, family, and human connections, one of which is to never judge others. “We meet a lot of people every day and we always have a judgment kaagad. Madaling sabihin na dapat huwag pero nangyayari talaga sa atin. I think this show will remind us na we should not judge a book by its cover. We don’t know the journey each person is going through kapag nakikilala natin sila,” shared Gelli. “<a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/2good2betrue" target="_blank">2 Good 2 Be True</a>” now ranks second among most viewed series on Netflix. It also airs weeknights on <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-kapamilya-channel-12340" target="_blank">Kapamilya Channel</a>, <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-news/abs-cbn-goes-full-blast-on-digital-launches-kapamilya-online-live-on-youtube-and-facebook-12718" target="_blank">Kapamilya Online Live</a>, and A2Z.

Happily married and with two sons in real life, how did Gelli de Belen sketch the character of a single mom of two girls in “2 Good 2 Be True”?   