Vice asks what’s inside Andrea’s bag, probes into the Gen Z star’s recent breakup

Among today’s young stars, one we consider influential is “Drag You And Me” actress Andrea Brilliantes. And we love her for many reasons, one of which is her authenticity, as well as her mature mindset when it comes to relationships.

In a recent appearance on It’s Showtime host Vice Ganda’s vlog, Andrea talked about how she loves and how she forgets in a very Gen-Z way.

Vice and Andrea, two of the most followed celebrities in the country, opened the video by talking about typical Gen Z behavior. Andrea admitted that they’re a social media-savvy generation, and they’re more confident. However, she condemns some Gen Z attitudes like their inclination to “cancel culture” and acknowledged that they can be stubborn at times.

“Para sa akin, wala kang karapatan mag-cancel ng tao. Dapat talaga Diyos lang ang nagbibigay ng judgment sa tao,” she also feels bad that her generation tends to be critical of one’s mistakes. “Laging bawal magkamali. Eh, lahat tayo nagkakamali. Lalo na ang Gen Z, bata pa lang kami, ngayon dapat kami naggo-grow at natututo.”

In terms of fashion, Gen Z OOTDs have non-negotiable elements like the baguette bag. Andrea, of course, knows how to keep up with the trends. She brought her small shoulder bag, which can carry her everyday essentials.

The first item she fished out of her bag was a pair of reading glasses, followed by ‘retouch’ items like powder, lip tint, oil control sheets, perfume, a hair tie, and a mini hairbrush. Andrea loves makeup so she put up her own makeup brand. And to complete the Gen-Z cool kid look, she always has earphones.

She then showed a religious souvenir item she got from her recent sojourn in Spain. Yup, she went there solo to soul-search. She visited the cities of Madrid, Toledo, Seville, and Granada.

As many people know, she travelled after her breakup with basketball player Ricci Rivero, though not mainly to just forget. Traveling solo is actually part of her bucket list. The trip was scary at first, yet empowering, and it certainly helped her move forward.

Walking us through her one-month moving-on process, she narrated, “Sa one month na ‘yun, parang lahat ng stages of acceptance naranasan ko – anger, bargaining, acceptance.” Thankfully, she didn’t go through a major depressive state.

Andrea admitted that she tried to fix her relationship with Ricci. However, she couldn’t do it all by herself. That's when she decided to walk away from the person she still loves.

“In love pa ako no’n pero, kasi, parang may iba na, eh. So, paano ko pa isisiksik ‘yung sarili ko do’n? Saan na ako do’n?”

Contrary to what older people might assume, Gen Zs can be intelligent and intentional when it comes to dating. Proof is Andrea, who, at 19, only dates to marry. Thus, she would walk away from a relationship if it wouldn’t eventually lead to marriage. This reflects her level of self-love, and she wants to teach her future daughter the same.

“Paano ko ma-a-advice sa magiging anak ko ‘yun kung hindi ko kayang gawin sa sarili ko? So, kailangan mapakita ko na may self-value ako para magkaroon ng self-value din ang anak ko,” she imparted.

Besides, “there’s so much more to this life than just one boy.”

Her other moving-on strategy is to think of certain turn-offs about her ex. “Mare-realize mo na hindi pala siya special. Pero ‘yung pagmamahal mo ‘yung nagpa-special doon sa tao.”

The conversation turned amusing when Andrea was asked how intense she loves, to which she answered, “Bakla ako magregalo.” Without mentioning names, she said that she once spent a million on a guy. There was also a time when she made a way to include her boyfriend in a project even if the guy’s talent fee would have to be deducted from hers since the guy wasn’t originally part of the cast.

She’s not the type to ask an ex-boyfriend to return her gifts. As a sentimental person, she also keeps the gifts she received, although an ex-boyfriend once asked her to return the jackets she borrowed.

Andrea doesn’t regret anything, “Kasi nagmahal ako.”

She’s admittedly not a perfect girlfriend. But she argues only when she’s right, when she has a “valid reason.” One thing she learned from her recent relationship is that she has power over her emotions. She’d journal about her feelings and let them ease up before she confronts her partner.

They went on to discuss cheating. “Hindi po sila umaamin,” she replied when asked if boys admit to their affairs. There was a time when she confronted a girl to confirm her hunches, but in the end, she still chose to trust her boyfriend.

To cap it off, Andrea’s best piece of advice to her fellow Gen Zs is to have self-respect enough to walk away from miserable situations. “Kapag pinakita na sa’yo ni Lord ‘yung dapat mo makita, alam mo na gagawin mo kung talagang vina-value mo ‘yung self mo.”

Watch Vice and Andrea’s collab titled “Ang Beshy Kong Gen Z” by playing the video!