As the pandemic continues to spawn complex relationship dilemmas, the Ultimate Hugot Queen Angelica Panganiban comes to the rescue of netizens entangled in these love webs in the first episode of “Ask Angelica.”

To take the ‘hugot’ and ‘emote’ to a higher, funnier level, Angelica called in her best friends Kim Chiu and Bela Padilla. Also joining them are Kean Cipriano (the genius behind the show’s catchy theme song) and Via Antonio.

After bantering about their love life status, the hosts tackled the first issue about online flings. A netizen named Trish Delez met a guy through a dating app and she’s pretty much falling for him. But there are qualms about the blossoming romance rooted from one red flag: his unavailability on social media. Bela thought the absence, in person or digital, is a contrast to a typical ‘Pinoy manliligaw’ who would show up and expose his true self. “I-delete mo na ‘yang Bumblebee mo tapos pa-bless mo ‘yung bahay mo,” she quipped. Angelica further stressed the risks of being too trustful. She advised Trish to guard herself first before anyone else.

A netizen named Nate Lim consulted his problem next about betrayal. He had a thing with someone who ended up dating his own friend. Team “AngBeKi” underscored the value of kindness and of being the bigger person. Angelica added that friendship is more precious than romantic relationships.

Rica San Juan sought advice on embracing self-love. Our ‘mamee’ Angelica, known as a torchbearer of happy singles, had so much to say about the topic. “Responsibility mo na pasayahin ang sarili mo,” she fired away. Angelica further stressed that only a person strong enough to live a happy single life is capable of extending love to others, be it family, friends, or a partner. More importantly, wait for the right one and use the waiting season to love yourself deeply.  

The 13-year-old Alissa Lukban ticked her ‘ates’ and ‘kuya’ off for acting too concerned about adult love matters. “Mag-pray ka na lang at matulog nang maaga,” Angelica jestingly said.

In the next segment called “Video Mo, Emote Mo,” a netizen was uncertain over an ex-lover’s invite. Angelica got the ‘hugot’ burning with her piece of advice. “Ex is ‘X’ and ex is wrong!” Bela added that past relationships shall no longer affect the present. Although as mature adults, ex-lovers can remain just friends.

The love gurus had different takes on taking new relationship risks. Angelica told the confused netizen not to rush into love and not to commit out of convenience. This will only leave both parties broken. Kim, however, believes there’s nothing wrong with giving it a try, so to avoid the ‘what ifs’ later on. Kean further urged the netizen to enjoy the MU (mutual understanding) stage first.

The next dilemma was from a girl who is too busy for her live-in partner. They agreed that the guy must show more effort since his girlfriend is already swamped with work. Angelica would suggest taking new hobbies and keeping the communication open. Bela thought date nights at home will help rekindle the passion.

Angelica ends the episode by sharing her takeaway about friendship. She wouldn’t survive three years of single life if it weren’t for Bela and Kim. The trio celebrates their third ‘friendversary’ and they’re happy to remain solid since day one.

She further underscored the power of self-love as the strongest foundation of any relationship. “As long as kaya mong maging masaya alone, then, it will flourish. Para ka na lang sprinkler sa garden na nagbibigay ng joy sa lahat. Ikaw ang nagwa-water, ikaw ang nagdidilig para sa lahat. Kasi kaya mo na at punong-puno ka na ng gano’ng happiness at love. Kaya mo na siyang i-share sa lahat,” expressed the Walang Hanggang Paalam star. Angelica further added, “Hindi mo iba-base ang buhay mo dahil sa isang tao.”

Check out the video for the full episode!