Nancy the "lady-in-waiting"
    Before entering Big Brother's house, John expressed interest in actress Nancy Castiglione�Luis Manzano's ex-girlfriend. "Nagpaalam ako kay Luis," says John. "Siyempre best friend ko yun e. Kailangan talaga respeto pa rin."

    And what would a best friend say to his buddy who is courting his ex-girlfriend? "Wala," to put it simply. "[Sabi niya] �go!' Matagal na naman silang break nun e. Tapos minsan naga-advice siya na misan gusto ni Nancy ng ganyan... Pero okay na naman kami e. Parang walang makakasira sa pagkakaibigan naming ni Luis."

    John and Nancy dated for three weeks. "And naging close kami for three weeks," he explains. "Pero hindi naman naging kami, hindi talaga kami nagkaroon ng commitment."

    When the day came for John to bid temporary farewell to the outside world and hello to Kuya, he had one request for Nancy: "Sabi ko sa kanya, �Wait for me.'"

Life After PBB
    As the reality show drew to a close, the audience discovered a different side of the "child actor" John�that of a responsible adult who worked hard to accomplish Big Brother's assigned tasks and challenges. It was no surprise that he received the second highest number of votes�372,198 to be exact�finishing as the PBB Celebrity Edition Second Big Placer.

    From child star to celebrity bachelor, he admits that he has matured a lot and appreciates the things he used to take for granted, like work. He reveals: "Sobrang dati kasi kapag maraming ginagawa, parang, �Ano ba �yan ang daming ginagawa.' Tapos there was a time na parang nawala ng konti. Anong nangyari dun, parang nami-miss mo. Paglabas ko mas naging priority ko siya, mas minahal ko siya. Hangga't nandiyan go lang ng go! Kasi you'll never know until when e. So just, you know, go with the flow and work, work, work. Bata pa naman ako, parang wala naman akong karapatan magreklamo."

The Women in His Life
    Work came pouring from the sky-movie offers, TV appearances and other projects. Everyone was getting a piece of him, but what happened to the person who waited for him for 56 days?

    "Parang nung paglabas namin I was expecting na magiging kami na rin [ni Nancy] siyempre, �di ba? But sa two months marami palang pwedeng mangyari, alam mo yun? When I got out, parang, ang dami kong trabaho. Shooting ng Manay Po and everything. Parang, wala akong time for that. Parang, na-realize ko na: �Wait, �di pala ito yung priority ko.' And siya rin ganun din. Parang, hindi rin pala yun ang priority niya... And siguro emotionally nag-iba din yung feelings namin towards each other. Parang, yun yung pinakamatindi e, priority. Parang ano ba talaga yung gusto mo? Like, ako hindi ko talaga mabibigay sa kanya yung 100%. You know, my life. Kasi parang I have my work and yun ang pinili ko muna. And same with her, yun muna yung pinili nya. So yun naging distant kami, and sa commitment �di kami nag-commit sa isa't isa."

    Gossipmongers tittle-tattled about John's alleged budding relationship with another PBB alumnus, Say Alonzo. "Kasi kami ni Say nagkatrabaho kami after Pinoy Big Brother," he explains. "Actually, before PBB pa lang, kami ni Luis nali-link na sa kanya e. Parang nanliligaw daw kami, so kami parang: �Huh?'"

    He admits that they were already friends even before Pinoy Big Brother. After he got out of Kuya's house, the two worked on several projects. "Wala nagkukwentuhan lang kami ng experiences sa loob tapos nabigyan na ng malisya and everything. Basically, yun lang, parang, naging big deal na talaga siya. Parang feeling ko kahit sinong babae ang makasama ko big deal talaga." He jokes: "So parang, okay ganun na ba sila ka-desperate na magkaroon ako ng lovelife! Yun lang ang sad part about that kasi unfair din for... unfair din na may isyu na wala naman."

    Vague details started circulating of a supposed date in Tagaytay with Say. "No, not Tagaytay," he clarifies. "As in talagang south side pero kasama ko si Rico Robles, Jayson, Keanna, ako at saka siya. Lima kami sinurprise namin yung friend ni Keanna na nag-open ng bar na kasama yung PBB housemates. Yun lang, tapos, parang, biglang naging Tagaytay na kaming dalawa lang. So, parang, okay..."

    Weeks after the supposed date, another rumor sprung up: the two apparently broke up. Say is keeping quiet. On a separate interview, she simply says: "I don't want to talk about John."

Going Solo
    For years, John has always been paired with girls like Heart Evangelista and Maja Salvador to create teenybopper love teams. He admits that going solo is much fun. "Mas fun kasi at least you have your own identity," he explains. "Parang hindi siya hinahanap, yung love team mo."

    Right now, he is doing everything on his own terms. "Like now, I can dance on my own. Unlike nung may love team ako, pag sumasayaw ako with Heart palagi or may numbers ako with Heart. At least I get to do whatever I want. Kapag sumasayaw ako, yun yung passion ko talagang wala akong iisipin na may partner ako na hahataw ako tapos siya hindi hahataw... Na parang I had to adjust na hindi masyado and everything. Ngayon mas nagagawa ko kung ano yung gusto kong gawin. Makakagawa ako ng role na bading ako [like in his recent movie Manay Po], so kahit na mag-experiment ako as an actor, so mas madali mas masaya."

Oh No, It's John as Johnny!
    Nowadays, work is keeping him busy. John is starring in ABS-CBN's newest sitcom Aalog-alog, which will be making its premiere telecast on Friday, June 30. Keanna Reeves, Zanjoe Marudo, Jayson Gainza, Kim Chiu, and Gerald Anderson make up the rest of the cast.

    John plays Johnny�an ambitious dancer and hosto wannabe�who is off to Japan. By some twist of fate, he ends up as a waiter being chased by immigration officials. From child superhero in Batang X to gay son in Manay Po to hosto in Aalog-alog-what's next? John surely isn't pulling any stops!