KC Concepcion and Piolo Pascual attended the Star Magic Ball together last month looking so sweet with each other. Now, the latest whisper is that they’ve broken up for good. KC left for Europe last week for what she calls a much needed rest.

“I just need time for myself because of the many things that had happened,” she said before leaving. “I really need to think things over to find myself again. Europe is my comfort zone as my childhood friends are there. It’s nice to be with old friends and visit places again that can make me happy. It’s also the wedding of a friend and they want us to go later for a side trip to Paris to visit places that most tourists don’t frequent. I need a few days to breathe and clear my mind so that I can come back here still whole and intact.”

It’s said she didn’t even inform Piolo that she’s leaving. “I just want to be able to think things clearly,” she added.

You can now draw your own conclusions, judging from what she did.

SUSAN OR NO ONE FOR RITEMED

SUSAN Roces is happy to be the brand ambassador of RiteMed that offers quality but affordable medicines. “After my husband Ronnie (Poe) left, inasikaso ko 'yung mga naiwan niyang ari-arian, ang pagpaparte-parte ng mga ito, inheritance taxes,” she says. “Nilagay ko sa ayos ang lahat. But after that, I asked myself: saan ka patutungo, anong gagawin mo? Komportable naman ako dahil may mga inilaan kami para sa aming retirement. Kaya lang, pag naulila ka pala ng isang mahal sa buhay, di lang ari-arian niya ang minamana mo kundi pati mga naiwan niyang kawanggawa. Paano ko matutulungan ang mga taong umaasa sa kanya? So I talked to him, sabi ko, gabayan niya ako. Nararamdaman ko namang nandiyan lang siya.

Sabi ko, ibulong mo naman kung paano ko matutuloy ang nasimulan mo. Tapos dumating nga ang RiteMed. They committed to provide the FPJ Foundation with essential medicines for its beneficiaries in the film industry, especially the victims of poverty and calamities. We’re also going to different communities in the country to help alleviate the condition of the country’s healthcare. It’s wrong to buy expensive medicines if there’s an equivalent in RiteMed. Bawal ang mahal.”

Why did RiteMed get Susan as their endorser? “She’s the Queen of Philippine movies, one of our most respected actresses in the county,” says RiteMed big boss Willie Versoza. “She really commands so much respect from the public. If she declined, wala na kaming maisip na ipapalit sa kanya. It’s her or no one at all.”

Is it true Susan is mad at Lovi Poe for going sexy? “No, I respect her,” she says. “Iba na ang henerasyon ngayon kaysa sa amin noon.”

Would she be willing to work with Lovi someday? “Why not? If there’s a good project for us.”

Is she moving to ABS-CBN after she did the hit “Babaeng Hampaslupa” on TV5? “Hindi naman ako exclusive contract with any network,” she says. “I’m a freelancer so puwede ako sa Kapamilya, Kapuso, Kapatid. I’m more a Kamag-anak, puwede kahit saan. Very thankful ako sa TV5 for giving me a good show. I have a next project with them but my co-stars, may tinatapos pang ibang shows muna, so I accepted the offer of ABS na maganda rin ang project at ang cast.”

We heard this new project is a remake of “Hihintayin Kita sa Langit” which was based on “Wuthering Heights” and has already been remade by GMA Films as “The Promise” with Richard Gutierrez and Angel Locsin. The ABS version will star Coco Martin and Julia Montes, supported by Paulo Avelino and Helen Gamboa, among others.

RAYMOND STILL AT HIS HOLLYWOOD DREAM

RAYMOND Bagatsing is thankful that right after “Amaya,”  he was quickly cast by GMA7 in “Time of My Life” where he got to act with Jean Garcia and Cherie Gil for the first time. “They’re both good kaya masarap katrabaho,” he says. “And they have different styles of acting. Cherie is intense, matapang. Si Jean naman, ang daling umiyak, like she has a lot of tears. So binabagay ko ang acting ko sa kung sino sa kanila ang kaeksena ko.”

How about the younger stars in the cast like Mark Herras, Kris Bernal and Rocco Nacino? “Nakakatuwa sila kasi they’re very dedicated, very focused sa career nila at magagaling sila. They really want to learn so they even ask tips from me.”

What happened to his dream of cultivating a career in Hollywood? “I’m still at it. I got my green card in 2010. I studied acting there. My teacher, bilib na bilib sa ’kin, even using me as an example to other students who later got me as their acting coach. I’m now putting together a demo reel for my agent who wants me to try not just Hollywood but also the European and Japanese markets. So I’m doing scenes where I deliver lines in French, in Japanese and even Russian. It’s exciting. I plan to go back to the U.S. next year, pero nag-iipon muna ako rito para may panggastos ako roon while auditioning there.

Actually, nakuha na ako to do three small films. So I’m still testing the waters. But I’m so glad na kahit four years akong nawala rito sa atin, kinuha pa rin uli ako. First sa ABS, and now with GMA7. I’ve also finished two new films here, ‘Captured’ with Direk Dante Mendoza where I play Janjalani of the Abu Sayyaf with French actress Isabelle Huppert, and ‘Boundary’ with me as a taxi passenger na hinoldup ng driver, Ronnie Lazaro, without him knowing hired killer pala ako.”

Raymond is now managed by Manay Lolit Solis. He says he’s so happy to do a dance serye like “Time of My Life.” “Dancing is really my first love, so natuwa ako dahil lumabas dito 'yung side ng pagka-dancer ko.”

JANICE UNWILLING TO WORK WITH JOHN

THE De Belen sisters, Janice and Gelli, who hosted the morning “Sis” on GMA7 for seven years, have both left the Kapuso network. Janice is now with ABS-CBN and getting great feedback as the adoptive mother of Gerald Anderson in the new soap, “Budoy” (seen after “100 Days to Heaven”), while Gelli will be in a forthcoming TV5 soap and will also host a talk and cooking show titled “Gellicious.” Janice is also hosting a similar show on Net 25, “Spoon.”

Now that Janice is a Kapamilya, would she be willing to work with ex-hubby John Estrada who’s also with the same network? “I think it’s better na huwag na lang. We’re not the best of friends.  It’s better if you have a good working relationship. Also, pag pinagsama kami, it’s going to be hyped and I don’t want that to burden his wife. I don’t like to ever make her feel uncomfortable, lalo na’t pregnant daw. Okay na 'yung when we see each other, okay naman, hi-hello, civil naman kami sa isa’t isa, but we don’t need to work together.”