Addressing Cagayan de Oro Rep. Benjamin Benaldo, the 25-year-old Brazilian model, in tears, said, "Sana ma-realize niya na ginawa ko 'yan para sa 'yo. Pwede mo naman i-air out, eh. Wala namang mali na magsabi na nagkamali ako, nagkamali lang tayong dalawa, pero huwag naman dumating sa punto na ako 'yung mukhang stupid, tanga o napakadaling mag-forgive."
Speaking exclusively with ABS-CBN News' Ginger Conejero, Menezes was referring to their interview with "The Buzz" host Boy Abunda that aired last Sunday.
In the interview, the couple maintained that no incident of domestic violence took place with Menezes apologizing for her her actions on social media last week.
On her page on image-sharing service Instagram, Menezes had shared a series of images pertaining to violence against women, including ones showing the words "No to rape," "Real Men Don't use Violence," and "There is no excuse for abuse."
Another photo on Menezes' Instagram page showed an arm bleeding from cuts and wounds.
But on Tuesday, the model lamented that Benaldo's part in the interview did not appear consistent with the apology about the controversy he had issued after Menezes' posts stirred speculation.
"I was very disappointed because I exposed myself to the point na from Instagram post, into the whole interview thing and all I wanted was the statement given by my partner would be consistent to what we saw on the camera and in the interview itself by Tito Boy," she said.
"It didn't happen. A person was just beside me blank, letting me come out matapang and giving the impression to the public that what I said was unreliable when in fact he already said sorry," she added.
'No concern'
Menezes pointed to Benaldo's supposed air of indifference during the interview, saying, "Wala man lang concern. I'm exposing myself to that and then wala, blank."
"He apologized to me personally, and he released a statement to the public. But when we aired our side together, in front of the public and everything, there was like no apologies at all, and that made me feel like I was the one who had the problem," she tearfully said.
She added: "I am just going through a phase that I cannot even control my emotions anymore, because if my partner cannot support me on cam but just behind the camera, it will be really hard for me to move forward."
Referring to her being emotional, Menezes admitted that she feels "a little bit of anger" toward her husband.
"Whenever I get teary-eyed, at the of the day, tama ba na ako pa 'yung mali? It happened na eh. I cover you up from the fight," she said.
"No matter what happened, I can never get into details, kasi ayoko na madamay 'yung tao dahil mahal ko siya. Pero gusto ko sana maintindihan ng mga tao na hindi lang ako gumagawa ng issue," she added.
A 'victim'?
Although she categorically denied in her "The Buzz" interview that there was an instance of abuse in their relationship, Menezes said, "To clarify, I'm not the girl who cried wolf."
Explaining that she did not mean for their fight to go public on social media, Menezes said she was pushed to post the controversial images because "I was emotionally unstable at that time, and too depressed to express my feelings."
Asked if she considers herself a "victim" of abuse, Menezes said, "I consider myself... pwede... ayoko naman magsabi ng words na 'victim.' Hindi eh, parang ang hirap... wala, it's just really, really tough right now."
"It's not something that involves just me and Benjo and my mom. It's the public, it's everyone bashing. It's everything, eh," she said.
Menezes' mother, who flew in from their native Brazil early this week, was at the model's side during her interview with ABS-CBN News.
According to Menezes, her mother is the one most hurt by the turn of events.
"She's very hurt na parang, 'Bakit ganoon? Anak ko 'yan eh.' ... It's just so hard for her din to accept because I'm the only child, and then she came over from the other side of the world, and then at the of the day, [I'm] only 25, 'Bakit?'" Menezes said.
Moving forward
Admitting she regrets that her relationship with Benaldo has turned sour, Menezes said she is nonetheless considering filing for divorce.
The couple married in a civil wedding in Las Vegas in December last year.
"It's one of the options, to divorce, pero we were planning the [church] wedding eh. Parang napaka-contradicting sa isip mo na you're planning to get married," she said.
"So I'm torn... Will I get into a divorce because of this fight and what people are telling me to do, or follow my heart? 'Yun ang hindi ko talaga mapi-figure out until binigyan niyo po kami ng space, ng time siguro," she said.
Explaining why she still considers building a life with Benaldo, Menezes said, "It's just talagang love. Patawarin niyo ako kung in love ako. Sorry, blind siguro. Sorry, that's life. It happens."
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
