Zanjoe Marudo lamented the prevalence of fake news on social media as he shrugged off rumors that he and his actress wife Ria Atayde had supposedly separated.
The actor addressed the breakup claims during the media conference of the 2025 Metro Manila Film Fest entry ‘UnMarry,’ where he is a cast member, on Friday, Dec. 5.
‘Wala na kong reaksyon sa mga ganyan kasi napakarami na talagang fake news na lumalabas sa YouTube,’ he said.
(I don’t react to that anymore because fake news have been spreading on [social media, particularly YouTube.])
Marudo admitted that a lot of people abroad have also reached out to him to confirm if the rumors were true.
‘Ang daming tumatawag sa akin from the States [na nagtatanong], ‘Uy, ano totoo ba? Totoo ba?’ [Sabi ko], ‘Bakit yan ang libangan niyo?” he recalled, laughing.
(Many people from the US had called me, asking if the rumors were true. I told them, ‘Why is that your hobby?’)
‘Kasi gusto nilang malaman para iku-kuwento nila sa mga kaibigan nila do’n na hindi totoo,’ he continued. (Because they want to know the truth so that they can tell it to their friends there.)
Further speaking about his approach toward such matters, Marudo credited the changes he made to improve himself.
‘Siguro yung dating version ko na insecure, matagal magdesisyon, walang bilib sa sarili, ‘yun ‘yung mga binago ko,’ he stated. ‘Then gumanda ‘yung pananaw ko sa buhay. Naging maganda ‘yung relationship ko sa mga tao, at ngayon may masaya na kong pamilya.’
(The previous version of me was insecure, indecisive, and had no self-confidence, so I changed that. My perspective in life has since changed. My relationship with other people also improved, and now I have my own happy family.)
Marudo and Atayde got married in a civil wedding in March 2024, then welcomed their firstborn Sabino the following September. /ra