Rica Peralejo denied with seeming vehemence that her now-deleted post was a jab at fashion icon and fellow actress Heart Evangelista.

In a five-minute Tiktok video, Peralejo took time to explain that she is not “hating” or “demeaning” the Kapuso star.

A basher reacted over Peralejo’s post and wrote: “Holier than thou, @Rica Peralejo Bonifacio. Do you personally know Heart Evangelista to demean her and make it seem she’s so vain she didn’t have any kids just so she can become a fashion influencer?”

A basher reacted over Peralejo’s post and wrote: “Holier than thou, @Rica Peralejo Bonifacio. Do you personally know Heart Evangelista to demean her and make it seem she’s so vain she didn’t have any kids just so she can become a fashion influencer?”

Peralejo shared a screengrab of her now-deleted post: “Para maging Heart E levels ang ganda natin is not only to Aivee ha (For us to have a beauty on the same level as Heart E, is not only go to Aivee). It is also those little unseen things.

“’Yung hindi sya napupuyat kakaalaga ng anak, hindi sya nagluluto, ‘di naghuhugas ng pinggan, hindi sya nagbubuhat ng mga bagahe, hindi natutulog sa substandard materials or places (She does not go sleepless taking care of her child; does not cook, wash dishes, does not carry her luggage; does not sleep in substandard materials or places).

“In short: hindi sya nahihirapan (she does not suffer) like most of us. This is not a critique of Heart or celebs (celebrities) kasi work nila ‘yan, na maging maganda (because it is their job to be beautiful).

“Pero dapat ilugar natin sa realidad natin (But we have to be realistic) so we don’t suffer from false comparisons.”

When she read back her own post, Peralejo realized where her bashers are coming from. With this, she rewrote it “but it’s too late” as “people have started talking about it and accusing me of hating Heart.”

Peralejo denied “hating” Heart.

“I don’t hate Heart. I love her. She’s been a friend from, like, way, way back TV days. She’s one of the most amazing people I’ve gotten to work with,” she said.

She explained what she meant by her initial post.

“What I was saying is that people like her, of her stature and celebs, and if you are going to compare it to the life of normal people, we have two different realities.

“’Yun lang naman talaga ‘yung point ko na magkaiba ‘yung reality ng isang artista, tsaka big name, sa isang common na tao (That is really just my point, that the reality of a celebrity, of a big name, from that of a common person).

“Na-misunderstand lang siya dahil siguro sa pagkakasulat ko (It might have been misunderstood because of how I wrote it). And when I rewrote it, people didn’t pick it up anymore.

“She doesn’t do a lot of things that common people do because her job calls her to preserve herself.

“As a former artista (celebrity) myself, I know that. Nu’ng nagtatrabaho pa ako sa TV, (When I was still working on TV,) I have to avoid at all costs, everything or every difficult activity…)

“Magbuhat ng bagahe, magluto, maglinis ng bahay, maglampaso ng sahig, magbomba ng toilet (Carry luggage, cook, clean the house, wipe the floor, clear the toilet). Bakit (Why)?

“Because if tiredness shows in our faces, which are our capital, it would show in our soap operas, shows, on top of our lives already being difficult at working on TV,” she added.

Peralejo emphasized that life is not a bed of roses even for Evangelista who was born to affluence. Like any normal human being, she believes that Evangelista had her share of depression and anxiety.

“I know she does. She’s been very vocal about that. And I actually admire her also about that,” she said.

She also denied saying Evangelista didn’t experience hardships because she has no children to attend to and shared that when senator Chiz Escudero’s wife suffered from a miscarriage, Heart was one of those who sent her a message.

“That’s not true,” Rica stressed, denying that she criticized Heart for having no kids. “Because I miscarried myself, three times. So I know the pain, and I know how hard it is. So I can’t ever go there and say that, you know, ‘You have an easier life because you don’t have a child’.”

Peralejo concluded that she did not take a swipe at Evangelista.

“I don’t hate Heart. I don’t think that she has an all easy, happy life. I don’t mean that my life is harder than hers. No, I’m not comparing. In fact, the point of my message is we shouldn’t compare.

“I just care that I don’t hate her [Heart]. Because I cannot. There’s no reason for me to hate somebody like her. I can hate a lot of people but not her,” she added.

Reacting to Rica’s post, Evangelista wrote:  “Don’t worry Ate Rix, matagal na tayo, (we go a long way,) love you always and always.”

“Eh nakakaiyak ‘yung sagot (Your reply could make me cry). Love you always too! Thanks for taking the time!” Peralejo replied.