Gabbi Garcia:
Making It

Her life suddenly took a different turn when showbiz came knocking.

“Why not grab it? Why not take a shot at it?” she says.

Unlike other artists who were products of reality and competition shows, Gabbi auditioned at the GMA Artist Center office in Quezon City.

“It was just a regular audition. I went through a panel. Kumanta, pina-arte, and then I got a call back and then call back ulit,” she says.

It was a typical day at the mall with her mom when a representative from the Kapuso network called.

“Finally, nagulat na lang kami,” she recalls. “Nasa mall kami ng mommy ko e nong may tumawag sa kanya, ‘Hi, this is from GMA Artist Center and we want Gabbi to sign a contract.”

The family had to talk about the idea of their youngest entering showbiz. But not Gabbi. She was already set. She didn’t hesitate to accept the offer.

“Pinag-usapan talaga namin as a family na, ‘Ano? Are we gonna enter this?'” she admits. “Sabi ko, ‘Yeah. Ako gusto ko, game naman ako. Let’s see what’s in store for me in this other side of the world.”

Her decision proved to be right.

Only two months after signing a contract, she was already given a role in My Destiny, the 2014 drama-romance series that started her love team with Ruru Madrid.

“Noong time na ‘yun, ang daming intriga sa akin na parang bakit siya nabigyan kaagad [ng serye],” she remembers. “Hindi nila alam na cameo role lang talaga dapat ako sa My Destiny. I was just really lucky and blessed.”

Gabbi added that in the second week of the story, her character, Nicole Perez, was supposed to be dead.

“I don’t know, maybe they saw something in me?” she wonders. “I don’t know for some reason they extended my character to the fourth week.

“Then again, when fourth week was there na, for some reason again, they made my character stay na. And that was the start of the love team.”

But before getting her biggest break in show business, Gabbi also had her fair share of heartaches and disappointments.

Gabbi’s older sister, Alex, saw the ups and downs in Gabbi’s career. She reveals that her little sister once cried when they were watching Kapamilya stars Kathryn Bernardo and John Manalo on TV.

Later on, Alex reveals that Gabbi worked with Kathryn and John when they were kids modeling for a clothing brand.

Gabbi elaborates that incident, looking back at her heartaches and struggles when she was just a kid.

“When I was a kid, nagmo-model kami, kasabay ko si Kathryn Bernardo, kasabay ko si Nadine Lustre for one apparel. Ang dami kong kasabay na ngayon mga artista na,” she says, recalling the emotions she felt when she was a kid.

At the time, it was a difficult pill to swallow for the young Gabbi. She felt that her career was not going anywhere.

“May time na nanonood kami ng TV, lahat sila napapanood ko, sabi ko sa Mommy ko, ‘Bakit ganun? Bakit lahat sila nasa TV na, bakit parang naiwan na ako?’” she says.

What she didn’t know back then was that something bigger, more special was coming her way.

On the day she was scheduled for an audition in GMA, the family car broke down. Her dad suggested to stay at home since it would be difficult for them to commute.

But Gabbi was not easily discouraged. She insisted that they take the MRT just to get to the auditions.

“Pinag-lu-look-test ako, kaya lang biglang nasira ’yung car namin. My dad said, ‘Oh, wag na muna ituloy kasi nga sira ’yung car. ‘Sino magdadrive sa inyo?’” Gabbi recalls.

“For some reason, I told my mom, ‘Hindi. Mag-MRT tayo.’ I don’t usually commute so sabi ng Mommy ko, ‘Ok sige.’” Gabbi says, replaying the events that fateful day.

“Nag-MRT kami, buti ginawa ko ‘yun, kasi nakuha ako para sa soap ko [My Destiny]. Talagang binigyan ako ni God ng right timing.”