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“It didn’t come out from nowhere, it (tension) was there." - Monika
By MARY LOUISE LIGUNAS

 

A photo posted by Monika Sta. Maria (@monikastamaria) on

May 24, 2015 at 6:39am PDT

The Philippines’ bet in Asia’s Next Top Model cycle 3 Monika Sta. Maria did not deny that there was tension between her and Ayu Gani when they were living in the model house.

“[The friction seen on TV] doesn’t come out of nowhere, so there was [really] tension. Because when [there are] fourteen girls living together in that stressful environment, you know of course there’ll be people you just [wouldn’t] get along with,” she said.

Monika attributes this to the intensity of the situations they were placed in. Living with their competitors and being in front of the camera for most of the day could really become sources of stress and uneasiness.

“Being in that environment [is] very unnatural. Tension becomes exaggerated, especially [in] reality TV, syempre it’s more interesting [if] the tension [is highlighted],” she admitted.

However, the strain wasn’t as severe as some people perceived it to be. She assures viewers that she and Gani are on speaking terms and only considered what happened between them as healthy competition.

“It didn’t come out from nowhere, it was there. But of course [in] TV, it [was] even more exaggerated. Pero after the show naman, nag-usap naman kami so okay naman ngayon. But [during] the show, yes, there was tension talaga,” she declared.