Ahtisa Manalo says Alden Richards is her dream leading man

Ahtisa Manalo opened up about her interest in working with Alden Richards in the future now that she’s also part of the Sparkle family.

On Tuesday, the beauty queen was asked which actor she would like to work with as her leading man, and she named Asia's Multimedia Star.

“I used to watch ‘Eat Bulaga’ and my crush before, there was a segment there, is Alden Richards. So my dream leading man is Alden Richards,” Ahtisa said.

Ahtisa also shared what she admires about the actor.

“He has a maamo face. A face that looks like he’s very kind,” Ahtisa said.

She added that she hopes to star in a romantic comedy project if given the chance.

Ahtisa signed her contract with Sparkle GMA Artist Center at the event graced by Kapuso executives, headed by GMA Network Senior Vice President Atty. Annette Gozon-Valdes, Sparkle GMA Artist Center First Vice President Joy Marcelo, and Sparkle Senior Talent Manager Tracy Garcia.

She revealed that she was initially supposed to sign with the network last year but chose to focus first on her pageant journey.

“I’m very thankful for the warm welcome of GMA, Ms. Annette, Ms. Joy, everyone from GMA. Even before I signed, I already felt the love and care from GMA. Little bit of info, I was actually supposed to sign last year, but I decided to do Miss Universe Philippines,” she said.

Per Ahtisa, now feels like the right time to finally join the network.

“It feels like the perfect timing because now I’m opening my doors to opportunities and new things because tapos na ako sa pageant journey ko. And I can’t ask for a better family than GMA. Thank you, thank you so much,” she said.

Ahtisa is the reigning Miss Universe Philippines.

She finished her Miss Universe 2025 journey as the third runner-up.