Valentine’s Day is often framed as a celebration for couples. For Barbie Forteza, however, this year became a quiet declaration of independence.
Instead of flowers from a suitor or a candlelit dinner for two, the Kapuso Primetime Princess designed a day entirely for herself. She checked into a Makati staycation, asked her father to drop her off, and mapped out a full Saturday devoted to self-care — a movie date, a café stop, and a fancy Italian dinner, all solo. The next morning, she capped it off with a run in Ayala, extending the celebration beyond romance and into renewal.
“Solong-solong solo!” she quipped during the February 19 premiere of Until She Remembers at The Block in SM North EDSA.
But beneath the humor was a realization that felt more personal than performative.
“Coming from my solo celebration on Valentine’s, I realized I really enjoy my own company,” she said. “Parang gusto ko pa siyang patagalin.”
In an industry that often thrives on love teams and public pairings, Forteza’s message lands differently. She isn’t just single — she is deliberately savoring it.
She has been vocal about advocating self-love beyond a single calendar date. “Not just on Valentine’s Day. You should love yourself every day, treat yourself with kindness, full of love,” she shared. “You really don’t need anyone. You don’t have to depend your happiness on anyone. Kaya mong pasayahin ang sarili mo.”
As for Valentine gifts, brands delivered. A videographer friend sent her flowers, and someone gifted her a copy of Asako Yuzuki’s bestselling Japanese crime novel Butter. From a suitor? She laughed it off: “Parang naligaw! Hindi nakarating!”
For now, entertaining new romance is not a priority. The fulfillment she found in her own company appears to be shaping both her personal mindset and professional choices.
That evolution is visible in her filmography. After earning praise for her psychological horror film P77 and the streaming satire Kontrabida Academy in 2025, Forteza steps into even braver territory with Until She Remembers, directed by Brillante Mendoza.
The project marks a milestone for the actress. “Dream project ko po ito, ang mapabilang sa pelikula ni Direk Brillante,” she said. “And to work with very powerful women I really look up to in the industry.”
Those women include Charo Santos-Concio and Boots Anson Roa-Rodrigo, who portray two women in a same-sex relationship — a narrative that pushes into more progressive storytelling.
For Forteza, the film represents her first project that directly tackles sapphic themes. “It’s my first project that really tackles females falling in love. It’s also one of the bravest stories I’ve done,” she said.
While she clarified she has not personally had a same-sex admirer, she emphasized how meaningful the journey has been. The film, she noted, offers lessons for younger audiences navigating identity and relationships in a rapidly changing cultural landscape.
Beyond cinema, 2026 is shaping up to be another transformative year. Forteza teased an upcoming primetime series on GMA that has her mother especially excited. The male lead, she hinted, is someone she and her mother admire deeply — even calling him the reason she once dreamed of becoming an actress.
Looking back, she sees continuity rather than coincidence.
“It feels like a continuation of the good things that started last year,” she reflected. “That’s when my solo era began. And now it’s continuing.”
In an entertainment ecosystem that often measures female stars by romantic narratives or on-screen pairings, Forteza is reframing the conversation. Her current chapter is less about who stands beside her — and more about the space she occupies on her own.
If 2025 marked the beginning of her “solo era,” 2026 may well define it — not as an absence of love, but as a fuller, more deliberate version of it.