On any given day, words come naturally to Heart Evangelista. But in this fleeting moment, they eluded her.

Last Tuesday, as she welcomed a roomful of journalists to the press conference for her new reality television show, “Heart World,” she paused midway through her speech to acknowledge, and shake off, her uncharacteristic jitters.

“Kinakabahan ako, actually,” she said, breaking into a smile and fidgeting in her black Schiaparelli tank top that she wore as a dress; she bought it specifically for this event.

“That’s why I’m kind of losing it. But I’m usually very sharp.”

That she was seated near an air-conditioning unit while fielding questions did her no favors, either. “Can we turn it off? It’s making me more nervous!” she said, only half in jest.

Perhaps she was just overwhelmed by the occasion. She is, after all, the producer of the project, said to be the first of its kind on GMA 7.

Or maybe, just maybe, she could sense that, amid all the topics already being discussed, there was still this one question everyone was dying to ask, but couldn’t.

But as the event drew to a close, someone did dare to ask. It was, surprisingly, a GMA 7 reporter—the last person one would expect to put a fellow network talent in the hot seat. Even more surprisingly, not one executive intervened or tried to knock it off.

And so, “once and for all,” Evangelista—putting her hand around her neck, as if bracing for impact—decided to address “the elephant in the room.”

Relief

You have probably seen the clips on social media by now.

Of how Evangelista said she bore no ill will toward Pia Wurtzbach despite their perceived rivalry as international fashion influencers; of how she congratulated the former Miss Universe, now backed by the very glam team that allegedly wronged her; of how Evangelista, in between pregnant pauses, wished Wurtzbach would never suffer the same fate she did.

But when all was said and done, Evangelista, with a smile on her face, slumped on the chaise lounge. Finally, some relief. “I feel good. I’m very at peace,” she told Lifestyle in a chat after.

Going to the event, Evangelista, 39, “didn’t really expect” things to unfold the way they did. But at the back of her mind, she knew that there was a chance that the topic could be brought up one way or another.

“I’m doing a reality show—I might as well keep it real,” quipped the actress, who then giddily showed us her gem-encrusted rings that were fashioned after the likeness of her three dogs: Panda, Pochi and Shuti.

Airing Saturdays at 9:30 p.m., “Heart World” follows Evangelista on her fashion jaunts around the world, and will give viewers on free television “a front row seat” of sorts to the blue-chip runway shows and events that she gets invited to in Paris, Milan, New York and Singapore.

“You won’t be needing a visa to fly to Europe and attend fashion week,” she said. “Ito na ‘yun!

“I want to inspire people to express their individuality and personality. Don’t be shy! Don’t save that pair of boots because you’re waiting to go somewhere cold. Isuot mo na dito!” she said, when asked what takeaways she wanted aspiring fashionistas to have after watching the show.

‘Trip-trip lang’

In a hype reel, Evangelista gives a glimpse of her Paris apartment, which turns into a happy (read: expensive) clutter of shopping bags, strewn designer clothes and accessories come fashion week. “I bought the apartment during a tough time in my life. But now, it’s a happy place. Every fashion week, vacation and work trip—I stay there. Na-ROI (return of investment) ko na!” she said, laughing.

Evangelista is also shown strolling and prancing about in Paris in various designer ensembles; posing in front of the Eiffel Tower; hopping on and off street platforms just to get the perfect shot; getting stopped by fans as she scurries from one show to the next; and being swarmed by photographers calling out her name.

“When I was just starting to attend fashion events, people didn’t really understand what it was all about. Some would say, ‘Gastos lang ‘yan.’ But now, others are starting to find out that it’s also work,” said Evangelista, who attended, among many shows, Prada, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Dior, Hermès, Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton during the recent spring/summer 2025 fashion weeks.

At first, she did it just for fun—“trip-trip lang,” so to speak. But Evangelista, the business woman that she is, saw opportunities and potential brand collaborations waiting to be tapped. “I thought maybe that could be my ticket to turn this into a career … So I can continue dressing up, having fun, and not have to pay for my plane tickets and hotels,” she said, laughing.

While she’s flattered when fans call her a “fashion icon,” it comes with a lot of pressure, she admitted, especially with the advent of data analytics platforms like Launchmetrics, which measures celebrity reach and “media impact value.”

‘WOMAN TO WOMAN, I NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH PIA’

WATCH: Heart Evangelista stresses that she never had a problem with Miss Universe 2015 and fellow fashion maven Pia Wurtzbach.

In what seemed to be a display of support, Evangelista hoped that Wurtzbach wouldn’t endure what she… pic.twitter.com/jir4uFjTBW

— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) October 22, 2024

Top-performing celeb

At the recent Paris Fashion Week, Evangelista was named the top-performing celebrity from the Asia Pacific region, commanding media mileage reportedly worth about $10.6 million. “I don’t really want to think about the numbers too much,” she said.

It’s an achievement for her. But she also wouldn’t mind excusing herself from such lists if it meant not having to constantly agonize over the number of shows she attends, or the volume of content she posts online. And when things get too hectic and overwhelming, to the point of overexerting herself (she once fainted while in Milan), she reminds herself of the reason she’s doing it in the first place.

“Fashion week is a celebration of self-expression. I just want to keep on enjoying myself. I didn’t want to be part of the rat race. I don’t want to get ahead of anyone,” she said. “My goal is not to get my photos taken or get followed by photographers. It’s all about watching the shows. And I see myself doing that until I grow old.”

But more than the glamor, Evangelista felt it was important that she also depict the struggle behind the scenes, the not-so-glitzy stuff that doesn’t make it to the perfectly sleek Instagram grid. “Authenticity is also about showing the things that you don’t like about yourself and admitting your mistakes,” she pointed out.

True enough, we also got a glimpse of lighthearted moments she shared with her sisters and friends (where she alluded to struggling to move her face in a photo shoot because she had botox); work-related anxieties and breakdowns; and deeply personal matters involving her husband, Sen. Chiz Escudero, and her family.

If only she could include footage from her home CCTV, she would have, she joked. Of course, she had to leave some things to herself. But the show was as close as she could get to doing a tell-all, she claimed.

“The show was shot during one of the toughest years of my life. Everything that could possibly happen, happened. But this time, I had a lot of trust in the people around me,” she said.

And so, she just let the cameras roll.