MANILA – It took Sam Milby over six years before he finally entered into a new relationship.

Milby, however, doesn’t regret anything in those six years that he wasn’t with someone, saying it taught him a lot of things about himself.

“I think when you’re in a relationship for such a long time, it’s hard kapag nag-break kayo kasi sobrang sanay kayo sa isa’t isa. I’m glad that I stayed single for so long para makilala ko ulit ang sarili ko, to appreciate myself as a person,” he said.

The last time Milby was in a relationship was with actress Anne Curtis. Their much-publicized breakup happened in 2009, and Milby admits he had a hard time moving on from it.

He, however, has his friends to thank for, saying they were there for him during those difficult times.

A photo posted by Sam Milby (@samuelmilby) on Jun 20, 2016 at 6:50am PDT

Now that he has given love another chance, Milby said he intends to keep it private out of respect for his girlfriend, TV host Mari Jasmine.

“It’s obvious naman na lumalabas kami. We are seen in public places all the time. It’s an open thing. Bakit kailangang i-deny? I’ve actually wanted to share it before. I wanted to tell you guys about it but mas private person siya and I really respect that about her,” he said.

Nonetheless, he was gracious enough to share some details about their love story.

“Ako ang nauna [na nag-follow sa Twitter] but it’s funny because matagal na siya sa Pilipinas pero never kaming nagkita sa event or anything. She’s not a showbiz person. Hindi siya mahilig sa showbiz. Noong finallow ko siya sa Twitter, hindi niya ako kilala. She had no idea sa showbiz life dito,” he said.

Milby said he feels lucky because his girlfriend understands the nature of his job and they are both willing to do anything to make their relationship work.

“There will always be yung mga away. There’s no perfect relationship. It’s just knowing how to fight for the relationship and for the love, just being mature,” he said.

Asked what made him fall for her, Milby simply answered: “It just felt right. We have a lot in common also. It’s pretty much as simple as that. It just felt right.”