A photo posted by STAR Cinema (@starcinema) on Nov 6, 2016 at 10:30pm PST

MANILA – Paulo Avelino confessed that he has always been attracted to smart women.

“Smart is the new sexy. Wala actually akong preference sa looks. Gusto ko lang talaga masaya kasama, madaling hatakin, cowgirl, hindi maarte. Ganun lang,” he said during a press conference for his upcoming movie “The Unmarried Wife” on Monday.

When asked if he sees these qualities in Angelica Panganiban, who is his leading lady in the movie, Avelino said: “She is, she is [ideal]. Angelica is a very smart person. Maganda pa.”

Avelino, however, is not entertaining the idea of actually courting the actress.

“Matalino si Angelica. Marunong magluto, she looks like she’s maalaga [pero] ayaw ko kasi ng gulo. Ayaw ko ng dagdagan ng intriga ang buhay ko so as much as possible ayaw ko ng nasa showbiz. But let’s see,” he explained.

Avelino said he and Panganiban have gotten along well while working on “The Unmarried Wife.”

“Nagco-coffee kami on the set. 'Yun ang isang bonding namin. Lumalabas kami ng tent tapos nagkakape lang kami sa labas. Minsan may awkward din na time kasi nagkakape lang kami, hindi kami nag-uusap, cellphone lang siya, cellphone lang din ako na matagal. Pero nagshe-share kami ng kape sa isang mug,” he said.

Now comfortable with each other, the actor also shared how he and Panganiban managed to film their intimate scenes together.

“Ako naman, when doing love scenes in general, ilang lagi ako kasi hindi ko alam kung paano gagawin na hindi mo mababastos 'yung babae. Siyempre kung magpapadala ka sa feelings ng character mo, baka sumobra. There’s always that line na hindi mo puwede ma-cross,” he said.

“Si Angelica kasi, she likes to crack jokes. Minsan magj-joke na lang siya out of nowhere so tawanan. 'Yun siguro 'yung nag-break ng barrier or ice between us, 'yung mga jokes ni Angge para maging comfortable kami,” he added.

Aside from Avelino and Panganiban, “The Unmarried Wife” also stars Dingdong Dantes.

Directed by Maryo J. De Los Reyes, the movie is slated to be released on November 16.