JOHN Lapus never fails to earn my admiration for his candor. He is one celebrity who doesn’t give a hoot about what other people feel or say about him. What matters to John is simply being true to himself, period.

At a recent mediacon for a TV series in which he is cast, the actor-director gamely shared how he was able to move on from a failed relationship.

For starters, John — for all the seemingly playful image he projects in public — has only had three romantic episodes so far.

His second one, though, was problematic because he discovered his lover was two-timing him. The guy was a model whose name John refused to divulge, but their breakup left him not only heartbroken but in need of psychiatric intervention.

John barely had qualms about confessing that in order to gain his sanity back after the falling out, it took him 30 drunken nights, close to 30 different partners in bed, one psychiatrist, a new boyfriend and the help of one dear friend to get out of the rut.

John was alluding to comedienne Eugene Domingo who bore witness to his life nearly gone to waste.

One day, John narrated, Eugene simply asked him out to talk over coffee. The two would often hang around cafes and engage in pep talks until God-knows-when.

That time, however, little did John know that

Eugene was taking him to a psychiatrist.

"O, bayad na 'yan,“Eugene, who had paid for the 12-session program, informed him.

Unsure if he needed one, John took advantage of the thoughtful gift. He didn’t say, however, if he came out of it completing the program. What he did say was that he felt relieved by the eighth session.

Based on the shrink’s diagnosis, it turned out that John was suffering from “repetition due to manic depression.” Simply put, he had the tendency to share already told stories over and over.

It may not be achievable for others, but John was able to recover from a bruised heart in 30 days. I am not surprised he did because John always manages to find ways and means to heal himself.

But oh, this guy still loves to party! Not one to stay as a wallflower throughout a fun-filled night, John will go out of his way to befriend gorgeous male party guests and strike convos with them then and now.

Still, flamboyant that he may be, John is one who highly values his privacy. He is also careful when it comes to giving his heart, revealing — good for him — that it was quite a while before he went into his third and current relationship.

And happily, he is in a good place today — physically and mentally healthy — be it his personal life or his career. Catch him in GMA Network’s “royal sitcom,” “Jose and Maria’s Bonggang Villa,” starring Kapuso Primetime King and Queen Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera.