Richard Gomez taught Juliana to drive at 15, but can she date only when she’ s 40?

‘More like 39,’ Juliana says.

Richard Gomez and his unica hija Juliana have many things in common — that MVP gene as athletes and “our whole face,” as she puts it — combined with mother Lucy Torres-Gomez’s statuesque beauty and grace; it’s no surprise that the boys are already lining up for their only girl’s heart and she’s not even 18. For example, the question of whom Juliana might bring to prom was the talk among her peers in the weeks leading up to it. “You can’t date anyone less than Richard Gomez,” one "it" girl, recognizing another, gave as her unsolicited advice, but that’s not very helpful. Goma epitomizes the trifecta of the perfect man — tall, dark and handsome — as the pioneering Bench model, the ‘80s matinee idol and actor, the fencing gold medalist, and now, the beloved mayor of Ormoc, making strides in gearing up the city for progress; he’s also a visual artist, preparing for his second solo exhibition in September, painting being a hobby that developed from an interest in the arts to a skill honed during all the alone time he had, dividing his time between Ormoc and his home in Makati with Lucy and Juliana. Really, how do you out-cool a man whose heart is always in the right place? We catch the family on a Sunday catching up over just-grilled isaw, bangus, and lots of hot rice and sinigang. We already know Richard is a cool dad, so we put him in the hot seat.

Philippine STAR: Juliana is your unica hija. Can she only date when she’s 40?

Richard Gomez: Not really. Though we've never talked about it.

Juliana Gomez: More like 39...

RICHARD: No naman, kawawa ka naman no. When I married Lucy, she was only 23. Pretty young.

JULIANA: I don’t want to get married that young. I think I’ll still be in college by that time. I’d rather be traveling.

So pwede na mag boyfriend?

RICHARD: May nag-aattempt na diyan, hindi lang nila sinasabi no, day no?

Lucy Torres-Gomez: Marami nanligaw pero (laughs). I tell Juliana, dapat naman yung mabuhat-buhat ka, mahagis-hagis ka, maikot-ikot ka. Juliana, your dad has to be the peg.

Your dad sets a high standard! Richard Gomez, after all...

LUCY: Hilong-hilo na siguro yung manliligaw kasi si Richard una niya tinatanong, “Anong sport mo?” Pag kausap yung lola (Lucy’s mom), ang tanong naman niya, “Are you baptized?”

RICHARD: One time, andito mga friends niya, classmates niya, lalake at babae. Diyan lang sila eh alas dose na. Sabi ko, “Guys, it’s 12 o’clock uwi na kayo. Mga babae lang pwede.”

JULIANA: My friends were so scared. He’s never done that. I wasn’t expecting that.

She turns 18 this September. Anything new she will be allowed to do?

RICHARD: She can drive. Walang problema. I taught her when she was 15. It’s better to learn to drive manual first then shift to automatic.

Juliana, are you Daddy’s girl or Mommy’s girl?

Juliana: I don’t really know! (Laughs)

Lucy: Nung bata siya, when she was four or three years old, she said, “I like Dad more ‘cause me and Dad, we do danger.”

Juliana: We play baseball together once in a while. Volleyball. When I used to fence, he coached me.

Richard: Skateboarding is closer to danger. And when it’s raining, we play in the mud. We slide in the mud when playing baseball. I tell her to do that. But Lucy doesn’t like that. When she was young, they would never do that.

You’re such a cool dad! Unica hija are usually chaperoned, but Juliana’s even traveled on her own. Why is it important for you that Juliana knows so much about the world?

Richard: Me, relaxed lang. It’s training her so she’ll learn to stand up on her own. Since she was young, I always exposed her to what I know para hindi siya madaling maloko. If you don’t know much, you tend to be naive, madaling mabola. Ang babae naman, magpapabola pag gusto magpabola diba? Pag ayaw, ayaw. At least pag pumayag na siya magpabola, alam na niya, diba?

Juliana: He’s really reasonable. It’s really the things I shouldn’t be doing.

Richard: I’m strict at times but it’s not like “8 o’clock, uwi ka na’ kasi wala lang.” She’s mabait naman. Sometimes.

Richard, is there something that you wish Juliana would never stop doing?

Richard: That she never stops taking her sports seriously, so when she goes to college hopefully she can be a varsity player. She’s good! Also, when people want pictures taken with her, she obliges. The reason why we’re here is because of the fans that made me Richard Gomez. Most of my fans are now her fans.

You’re both active on Instagram! Do you stalk each other?

Richard: I look at her Instagram all the time.

Juliana: I always watch his videos and he’s so good at it! They’re not meant to be funny but they make me laugh.

Anything Juliana isn’t allowed to post?

Richard: Wag ka lang masyado magpa sexy.

Juliana: That’s okay with me because I don’t post my butt on Instagram — not that there’s anything wrong with the people who do it — but it’s just not me.

When is Juliana uncool?

Richard: She’s not cool when she’s hungry, always simangot, then you feed her and she’s okay. That’s it. She’s a low-maintenance child. When she was young, when we first went to a toy store, I told her, “You can choose whatever you want, play with it all you want, but we can only buy one,” and she always obliged. I didn’t want her to be like one of those kids who cry, lie on the floor and scream when they don’t get what they want. She was never like that.