"Basta," said Gladys, one of the country’s most competent young kontrabidas, "ako ang bida sa pagkakataong ‘yon; hindi ako kontrabida."
And, as in any local movie with a happy ending, it’s the bida who gets the man and they live happily ever after.
Gladys was radiant in a gown specially designed by Totoy Madriaga, the same couturier who has been doing her dresses since 1984 when Gladys finished runner-up (Little Miss Metro Manila) in Eat, Bulaga!’s Little Miss Philippines Contest (where the likes of Aiza Seguerra were also discovered).
The star-studded event, the first real and truly Showbiz Wedding of the Year (that is, in terms of glamour and glitter, star power and over-all impact), capped more than a decade of a beautiful romance that blossomed on the set of the early-’90s ABS-CBN teleserye Mara Clara where Gladys played kontrabida to Judy Ann Santos.
"Christopher is my first boyfriend," Gladys told Funfare. "After we met, he never looked at other girls. He told me that I am his first serious girlfriend."
But throughout their romance, Gladys and Christopher never, you know, "crossed the line." Gladys was in her purest self on her wedding day, giving Christopher the most precious gift a woman could ever give her husband – her innocence.
"I was a virgin bride," Gladys put it bluntly.
How is an Iglesia wedding different from a Catholic one?
"Well," said Gladys, "we didn’t have any veil/cord/candle sponsors, and no arrhae. Direct na to the point."
To save up for the wedding, Christopher, who’s pure French, worked first in L.A. in 2001 as a telephone operator (not as a caregiver) at a hospital and then in Monaco.
"That’s why I admire him all the more," said Gladys.
The couple planned to spend their honeymoon in L.A. (which Gladys hasn’t been to yet) but ended up in Boracay, a resort she and Christopher were visiting for the first time. The package (tickets and accommodation) was a gift from Kris Aquino.
They’re now staying in their own house.
"I’m adjusting to being a wife," said Gladys, "away from my family."
And what is she discovering about Christopher now that they’re sleeping in one bed?
"That he’s a homebody. I thought then that he was a gimikero. Hindi pala. At home, he’s very organized. Ayos nang ayos ng bahay. Like me."
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph)