Jay Manalo: My gimmick nights are over

Jay Manalo has been there, done that. And how! He has sown his wild oats and has eight children to show for it. The ninth, still in his/her mother’s womb, is Jay’s third child by his wife, Ryza Austria, whom he married in 2003.

Turns out marriage is one of the best things that have happened to Jay. It has straightened his life out once and for all. Now, this former ladies’ man is but a shadow of his old self. Jay has given up gimmicks and late nights-out for good. His only night-out is when he visits old friends and relatives in the Tondo neighborhood where he grew up to play basketball with them.

"It’s always nice to hang out with them. Mas masarap ang kape don kesa sa sosyal na lugar," Jay reasons out.

It’s a case of returning to one’s roots all over again. It’s also a case of returning to the good old values of not letting go and sticking it out with each other. Strange as it seems for someone with a love life as checkered as his, Jay is proving that he is cut out for domesticity. All he needs is a woman who will stand by him throughout his turbulent life, in and outside showbiz.

"Ryza and I," he says, "have been together for six years. Senorita yan, but she does household chores. And I don’t have to prod her. She does it on her own."

Jay also admires his wife’s strength in withstanding all the intrigues (e.g. those linking him with other women) about him.

"Napagtiisan niya lahat yon," he relates, unable to hide his amazement.

The fact that Ryza is non-showbiz helped a lot. As Jay himself notes, a relationship built around showbiz is bound to be rocky from the start. Much as you want to avoid it, you can’t help but compete with each other for public attention and affection.

"That’s why one of the parties in such a relationship has to lie low," observes Jay. This way, clashes that rock the relationship are avoided.

Jay knows whereof he speaks. His relationship with Rufa Mae Quinto lasted for a year. He speaks highly of her and her sweet, wacky ways. But Rufa Mae’s – and Jay’s – priorities are their respective careers. And the relationship – as is usually the case – suffered.

This doesn’t mean the love between them has gone to waste.

"I loved all the women I had a relationship with," admits Jay. And he has remained friends with them, especially those with whom he has children.

Result: open communication lines with his ex-girlfriends.

"They agree to share with the expenses in raising the children when times are hard and I have no (TV and movie) assignments," relates Jay.

His rainbow-colored lovelife is the perfect preparation for Jay’s role as a wealthy Chinoy businessman whose married status doesn’t keep him from lavishing love and affection on two women in Ako Legal Wife: Mano Po 4.

Regal Entertainment’s entry to the Metro Filmfest marks Jay’s fourth time to be in the Mano Po series. Each Mano Po movie showed Jay in a different light, the better to prove that he can swing from good to bad boy with equal ease.

In the first, he was Maricel Soriano’s neat, clean-cut fiancé. In Mano Po 2: My Home, Jay turned scheming as one of the relatives who set up Susan Roces’ character as the mastermind behind a murder. For Mano Po 3, My Love, Mother Lily Monteverde chose Jay to be the loving husband of Vilma Santos’ character.

Ako Legal Wife caps another fruitful year for Jay, whom showbiz gods blessed with assignments on TV (Vietnam Rose), stage (Penis Talks 2) and even recording (via the Barako Boys, with whom he has released a CD).

Still, one can’t have it all. The fly in the ointment is the recent separation between Jay’s Vietnamese mom and her American-Irish husband. Jay’s heart goes out to his US-based mom, since the separation came after many years of wedded bliss that bore two children.

But life goes on. And so does Jay’s quest for a sustained career. Given his intense acting, smoldering appeal and willingness to go the extra mile for his craft, Jay Manalo may yet see his dream come true.