Story of 3 loves

1. Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo

By the time you read this, Juday and Ryan shall have hied off to a beach far, far from the maddening crowd on a Valentine escape they planned at the last minute.

"This is my very first real Valentine," said Juday, holding hands with Ryan throughout this interview. "I’m spending it with somebody I truly love and who truly loves me."

Ryan nodded and pressed Juday’s hand even harder.

They have been going steady for barely 10 months. No, theirs is not a love-at-first-sight kind of romance. Ryan used to interview Juday for his then show Talk TV and Juday knew him only as, besides a talk show host, the guy in the Sprite commercial trapped in an elevator with Patricia Javier. He was offered as her leading man in a movie but he turned it down because he was committed to somebody – "And I didn’t want my personal life to be dragged into the movie’s promo" – and he was replaced by Wowie de Guzman.

And then they were thrown into each other’s company in the ABS-CBN fantaserye Krystala and, yes, they "rediscovered" each other. He was free and so was she (actually, she never had any serious relationship until Ryan came along). Soon, they were going steady.

How did Ryan get her nod?

"He first befriended my family, especially my mom, and my friends," said Juday. "I didn’t even know that he was already courting me. He didn’t court me with chocolates or flowers. Pa-text-text lang siya. When I was abroad, I felt na parang may nami-miss ako. He’s the only suitor who visited me at home, in front of my mom. He’s vargas – you know, cowboy. He impressed me by not trying to impress me at all."

Said Ryan, "I was just being myself. I didn’t bring her to fine-dining restaurants but to ordinary ones – mga turo-turo at barbecue stand, you know. Eateries that I patronize. Never ko siyang binola. What she saw was what she got."

They have sealed their romance not with identical necklaces or bracelets like other lovers do but with a silver-crucifix pendant, an heirloom he got from his mom which he gave to Juday as a gift of love.

Past the getting-to-know-each-other stage, they haven’t discussed marriage – yet – even if she feels that she’s not getting any younger and that she has accomplished what she aimed for as an actress.

"It’s about time I learned how to love myself and to give that love to somebody deserving," said Juday.

They kissed – on the cheek – and held each other’s hands even tighter.

2. Carmina Villarroel and Zoren Legaspi

Although they feel that they are "married" (take note: in quotation marks) because they’ve been living together for more than seven years, blessed with beautiful twins, Carmina and Zoren do plan to exchange "I do’s" formally and officially now that they are ready to move to their dream house.

Didn’t the couple say that they were setting their priorities right, seeing to it that they attended to "other needs" first before taking "the plunge"?

Laughed Zoren, "Actually, we did things in reverse. We first had children before (we planned on) getting married."

Then and there, Zoren made a spontaneous proposal, looking at Carmina straight in the eye as he asked her, "Will you marry me?"

Blushing, Carmina mumbled a "Yes, of course!" No, Carmina hasn’t developed a phobia for marriage even if her first, to Rustom Padilla (who didn’t give her a child), ended in the rocks.

If some detractors have doubts about the stability of the couple’s relationship, they would think again if they’d see how Carmina and Zoren act away from the limelight. You can read their body language clearly: They touch each other, they whisper to each other, they "honey" each other and, even in their unguarded moments, look and act like a couple very much in love with each other. Unless they’re just good actors.

Carmina and Zoren seem to be unperturbed by rumors that they’re both going through the seven-year-itch syndrome.

"We’ve survived perhaps the worst controversy in our lives," said Carmina, referring to the months she hid in the States during her pregnancy. "After that, we can survive anything."

Meanwhile, excuse Carmina and Zoren as they celebrate Valentine’s Day by having candlelit dinner – yes, right at home (the old rented one) with their twins running around.

3. Jolina Magdangal and Bebong Muñoz

Like their past Valentines, Jolina and Bebong will celebrate tonight, well, "as usual" – by having a quiet dinner together.

Together!?! How can that be possible when Bebong is in Minnesota, USA, and Jolina is here?

Easy does it: "We do it via webcam."

It’s nighttime here and daytime in Minnesota but the sweethearts don’t let the time difference get in the way.

"He sees me and I see him," Jolina said, laughing at the idea. "He sees me take a bite and sip my wine and I see him do the same."

Must be hard carrying on a long-distance romance these past few years but Jolina insists that they’ve been coping beautifully, thank you.

"Bebong has taught me how to cope," said Jolina. "Huwag daw ako bibitiw."

Being both career-oriented, the sweethearts are biding their time before settling down, a possibility they do discuss every now and then. A lawyer (he graduated from UP and took a master’s degree at Columbia University), Bebong works with Public Strategies Group, a firm that helps countries plan out strategies; while Jolina is, well, engrossed in her work here.

They make up for their physical separation by spending as much quality time as they can when they see each other, like when Jolina goes to the States or when Bebong comes home once a year, besides to see Jolina, to visit his parents (Bebong’s only sister, singer Tenten Muñoz, died a few years ago).

"We talk all the time," said Jolina. "We are in touch. If we’re not on the phone, we are texting each other or chatting via the Internet or the webcam."

If Juday and Ryan’s romance is tied by a silver-crucifix pendant, that of Jolina and Bebong is kept alive and burning by a cute puppy given to Jolina by Bebong years ago – their "engagement dog."

* * *

E-mail reactions at [email protected]