The day Toni brought Paul homeThe day Toni brought Paul home

One way to find out if your boyfriend is Mr. Right is to bring him to your home and see how well he adjusts.

Toni Gonzaga did just that. But she’s not saying whether she brought boyfriend Paul Soriano to her native Taytay to put him to a test or not.

The US-born and bred direk Paul never questioned Toni’s motives. He dutifully packed his bags and for the first time, went with her to the place she calls home.

 It was Maundy Thursday, and, like all towns steeped in religious tradition, Taytay was abuzz with processions, Pasyon reading, and the annual Salubong on Easter Sunday.

Lest you get any ideas, Paul didn’t sleep over in the Gonzaga home. Toni's parents will never hear of it. He just took a dip in the family swimming pool and accompanied Toni in observing the religious rites.

Did her boyfriend feel uneasy at the sight of hectares and hectares of ricefields stretching as far as the eyes could see? Or did he take to the simple country life the way a duck would take to water?

The good news is yes, Toni reports, her boyfriend passed the  test with flying colors.

“Paul was able to adjust to Pinoy culture in our place even if he was raised in the US. I appreciate this a lot,” she says.

Too bad he still chooses to remain invisible before the scrutinizing eyes of public. He and Toni, for instance, deliberately settled for GB Sampedro again to direct her repeat concert, Catch Me Again, Toni Gonzaga at the Aliw Theater on May 2, 8 p.m.

Besides, direk GB proved he can very well pull off a successful show last Feb. 9, also at Aliw, which was so jampacked, its organizers, Manio Events, MJM Production and Nitram Entertainment, had to turn latecomers away. They also ran out of tickets to sell.

One successful show deserves another. Hence the repeat.

This time around, Toni will have a yet-to-be-revealed surprise guest. And no, sorry to disappointment his fans. But Piolo Pascual is not the guy.

Toni ticks off names of guests she is allowed to reveal: Sam Milby, Allan K, Gerald Anderson and Vice Ganda.

 Success is not making the star of the show rest on her laurels. Toni has gone back to swimming to build up more lung power for those vocal and physical calisthenics she is doing on stage. Besides, Toni needs all the strength she can muster for all those climbing, jumping and dance routines she did in the first show and will do again  in the repeat.

Meanwhile, Toni is not about to forget her voice. She sought out champion singers’ advice on how to keep that precious voice of hers in mint condition.

Rachelle Ann Go recommended vocalization pieces which Toni downloaded from the former’s iPod into her own. Rachelle also urged Toni to avoid talking too much upon waking up so as not to strain her voice.

Sarah Geronimo strongly advised Evian. Erik Santos, on the other hand, told Toni inhaling from a vaporizer would help her breathing a lot.

“See, I got all the champions’ paraphernalia with me,” Toni crows.

The host of the newly-launched PBB Teen Edition Plus (with Luis Manzano) on ABS-CBN is so glad her schedule has eased up a bit.

“Luis provides the male perspective to the show,” relates Toni. “With him there, we can alternate in hosting the show. There’s division of labor.”

Toni herself has a mouthful to say about PBB Teens.

“The housemates treat the show as one big summer vacation. And since they’re still young, the teens are less self-conscious. They’re not afraid to be themselves,” she observes.

Like them, Toni is not afraid to show her fans who she really is.

This was why she got into a little argument with Sam Milby, her leading man in Star Cinema’s recent blockbuster, My Big Love. Toni didn’t have second thoughts about telling the press who interviewed her that she and Sam are just friends.

Sam, at first, thought this would mar their chances of being paired off in another movie again. Toni had to explain to him that his fears are unfounded. The public, she went on, will still watch them even if they are not romantically involved. It’s the story, not personalities that matter.

Luckily, Sam saw the light. And My Big Love’s success proved Toni was right all along.

“This also explains why other male-and-female teamups click, even though there’s nothing romantic between them,” says Toni.

She cites the case of Korina Sanchez and Ted Failon on radio.

Toni saw them guest on Boy Abunda’s Homeboy and explain why their long-standing teamup works to this day.

“There’s no sexual tension at all,” Toni relates. You just see two friends enjoying each other’s company on air.

The set-up also applies to  Toni and Sam. It also explains why fans love to see them together on screen.

Also part of Toni’s transparency is admitting that she needs to wear a corrective dental device called Invisalign on her upper and lower teeth.

“I was born with buck teeth,” she points to a closeup view of her face at her February concert.

Invisalign, which Toni’s dentist says is the future of braces, will correct her condition. It’s much less visible than braces, and more importantly, just as effective. It just needs some adjusting to at first. Toni’s gums swelled for awhile the first time she wore it and she can’t sing and host for sometime.

But the swelling subsided and Toni soon got the hang of it.

Besides, it’s better than having a root canal to remove your problem tooth. It saves you repeated trips to the dentist — a big plus for someone as tied up as Toni is.

No wonder it’s the in thing in Hollywod these days. Tom Cruise no less wears something like Toni’s Invisalign, she reports. It’s great for improving your looks without being drastic about it.

So expect a prettier Toni when she brings her show to the provinces and shoots Amnesia, her comeback comedy with Vhong Navarro after D‘Anothers.

Direk Paul, for sure, will also be delighted to the bone.