Manilyn: Its okay to be yourself

In a world which worships slim bodies, Manilyn Reynes never expected her uh, generous frame would become a non-issue where Lani Mercado, Sherilyn Reyes and her other co-workers on Q-11’s Moms is concerned.

Manilyn didn’t feel out-of-place sitting beside her enviably slender co-hosts when she joined the show a few months after it first aired three years ago. And she felt right at home.

“It’s the only show where I can be myself,” she relates. It didn’t matter that childbirth added to my weight.”

And so she stayed, until the months stretched to years. Today, Manilyn is many pounds lighter (she slimmed down for her 25th anniversary concert last year). She need not feel conscious about her weight anymore. And she has learned a lesson: It’s okay to be yourself. People will still accept you.

Manilyn has also learned how to pace her words whenever she speaks. Husband Aljon Jimenez advised her to slow down when interviewing guests on TV “because not everyone can understand you.”

“Sure,” he assured his wife. “You’re articulate. But even that gift of gab will be useless if no one understands you right away. It’s such a waste.”

Manilyn understands. She also admits her old habit of talking fast has its roots in her growing up years in her native Cebu, where she joined a tongue-twisting contest. The words had to come out fast, or she will be left out in the race.

The transformation goes beyond the obvious. Manilyn has broadened her views about motherhood and family life, thanks to Moms. She even gets so carried away, Manilyn sometimes goes home feeling bad after an episode that tackles something depressing like the loss of a child or a couple’s separation.

“Usually, it’s the parents who go first,” she explains.

Even if she’s enjoying herself so much in the show, however, Manilyn won’t mind taking a leave again to give birth, hopefully to a girl this time. No, she’s not yet pregnant. It’s just that after two sons, Kyle, 11 and Kirk, five, she feels it’s about time she and Aljon give their family a little princess.

“I want to give birth again before I turn 40,” she reveals. She has enough time, having turned 36 only last month.

“I’m a hands-on mom,” she says. “I took a three-to-four-month leave after I gave birth.”

As a result, her sons, Kyle and Kirk are turning out to be smart kids. Kyle, who is entering high school, has been accelerated because of his good academic performance. Kirk, who is soon to enter kindergarten, brought home 10 merits.

Now that she has a pre-adolescent son who can help her take care of a new addition to the family, Manilyn doesn’t expect to be away that long should she give birth for the third time. One month, she says, will be fine.

Besides, Manilyn has an endorsement to attend to. The nature of the product will remain a secret for now. Suffice it to say, Manilyn adds, that it’s something you use for the home.

She’s also brimming with plans about her dream interviewees. One of them is Sharon Cuneta. But Manilyn is realistic enough to admit Sharon’s busy schedule won’t allow the dream interview to take place.

Other dream guests for Manilyn are Christopher de Leon and Gabby Concepcion. Manilyn can’t wait to ask them questions in what she describes is her “frank but tactful” way of getting them to open up.

If there are dream interviewees, dream topics are not far behind. Manilyn can’t wait to discuss such burning issues as infidelity on the part of the wife and the vanishing species called the plain housewives.

The first topic is a sensitive one. The second, Manilyn admits, may be lighter, but no less interesting. She’s longing to ask how plain housewives keep their looks, thus preventing their husbands from straying.

And while Manilyn has no problem with Aljon, who is so happy he has found his passion in directing and editing audio-visual presentations, it won’t hurt to learn more about enhancing one’s marriage.

Now Manilyn need not think about trying her luck elsewhere the way she did three years ago when her career was on a downswing. She has a show she can’t have enough of.

As Moms airs new segments, like Winners, Starting Young, Aspire to Inspire, In the News, Just for Kids and Only in RP, Manilyn and her fellow hosts are bracing themselves for more interesting shows ahead.

Creative director Ansel Beluso says, “We will use the show to help people be more attuned with their feelings. But, at the same time, we will strengthen the show’s entertainment value. We will have a lot of songs, we will be going around and bring the show to where its audiences are. We will partner with groups with the same vision as we have, we will travel more, we will have more audience participation, and we have plans of doing live episodes.”

Moms out there, are you listening?