When New York-based designer Robin Tomas was here recently for the Fashion Week, he made his separated parents, Tessie and Robert Tomas (who’s recuperating from a stroke), sit together with Tessie’s current husband, British marine biologist Roger Pullin. Tessie was in the middle, with Roger to her right and, so to speak, kinakaliwa naman niya si Robert.
“Robin told me, ‘May gagawin akong hindi mo kayang i-control.’ I asked him, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Pagsusuutin ko kayo ni Daddy ng matching na damit.’ I said, ‘Eh, si Roger?’ Sabi ni Robin, ‘Batik na lang siya!’ Mana sa akin ang anak ko, di ba?”
The two men were civil toward each other.
“I told Roger, ‘I have to introduce you to Robin’s father.’ He said, ‘Oh sure!’ Roger simply said, ‘Hello!’ Eksakto, walang labis, walang kulang. Ganoon lang. Hindi siya nakipag-chika-chika. Very British.”
That public gathering dispelled rumors that Tessie and Roger have split up, making people go tsk-tsk-ing over a second-time-around marriage that started beautifully and then...
“Yes,” Tessie confirmed in her characteristic tongue-in-cheek style.
“Talagang separated kami ni Roger. In fact, he just left last night for a speaking engagement abroad.” But seriously now, “We’re okay. Happy kami ni Roger. Nakikita naman sa mukha ko, di ba?”
Tessie, who’s celebrating this month her 28th year in showbiz, would usually travel with Roger but not this time when she’s tied to the ABS-CBN sitcom George & Cecil. She has been busy since 2008 when she did some indie films including Ploning (submitted as the country’s entry to the Best Foreign-Language Film competition in last year’s Oscars), 100 (for which she got her second Urian Best Supporting Actress nomination, the first having been for Rome & Juliet) and Padre de Pamilya. She was also in the GMA sitcom Kim Samsoon and in the Regal movie One True Love (with Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes).
Her tight work schedule notwithstanding, Tessie took time out in November and spent three weeks with Robin in his Manhattan pad.
“In mid-September also last year, I went to UK with Roger to visit his daughters Alice Squires and Lucy Pullin, and his grandchildren Tom (5), and three-year-old twins Hope and Isabel.”
So how do she and Roger keep their marriage stable?
“The quality of our conversation. My husband is definitely an erudite so he can talk about any topic. After all he was educated in a London school. At home, he has his own collection of books. Like me, he’s a voracious reader. We adjust to each other’s schedule and go out sometimes with his friends or sometimes with my friends.”
And what about the quality of their, hmmm, intimacy?
“Okay rin. Three times a week,” she added and broke into laughter.
“It really takes two to make a marriage work.”
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Flawless, the “less is more” aesthetic beauty clinic that provides stellar services and a doctor in every clinic, is bringing the next big thing to the Philippines: Picture Flawless.
Starting Oct. 8, the search for the next Flawless Face is on. Each patient of Flawless who avails of a minimum purchase of P1,800 in any branch is automatically eligible for a photo pass to any of the eight photo-shoot booths that will be located in SM Malls (SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, SM MOA, SM Manila, SM Lipa, SM Bacoor, SM Pampanga and SM Cebu) every weekend until early November.
Photo passes also extend to any Kodak branch daily through October and November, with the option for holders to have their picture taken at their convenience. Once pictures are submitted, the public will be free to vote for their favorite Flawless Faces, one male and one female. The 18 contestants with the most number of votes will comprise the semi-finalists. They will go through a panel of experts who will decide the outcome of the competition.
The two lucky Flawless Faces will receive P800,000 each, as well as a year-long endorsement deal for Flawless. A lucky voter will also receive a beauty getaway and Flawless makeover package, to be announced at the culminating event scheduled for early December.
In addition, being Flawless isn’t just about looking great, but feeling great. One percent of all sales and proceeds from the Picture Flawless campaign will be donated to the victims of the recent Ondoy calamity.
Co-sponsored by Kodak, Picture Flawless is the next step to making your celebrity dream come true. Visit the Flawless clinic nearest you and get pampered, photographed and picked. After all, you deserve a billboard.
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com)