Joining hearts, connecting families

MANILA, Philippines - When Carlo Miguel left his family to join the reality show The Biggest Loser Asia on Hallmark Channel, he had no idea that he was going to return to a new addition in his family and see his baby’s first image via Skype.

Carlo has been a professional chef for 14 years, and is the executive chef of award-winning Sala Restaurant and Sala Bistro in Manila. Diagnosed with hypertension, high cholesterol and obstructive sleep apnea, Carlo was determined to join Hallmark Channel’s inaugural Asian weight loss series, The Biggest Loser Asia, and to lose weight to lead a healthy life with his wife, Ria Vinzon in the Philippines.

At 10 kg. and after losing 22 kg. since joining the show late last year, Carlo has shared the struggle of losing weight with many television viewers across Asia. However in a recent episode, he shared possibly one of the most important and extremely personal moments in his life.

While Carlo was away from his family, his country was in the aftermath of one of its worst natural disasters. Carlo wanted very much to see how his family was doing and had the opportunity to connect with them via Skype Video. Seeing his wife Ria gave Carlo the re-assurance that his family was well. It was during this Skype video-call, that Ria shared with Carlo, perhaps the best news of all — Ria was expecting their first child and showed Carlo the first ultrasound images of their baby.

With tears in their eyes the couple rejoiced as Carlo said, “Originally, I had planned that we would have kids when I return but it is now a reality! I was overwhelmed with happiness when I saw the ultrasound images of my baby and realized I was going to be a daddy soon!”

Carlo added, “We feel so blessed to live in an era where we can easily communicate through video chat. Even when miles apart, not only did we get to talk to each other, we were able to see each other face-to-face and it was the next best thing to being there!”

The biggest benefit of Skype according to the couple is its ability to bring people closer together in a cost-effective way.