Chef Rosebud on finding love again

MANILA, Philippines - With her mouthwatering 10-minute dishes served with a disarming smile, Rosebud Benitez easily woos hearts and taste buds on her thrice-a-day cooking show Quickfire. That’s why many are taken aback to learn that GMA News TV’s Chef Mom already has two teenagers.

“Nagugulat (ang mga tao) na I have kids na ganun na nga kalalaki,” Chef Rosebud says. “That’s because I really started very young. I got married at a very young age.”

Growing up in a broken family, Chef Rosebud would always long for a man’s love, as she admits on her recent interview on The 700 Club Asia. This led her to tie the knot early and struggle from a premature and rocky marriage.

She recalls, “Nagdadasal ako noon: ‘Lord, hindi naman siguro ito ‘yung plano Mo sa buhay ko.’” After two kids and seven years of “trying so hard to keep it together,” the celebrity chef had to call it quits.

“Ang hirap,” she says of her marriage, “kasi unang-una sa lahat, ‘yung dream ko nga eh (is) buo ‘yung pamilya ko. Tapos hindi ko naman natupad.”

If not for her very supportive family, Chef Rosebud wouldn’t have the strength to find her way back after a dismal separation, she says. She pursued her search for a genuine, serious relationship, but to no avail.

“Laging hindi ako nakukuntento… Basta parang laging may kulang,” she admits.

“I would jump from one relationship to the other, ‘yung I would meet men na parang kaunting pakita lang sa akin, akala ko na love na... Parang napagod na ako. Parang ayoko na maghanap ng love. Ayoko na talaga.”

But Chef Rosebud’s frustration compelled her to re-examine her priorities and, in the process, re-discover the most important thing that’s been missing in her life.

“Dati kasi, lagi akong naghahanap ng relationship… pero ngayon I have the best relationship na,” she happily shares. “This is the best kind of relationship that you could ever have in your life.”

What’s her best relationship that radically altered Chef Rosebud’s life? How was she released from the wounds of her failed marriage? Find out tomorrow, Oct. 26, as she guests on The 700 Club Asia, with hosts Camilla Kim-Galvez and Alex Tinsay. It airs at 11 p.m. on GMA News TV.