Drew & Iya’s fantastic ‘firsts’

It took them almost a decade before they finally exchanged marriage vows, but for Kapuso personalities Drew Arellano and Iya Villania, it was definitely worth the wait. A year after their breathtaking sunset wedding by the cliff in Batangas, the couple recently marked their first wedding anniversary in Tagaytay. So with Valentine’s Day fast approaching, Kapuso Day asks Drew and Iya to share some of their memorable “firsts” as a married couple. 

Read on and discover how the magic of love makes a spontaneous biyahero click with a very organized and fabulous lady of Taste Buddies.

First thing you said to your spouse on your first morning as husband and wife: Seemingly, the couple, whose relationship blossomed on GMA 7’s defunct teen-oriented show Click, found this the hardest question to answer as they needed a moment to reminisce their first morning together.

Iya: “I think it was like, ‘We’re married!’”

Drew: (Jokes) “What? Biggest mistake of our lives!”

Iya: (Laughs) “It was probably that or something like, that was so fast. Like I can’t believe that just happened. Kasi we were planning for so long tapos biglang dumaan na lang all in one day.”

First dish you prepared for your spouse: Prior to their wedding, the couple tried to learn some recipes together. Iya, however, admits that Drew is the better cook.

Iya: “Sometimes I cook. But I’m better with breakfast than I am with anything else. So my first dish would’ve been an omelet. ‘Pag first dish as a married couple — malamang omelet din. Kasi morning eh! (Laughs) Siya kasi, he always cooks eh.”

Drew: “It’s the easiest thing to prepare, I guess.”

First thing you discovered about your spouse after getting married: Drew and Iya, while they may already know each other well, share that they have been — and are still — working on their differences to better complement one another.

Drew: “I knew all along. Nothing was very surprising. I know naman, she farted a lot.”

Iya: “Well, he farts a lot, too, so...”

Drew: (Jokes) “(We’re) fart-ners in crime.”

Iya: (Laughs) “Yeah, I guess we were together for so long. That already gave us so much time to discover things about each other.”

First romantic date as married couple: It is not your usual fine-dining date here. Drew, after all, is GMA News TV’s resident biyahero. That being said, the couple trekked Mt. Pulag for the first time in the special episode of Biyahe ni Drew that was aired yesterday.

Iya: “Batanes.”

Drew: “Right, that’s right. She was with me for a Biyahe ni Drew shoot. Not on cam, though. But she was just with me.”

Iya: “Sorry, can I just say kasi — we’re not very romantic.  Quality time together is what’s important to us. So yeah, our first date as a married couple was in Batanes. He had Biyahe ni Drew (taping) there, nakisabit ako. And we originally wanted to get married in Batanes kasi. So being able to go there a week after our wedding, which was already special to us. And then it turned out to be Valentine’s Day pa.”

First gift you gave to your spouse: Drew and Iya confess they prefer to spend for their travel. Drew, however, surprised his wife with a little signature purse on her birthday last year.

Drew: “I guess we were never really the…”

Iya: “The big gift-giving type. It’s never been a huge thing because masaya na kami with the little things.”

Drew: “If ever, parang ‘Sige, let’s go on a trip.’ Of course, gifts are a symbol of love. But love is expressed in a different way for us. For me, it’s leaving my undies everywhere. It’s a trace for her.”

Iya: “Hanapin mo ako (laughs).”

First travel destination as a married couple (aside from Batanes): The couple had to attend a few events in other parts of the US before actually spending time together alone in San Francisco for their honeymoon.

Drew: “Of course, it’s our honeymoon. It’s the best trip ever. It was very spontaneous that’s why it was more fun. We did a lot of hiking. I don’t know, I guess it’s our personality rin naman kasi to not plan too much. As a traveler, I don’t want to plan too much. Lalo na it was our honeymoon. It’s once in a lifetime.”

Iya: “Ang saya, sobrang saya. Again, it was not a romantic honeymoon. It was…”

Drew: “What? The whole time I was feeling so much love!”

Iya: “In love? It was an exhausting honeymoon with all the hiking that we were doing. But sobrang fun! And then we were thinking na parang it’s definitely not the typical honeymoon that others would think of. But we thought that it was perfect for our fitness level right now because it’s the best time that we can enjoy. It was so much fun. It was really full of adventure… kakaibang honeymoon.”

First memorable experience as a married couple: From its venue, date and time, the couple believes theirs was the perfect wedding that even the delay caused by traffic made the celebration truly unforgettable.

Iya: “I would say the wedding. It turned out to be more than what we expected.”

Drew: “Because we never really expected anything.”

Iya: “It was just perfect.”

Drew: “Initially, we wanted Batanes. Pero mahirap talaga. But yeah, parang everything turned out really, really well. It’s actually perfect, everything. The weather cooperated. It was just probably the traffic lang.”

Iya: “It was Chinese New Year kasi.”

Drew: “But it also worked out fine because we had to wait. Parang it was great timing when we were exchanging vows, the sun was setting.”

Iya: “Actually, lahat ng friends nga namin yung joke nila, ‘Saan ba makaka-order ng ganyang klaseng sunset?’ Because it was just breathtaking, it was really awesome and it really set the mood.”

 With no concrete plans yet to spend Valentine’s Day, the couple shares that they would just probably participate in a run organized by a friend in the morning and then spend time together at home later in the day. Asked how they would describe their first year, the couple revealed that it was “fantastic.”

Drew is regularly seen on GMA 7’s AHA! every Sunday, 9 a.m., and on GMA News TV’s Biyahe ni Drew every Friday, 8 p.m. Iya, on the other hand, is seen on GMA News TV’s Taste Buddies every Saturday, 8:45 p.m.