Ready to be a mom

After becoming Mrs. Wintle last December when she exchanged “I do’s” with her Filipino-British fiancé Ben Wintle in Coron, Palawan, Iza Calzado is expected to become pregnant with their first child soon. Are Mr. and Mrs. Wintle starting to talk about raising a family? 

The question led Iza to answer with a back-story to their marriage and admitted she initially had fears about committing herself to a big responsibility. She explained, while in the hot seat of Tonight With Boy Abunda (TWBA), “Well, it was something we had to talk about a long time ago. ‘Yun ‘yung isa sa mga ano (concern) ni Ben na parang gusto niya masigurado na kahit isa man lang papayag ako magkaroon ng anak kasi before medyo talaga ano ako, I still have fears of getting there, I mean, you know it’s a big commitment, it’s a big responsibility.”

Iza further said, “At some point he had to ask me, ‘Are you willing to become a mother?’ and I said, ‘Of course.’”

The actress committed to having one child first to Ben and assured him that if everything turned out okay, then that’s the time they will add more. “Parang let’s play it by ear muna,” she said.

Given the difference in the nature of their work and time table, Iza revealed that they have yet to plan their honeymoon although she already has in mind a couple of places where they could go to like “I’ve never been to Italy and then South Africa has always been a dream of mine. Wala pang timeline but hopefully it will happen this year.”

The actress also shared precious moments during her beach wedding with Ben. Iza said it was her departed dear daddy Lito Calzado’s dream to walk her down the aisle “because when he passed away, I was turning 30. So, feeling n’ya talaga gusto n’ya makapangasawa na ako.” That’s why the locket, with the picture of her mom and dad in it, really made her shed copious tears.

However, Iza would like to clarify that the locket, which was part of the bouquet, was not the reason why she didn’t toss the bouquet. As part of the tradition, the bouquet is tossed to single women with the belief that whoever catches it will be the next to marry. According to Iza, time constraint prevented her from doing it but she wished to pass the good energy to Ben’s sister Annika “hoping that she’ll be next (to marry).”

Apart from the locket that made the “presence” of her parents more palpable, Iza also received a sentimental gift from her close friend Sunshine Dizon. It was a bracelet that belonged to Iza’s late mom Mary Ann Ussher, that Sunshine bought from Iza.

Iza shared that like any normal family, they also experienced being cash-strapped and her mom then had her fine jewelries pawned. It was the time when Iza was not yet into showbiz.

“Until my mother passed away, we didn’t have enough to redeem it and by the time I was already in showbiz, I still had not enough to get it at mareremata na… I just joined the show of Sunshine and our friendship developed and then I said to her that I had no money to redeem it and instead of other people getting it, perhaps you want to buy it so she bought it. Then years went by, I completely forgot about it.”

Iza added that Sunshine bought two items from her — a ring and a bracelet — but she only remembered the ring. Until her wedding day came and she had a pleasant surprise when Sunshine gifted her with the bracelet. “And when she was saying that to me I’m like what and everybody was crying. It was the perfect time to give it back to me. Not that I wanted her to give it back to me or demanded for her to give it back to me. But you know, I’m so grateful that it’s now back to me and you know (pertaining to Sunshine), I owe you one.”