Ina and Giacomo: I.T.A.L.Y.
MANILA,Philippines — They were two strangers who caught each other’s eye from across the street. After a mom-approved meet-cute, an unconventionally suave pick-up line and a few years of LDR, the protagonists in this love story are now headed for the altar, ready to tell each other I.T.A.L.Y. (Pinoy acronym for “I trust and love you”) forever.
Indeed, how Ina Feleo met Italian photographer and now-fiancé Giacomo Gervasutti in San Marco the so-called heart of Venice is one for the romantic books… or the movies!
Last Oct. 23, the 32-year-old actress recalled via an Instagram post her first encounter with her Italian beau a deadringer for Hollywood actor Gerard Butler, her IG followers say who is three years her senior: “Four years ago today, I met my fiancé by chance in San Marco. A year later, we started dating. Two years after that, we got engaged.
In most aspects of my life, I am practical and realistic, but I’ll always have this completely serendipitous moment I’ll never get tired of sharing.”
The STAR had a chance to ask the daughter of industry stalwarts, director/actress Laurice Guillen and the late actor Johnny Delgado, about this serendipitous moment on the sidelines of a presscon for Food Lore: Island of Dreams (the episode Erik Matti has directed for the HBO Asia drama anthology now airing on HBO and HBO Go, and which stars Ina, Angeli Bayani and Yul Servo, among others).
It was after shooting Food Lore: Island of Dreams, in July this year, when Giacomo popped the question with an heirloom ring. Not a few followers were surprised at the big announcement given that Ina hasn’t posted that much or talked about the relationship at length in interviews.
She explained, “Because he’s non-showbiz. Kahit gustong-gusto ko i-post, iniingatan ko rin. Paunti-paunti lang. Actually, ngayon palang, na-o-overwhelm na siya. Minsan pagtingin niya sa Internet, nandoon yung pangalan niya. Tapos minsan, alam mo na yung, pag-tini-title in such a way… (I just tell him) it’s good that you’re being welcomed, that they talk about you.”
The STAR asked Ina to retrace the beginning of their romance. She recalled it happened when she, her mom Laurice and sister Ana were having a day trip in Venice.
“In Italy, we had one day in Venice, a day trip. After our walking tour, since nagtitipid kami ng slight because European tours can be so expensive, one lunch we just bought Panini sandwiches, then we looked for a streetside bench in San Marco.
“And then, while eating our lunch, I was also feeding some pigeons. Across the road, I spotted a dog that wanted to go near us, parang wanting to eat. I was just looking at the cute dog, then yung mom ko, who was sitting beside me, said, why don’t you look at the one holding the dog?
“So, kumbaga parang sa pelikula, nag-pan ako ng pa ganun (looking up to the dog owner) uy, ang gwapo. I was wearing shades and so I was checking him out.”
Giacomo was doing the same. “Our eyes met. Very cinematic hahaha! Then, after a while, he approached us. Mommy said, naku lalapit! Sabi ko, ‘wag kang magulo kasi parang nakaka-stress.”
When Giacomo finally got to where they were, the first thing he asked them was, if they spoke any Spanish because he thought they were Latinas. “I said no, I’m Filipina. He said, English? Tapos feeling ko na, ay naku, pi-pick-up line ito.
“Tapos, biglang ang bungad niya sa akin, ‘Do you know that it’s illegal to feed pigeons in Venice?’ So, ako, wait, di pala siya ano. Then, he continued: ‘Besides, they will fly above you and shit on your beautiful hair. And I would hate to see that.’”
Boom. Ina found herself quite impressed. “Maganda ang pasok,” she laughed at the recollection.
They would engage in small talk, during which he told her he had been planning to visit the Philippines, particularly Palawan.
“If you’ve seen the movie Before Sunset, it was just like that. We just talked. That was it. Then, he said, ‘I have a shop near San Marco, I’m a photographer, if you can pass by later, (do come).’ So dumaan kami maya-maya nila Mommy. We bought pictures. He gave me a picture and at the back of it, he wrote his e-mail address. Nakakatuwa because e-mail, not his number.
“Of course, kinilig ako. But for me, that was it. Parang may something lang when I went to Italy. A couple of months later, I also e-mailed him just so we could exchange e-mail (addresses). After four months, he started e-mailing and I was e-mailing back.
“Then, he was getting serious, deeper, telling me, ‘When I come to Manila, I would like to ask you on a date, etc.’ Me naman, sure, sure. Although in my mind, ang harot naman nito. I was like, OK. In fact, I was dating other people at that time. I wasn’t taking it seriously until he gave his number. He sent it several times, like here’s my Whatsapp (number), but di ko na gets. I wasn’t messaging him. On the third time, that’s when I messaged him. We became textmates, then phone pals. It developed and developed.”
Ina’s Italian suitor finally came to the Philippines in November 2016. “That’s when we started dating. And before he left, he already started to rent a piece of land in San Vicente in Palawan, with the intention of building a business (there). He also found, by chance, a Dutch partner and that’s how it started.
“He’s doing it because he knows the nature of my work. I’m an actress. He knows I cannot move to Italy and live there. Maybe for short periods of time but my work is here. Siya ang nag-adjust,” she laughed.
Good thing, the relationship had the approval of mom Laurice from the very start.
“Mommy liked the feeling. You know mothers, they have this vibe. And with mommy, never siya nagkulang sa akin ng reminders. If I were dating someone a bit ‘shady,’ she would tell me to be wary. But with this one, she encouraged me.”
Dating a foreigner was something Ina never imagined she’d do.
“I was nervous at first over dating a foreigner. I’m a comfort-zone girl. Sa Pilipino ako kasi alam ko yung kaugalian. But I gave it a shot. As it turns out, he’s like a Filipino, malapit ang culture natin with the Italians. Plus, sobra niyang lambing, expressive.”
For her though, what truly makes the relationship work and for keeps is because it allows her to stay true to herself.
“I learned to voice out my opinions, why I like this or that, because before (in previous relationships), I was the type of person na if there’s an argument, tahimik nalang ako.
“But with him, he would say, tell me, tell me! And I got to know myself more and the relationship also. That’s what I liked about it — I didn’t lose myself. It’s very real. The start was very cinematic but the actual relationship, it’s very real for me.”
Meanwhile, the sweethearts have started planning their wedding scheduled in January 2021. They’re looking forward to a beachside affair, perhaps in San Vicente, a place close to their hearts.
According to Ina, who has been to Venice again and met Giacomo’s family since that fateful 2015 meeting, “It’s exciting. Well, ako gusto ko talaga ng simpleng wedding and my intention is around 100 guests. I think we’re on the same boat. But he’s the groomzilla (laughs) because he enjoys planning events to the detail. He’s more hands-on.”
Expect mommy Laurice to flex some of her directing expertise — and that’s okay. “She’s just very excited that we start our own family,” Ina ended.
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