MANILA, Philippines — Angeline Quinto said that when her adoptive mom, Sylvia “Mama Bob” Quinto, passed away, she lost all desire to work and perform. But then, motherhood happened. It gave the singer-actress a newfound purpose in life.
Her son Aziel Sylvio, who was named after her Mama Bob, just turned one last April 27.
“The happiness na in-expect ko, mas sobra pala. Iba pala talaga. Siguro ang masasabi ko, hindi siya madali. But yung pagbalanse ng oras sa work and sa anak, yun ang talagang mas inayos ko. (The happiness that I expected turned out to be more. It’s really different. Maybe what I can say is, it’s not easy. Balancing my time between work and caring for my child, that’s what I really worked on more),” Angeline told The STAR in a recent interview.
The first time she saw her baby boy, the 33-year-old newbie mommy was so scared to hold him. “Kasi ang liit-liit niya. Sabi sa akin ng isang nurse, ma’am hindi kita tuturuan (paano hahawakan siya) subukan mo lang. Tapos pagbuhat ko sa kanya marunong pala ako. (Because he was so small. And then a nurse told me, ma’am I won’t teach you how to hold him, just try. When I carried him, I actually knew how to do it),” she recalled.
While Sylvio came unexpectedly into her life, she could say she was ready for his arrival.
“Hindi sa ayaw ko but hindi ko lang in-expect na parang kakawala lang kasi ni Mama, wala pang one year, nung nalaman kong buntis ako. Pero sobrang nagpapasalamat ako kasi dumating siya. Kasi pagkawala ni Mama, hindi ko kakayanin. (It’s not that I didn’t want to, but I just didn’t expect it because Mama had just passed away, less than a year from when I found out I was pregnant. But I am very thankful that he came. Because after losing Mama, I couldn’t handle it.)”
She continued, “It got to the point where I didn’t want to work, I didn’t want to sing, I didn’t want to do anything. When Mama was gone, I thought, for whom am I working hard for? Para kanino ako nagpapagod?”
“Yun din ang tinanong ko sa Diyos, kung wala ang Mama, ano ang purpose ko sa buhay? Eto na pala yun. Ito yung sagot sa akin ni Lord. (That’s really what I asked God, with Mama no longer with us, what is now my purpose in life? This is the Lord’s answer to me),” she further said of motherhood.
“When Sylvio came, he directed me to my priorities in life after Mama Bob.”
Having a child has also inspired Angeline to be more entrepreneurial. From her own journey, she realized how important it is for a mom to take care of herself and her child from pregnancy to childbirth. She can now relate to a lot of mommies nowadays being choosy with their products.
That’s why, she said, she decided to put up her own “vegan, hypo-allergenic, cruelty-free, FDA-approved and proudly Filipino-made” line of baby and mommy care products called Twinqle (Twinqle.ph on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok).
According to Angeline, her goal along with that of her business partners for Twinqle is to create quality, effective and affordable products that address the skincare needs of babies (from top-to-toe wash, atopic soothing lotion, outdoor spray to diaper rash cream) and their mommies (from stretch mark oil to nursing balm).
Asked how non-showbiz fiancé Nonrev Daquina is as a partner in parenting and in her life in general, Angeline said he calms her down. “Si Non, after nanganak parang naging topakin ako (laughs). Maybe hormonal imbalance? And especially na ‘pag naisasabay sa trabaho siempre. So, siya ang laging andyan naka-alalay sa akin, pag uminit ang ulo ko. (He is always there to support me. When I get cranky, he calms me down.)”
And whenever she’s at work, Angeline said he always reassures her, “‘Babe, don’t worry about Sylvio.’”
The STAR also got to ask her about their love story. Angeline shared that he’s the buddy of the boyfriend of Angeline’s close friend. They used to live in the same neighborhood but they never knew each other beforehand.
She was first introduced to Nonrev through a video-call. “We were in Tondo (Angeline’s old neighborhood) at that time. My friend was on a video-call with her boyfriend. She was saying, ‘I’m here with Angge’ and I asked who they were and she said they were her boyfriend’s barkada. So, I said hello.”
She further shared, “Then, nakita ko nakahubad, walang mga t-shirt, marami silang lalaki, ano bayan puro tattoo. Ayoko ng puro tattoo. Sabi ko, nakakatakot naman mga kaibigan ng jowa mo. Nung nakita ko si Non, siya kasi sa lahat ng mga lalaki, ang ganda ng ngiti. Yung nawawala ang mata. (I saw that they were half-naked, they had no t-shirts on. There were a lot of men. I thought, so many tattoos. I’m not into guys with too many tattoos. I told my friend, your boyfriend’s friends are scary. When I saw Non, he had the most beautiful smile among all the boys. His eyes disappear when he smiles.)”
After a week, her friend met up with her boyfriend and Nonrev tagged along. “I was surprised! In fairness to him, maayos-ayos (laughs),” she said, recalling he was so formal that addressed her as “Ms. Angeline.”
It wasn’t instant attraction but she found the guy intriguing. She liked that he wasn’t loud and overtly trying to get her attention. “Ewan ko ha, ang gustong gusto ko kasi sa lalaki ako yung papansin. Ayoko yung lalaking papansin sa akin. Ayoko ng lalaking maingay. Si Nonrev kasi mas naintriga ako kasi tahimik. Feeling ko kasi lalaking lalaki, na ipagtatanggol ka, ganun.”
From then on, when Angeline and her friends would hang out, she would let him join them. Nonrev made the first move to directly communicate with Angeline, which failed at first because he was messaging her official Facebook page being run by an administrator. After more than a week of courtship, Nonrev told her, “I love you.”
She admitted that at first, she thought about what other people would think about them dating. She also warned Nonrev against bashing and negative comments like he was just after her money. “Yung sinasabi na naku, dyusko, si Angeline naman nagpapalamon diyan, may ganun ka talagang maririnig… I was getting bashed myself. But that’s what I told him, it won’t be easy in this industry,” said the singer, who has previously defended her partner on her YouTube channel, sharing that Nonrev actually has his own business.
It was also Angeline herself who told her fiancé to not hide the fact that he already has two kids, ages 10 and 12, from a failed past relationship. She has already met them and spent time with them during family reunions.
She doesn’t really find the situation a problem and she welcomes opportunities where her son can bond with his older siblings. “Ako naman, ‘di ko naman itatago kay (I will never hide from) Sylvio na meron siyang Ate.”
Angeline admitted that they’re not in a rush to get married after getting engaged late last year. Definitely not this 2023, she said. But the couple has been discussing it. She added that her partner’s mom, who is based in the US, has been asking them about it so they could all come home. She further hinted that they could also wed in the States.
Having open communication lines is one reason Angeline thinks their relationship is going strong. If there’s something he has said or done that doesn’t sit well with her, she tells him upfront. There were times she realized he didn’t mean it or that she was being a little more sensitive. The same goes for him.
She said, “We’re very open to each other. In my past relationships, I’m not like this. Siguro ‘pag nama-mature din talaga ang tao, ganun pala talaga. (Maybe when people mature, that’s how it really is.)”