Ivana Alawi, oft-described as one of showbiz’s most desirable women, is already “engaged”… to herself.
“You can buy yourself a diamond ring because why will I wait for someone to propose to me, eh di ako na lang (when I can do it myself),’” Ivana recently said to The STAR.
She was referring to what continues to be one of her most prized possessions — her most favorite piece of jewelry — an eight-carat diamond ring she bought for herself some two years ago. It made the fine jewelry brand trend and prompted the designer and owner declare Ivana as his business’ lucky charm.
The “round brilliant paved band” diamond ring priced at P12 million at that time, “kasi tumaas na siya (because it has gone up),” as the actress put it, was personally acquired from LVNA by Drake Dustin.
“To be honest, mas mahal yung binili niya sa amin kesa yung binayad namin sa kanya, hahaha! She bought an eight-carat diamond ring. Nagulat nga ako na bigla nalang siya bibili ng ring, akala ko nag-jo-joke lang. Pumunta sa store, tingin ng price, the next day, nag-send nalang ng deposit slip,” Drake previously disclosed the backstory on the diamond ring they initially asked Ivana to model.
(“To be honest, what she bought from us was more expensive than what we paid her, hahaha! She bought an eight-carat diamond ring. I was surprised that she suddenly bought the ring, I thought she was just joking. She went to the store, looked at the price, and the next day, she just sent a deposit slip.”)
When asked how she would keep her ring and other fine jewelry safe and secure, the 26-year-old quipped, “‘Di naman (ako natutulog nakasuot siya). I only bring out and wear it during special events. I remember I once used it in the supermarket, mas kinakabahan ako (it made me more nervous), so ‘di siya pang grocery, it’s for special events.”
Ivana candidly confessed that her safe is already filled up with jewelry. “As much as I like to collect bags, I like to collect diamonds and jewelry. It’s really more than an investment because everything keeps going up.”
Though “self-engaged” for now, when it comes to being proposed to with marriage in the future, the size or carat of the diamond doesn’t matter, Ivana stressed. “What matters is saan and kanino galing,” she said.
From her vlogs, the Filipino-Moroccan content creator (No. 4 Filipino YouTuber in 2022) enjoys poking fun at her being single and entertains followers with hilarious encounters or attempts at finding a potential husband in trips abroad. She recently went viral for a video of her spontaneously shopping at a store because of its dashing French doorman.
Nevertheless, Ivana maintained that she’d rather end up with a full-blooded Filipino in real life.
“Ang bet ko talaga ay Pinoy. Pinoy talaga! Hindi ko kailangan ang sobrang yaman. Hindi manloloko, alam mo, very basic. (I want a guy who’s) non-showbiz,” she said when asked by this paper for her ideal guy.
“Of course, it’s important — kailangan siya pumasa sa Mommy ko. Well, hindi lang sa mom ko but also with my whole family. And (the constant love) advice ng mom ko ay ‘wag kang laging magmadali and ‘wag mo ibigay ang lahat.”
“But right now, I’m focused on myself, my family and my work,” Ivana quickly pointed out.
Ivana was briefly interviewed on the sidelines of the launch of the newest LVNA branch on Thursday at the Shangrila Mall East Wing. It was announced that from being jewelry buyer and collector, then endorser, Ivana is now fine jewelry store investor. She is set to co-own and open a branch in Cebu.
She chose the Queen City of the South to be the location of her first store because “Cebu is beautiful. I love Cebuanos and my mom is half-Cebuana. My maternal lola is from Cebu.”
On now being a fine jewelry store owner, Ivana gushed, “Di pa nagsi-sink in. Nagugulat nga ako, o nga no (whenever it’s mentioned). But it’s something that I will treasure a lot because jewelry never goes down, it always goes up in value. It is one of the best investments, for me.”
She also shared how her business relationship with Drake started.
“Yung nanay ko, dini-em siya (my mom DM-ed him on Facebook). It’s because my mom is a huge (jewelry) fan. Since I was young, she’s been teaching me to invest in jewelry, all diamonds, all gold pieces, because you can really use them. So when she saw LVNA, ang gaganda ng designs, everything, she direct-messaged (Drake), she never does that. It was her first time, then kay Drake pa,” she recalled.
Both Ivana and Drake admitted that her profile as a content creator and showbiz personality, and his jewelry business both “boomed” over the pandemic.
“I think because everything has its own time,” was how simply Ivana put it.
According to sources, she has been receiving acting offers but has not decided on her comeback vehicle yet. She was last seen onscreen via the 2022 ABS-CBN primetime series A Family Affair and Metro Manila Film Festival entry Partners in Crime with Vice Ganda. There are speculations that she’s appearing in another network, but that remains to be seen.