Vegas wedding seals Abby and Jomari’s second chance at love

MANILA, Philippines — It was a Hollywood celebrity wedding that inspired Jomari Yllana and Abby Viduya to tie the knot in Las Vegas, officially sealing their rekindled romance of four years.

“We decided to get married in Las Vegas because we wanted a simple ceremony that was just the two of us and close friends and family,” Abby, who was still in the US during this interview, told The STAR via online messages shortly after their Nov. 5 wedding.

The actress disclosed that their inspiration came from the surprise and whirlwind Vegas nuptials of Hollywood’s power couple, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.

“We liked the idea of what J.Lo and Ben Affleck did. They did the drive thru wedding. That is what we did also. It was so fast but memorable. I cried while saying my vows,” she said.

Just like the Hollywood stars, their wedding showed that love can be sweeter the second time around.

“It feels like I’m walking on clouds hehehe! It feels like a dream,” Abby happily shared.

“The funny thing now is Jom is always calling me Mrs. Yllana after the wedding. I love it, I love him so much.”

When asked if they made special vows to each other, Abby admitted, “We actually forgot to write our own vows. We will do that for our church wedding there.”

For her, the most memorable part of her wedding to the actor and Parañaque City councilor was when the minister said, “Now is the start of the rest of your lives, to love each other and make each other happy.”

“I started crying. And Andre was crying, too. Then, Jom started tearing up,” she shared.

After exchanging “I dos,” they celebrated with a “simple reception,” joined by a few close friends and Andre, Jomari’s son from his previous relationship with Aiko Melendez.

“The day after the wedding, we slept the whole day. And just relaxed in the hotel. Honeymoon stage hahahaha!”

When asked what she looks forward to the most in her married life, Abby said, “The one thing I’m excited about now is how we will build our future together. And travel everywhere.”

“Life is too short. We have to enjoy every moment with the one we love.”

The wedding was both the culmination and beginning of a chapter in their love story. Jomari and Abby found their way back to each other in 2019 after nearly 30 years apart. Their relationship not only endured the challenges during the pandemic, but also grew stronger.

In a previous interview with The STAR, Abby shared her surprise at reconnecting with her childhood sweetheart: “We were already happy to be in each other’s lives as friends. We didn’t expect it.”

Abby recalled that she and the actor became each other’s first romantic relationship at the age of 15. He was her “first love, first boyfriend, first kiss, and first experience of everything.”

They were a couple for less than a year after working together in Gwapings, the debut movie of Jomari with the ‘90s boy group Gwapings, which included Mark Anthony Fernandez and Eric Fructuoso. Abby, who later on became a popular sexy star with the screen name Priscilla Almeda, was introduced in the same movie.

For Abby, the ‘most memorable’ part of the wedding was when the minister said, ‘Now is the start of the rest of your lives, to love each other and make each other happy

They broke up mainly because of their young age. “Of course, we went our separate ways, we led our own lives and had children of our own.”

In the early 2000s, Abby dropped her showbiz career to return to her native Canada.

She would exchange occasional greetings with Jomari. Then fate seemingly intervened, and they found themselves both single again. “It just so happened there came a time when we were both single and ayun, nag-start dun,” she said.

Abby was still in Canada at the time, and they started chatting, reminiscing about old times. They decided that when she returned to the Philippines, they would meet, and everything fell back into place. She moved back to the country late 2019.

“We just hit it off. It’s like picking up where we left off,” Abby said.

“When I came back, it just made sense that at a certain age ‘di na kailangan ng ligawan, di ba? When I came back here, I was 43, he was also 43,” she then recalled.

“Nung bata kami, magkasundo na magkasundo kami… How we were when we were young, ganun pa rin eh, but on a different level. I mean, makulit pa rin kami to each other, but now it’s just different because we’re both mature na, marami kaming pinagdaanan pareho sa buhay. We make it a point na walang bad vibes sa relationship. But, of course, that can’t be avoided but we handle things together, which is really nice.”

The newlyweds are set to come home this week.