Mother at 6; wife at 28 •Timi Gomez-Aquino

MANILA, Philippines - While other girls were still playing with Barbie dolls when they were six years old, Timi Gomez-Aquino was already a mother.

When Timi was six, her mother Carrie, then 29, suffered a massive stroke that paralyzed her whole body.  A reversal of roles took place, with Timi mothering her mother.

“With my mom’s physical limitation, I just had to be with her. And I remain thankful for that experience, for that opportunity to serve my mom,” Timi, now 29, says.  

The physical frailty of her mom could have divided the family but Timi’s father, Dr. Vince Gomez, held on and continued to love and serve his wife. To this day, Timi says, her father is still in love with his wheelchair-bound wife.

“From my dad, I really learned that love has a lot to do with sacrifice and that love is a decision because he has stayed with my mom all these years. They have really chosen to keep our family intact despite that tragedy. I’m more of a mother to my mom in terms of caring for her day to day. But somehow, my parents, my younger brother Martin and I made it work,” she proudly beams.

She adds that because of the situation at home, her father inculcated in her and her brother the importance of being achievers. “Part of my dad’s coping mechanism was to make sure that my brother and I become over-achievers. He made sure that my mom’s sickness was not an excuse for us to be lazy or to misbehave in school,” recalls Timi.

So she went on to finish a degree in Economics at the De La Salle University. She is now a senior brand manager for hair-care products at Unilever Philippines where her job requires her to sell freshness and confidence. 

It is perhaps Timi’s strong yet sweet and nurturing side that endeared her to Senator-elect Bam Aquino. Last year, Timi became the beautiful wife of Bam.

The couple met when Bam was chairman of the National Youth Commission in 2004 and Timi was a delegate in the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program representing the National Capital Region. When she volunteered the following year, their paths crossed again and Bam took it as a sign to woo her.

“Bam and I click because we live in parallel worlds. We respect each other. What attracts us to each other is that we’re a lot alike,” Timi says with a smile that reveals all the more what a beauty she is inside and out.

She and Bam are also founding members of Rags2Riches, a Payatas-based social enterprise that does upcycling.

Timi knows she is a good wife to Bam. It won’t be surprising if she will also become a good mother to their children in the future. After, all, Timi already experienced “motherhood” when she was six — many, many years before she became a wife.

Photography by MAU AGUASIN • Creative direction by LUIS ESPIRITU JR. • Styling by MIKKA VELASQUEZ • Makeup by RIA AQUINO • Hairstyling by AVRIL SEGUIN • Aqua-white Peau de Soie dress by ROLAND ALZATÉ; lime green jersey dress by PIA GLADYS PEREY • Jewelry by MILADAY JEWELS • Shot on location at the RAFFLES LOBBY