Home is where the Princess of Hearts is
On a breezy, balmy day like today, actress/TV host/singer Jolina Magdangal — Jolens to her legion of young fans — likes to step out of her bedroom into the balcony of her house and bask in the sunlight. Often, she would even watch the break of dawn. She just loves looking at the skies — it relaxes her at the end of a nerve-wracking day and recharges her to start yet another hectic day. Literally starstruck, showbiz’s Princess of Hearts loves to go stargazing — and wishing upon a star in her little castle tucked away in Don Antonio Royale Estates, Commonwealth, Quezon City, which she calls home — that is, for now until she and her Prince Charming, Bebong Muñoz, get married and live happily ever after in their own dream house. Abangan ang susunod na kabanata.
“It’s okay if I just live in a condominium,” Jolens describes her dream house. “But I want one with a big space. It’s better, of course, if I could have a house with a big garden. And a place where I can entertain people, hindi talagang bonggang party, nothing really fancy, but just a place where it would be nice to talk with friends and have fun, something like a lanai.”
She goes on to muse, “If I’d have my very own house, I’d like to design it myself. I’d like that every corner of my house would have a story to tell about me. So everything would be cozy and happy.”
Of course, Jolens is happy to be home with her loving and very supportive parents Jun and Paulette Magdangal, siblings Ate Melanie and Jonathan, and niece Hannah. The three-storey Magdangal house in
The neighborhood, which the Magdangals love for its peace and privacy, boasts a number of celebrity residents like Angel Locsin, Ara Mina, Albert Martinez, Randy and Raymart Santiago, and Julius and Tintin Versola Babao. “There are a lot of other showbiz people in the nearby subdivisions, but I’ve never bumped into them,” says Jolens.
The Magdangals bought this property with an existing house back in 1999. As the kids grew up and Jolina’s showbiz career prospered, so did the Magdangal house. “The house had never been lived in until we bought it,” says Jun Magdangal. “We liked its unique architecture, the way it was designed, so we bought it. But through the years, we’ve had to expand and renovate the house, do major revisions to our liking. Now, it’s about 800 square meters in land area — there are three floors and there’s a basement for the laundry area. We also acquired another lot, where we put up a garage for our big cars.”
Sitting really pretty in this garage are two Mercedes Benzes and a BMW, Jolens’ favorite car which she sometimes drives herself.
There’s an empty lot (next to another empty lot that the Magdangals have yet to acquire), where Jolens’ motor home, a B Touring Cruiser, is parked when not in use. It was shipped all the way from
Parked alongside Jolen’s motor home is another big van that serves as backup in case something happens to the cruiser home. “We need a big van to carry a lot of Jolina’s clothes, shoes, and accessories (of which Jolina has a houseful, but more on that later) for her shoots,” explains Jun.
To go back to the main house, there are four bedrooms: the master’s bedroom that’s part of the refreshingly green lanai with a little outdoor Jacuzzi, Jolens’ bedroom, her sister Melanie and ballerina daughter Hannah’s bedroom, and her brother Jonathan’s bedroom.
“All the kids, including my married daughter and her daughter, live in this house,” says Jun.
Jun and Paulette love having the kids around — the big house would certainly feel empty without the children and their endless banters. And the ever-doting Dad Jun is not about to let go of his youngest girl Jolina whose showbiz career he also manages, aside from being Jolens’ photographer and videographer, jobs he’s taken on after retiring from corporate communications at San Miguel Corporation with brief stints at Coca-Cola and Goldilocks.
“Jolina is still far from marriage,” Jun stresses, squelching rumors from the grapevine of a wedding coming soon for Jolens. “Of course, we’re happy she’s found the man of her dreams (she’ll be 30 on Nov. 6 and he’s 35). But the guy just came back from the
Mom Paulette took care of every little detail with regard to decorating the house, filling it up with her favorite things such as antique furniture, Capo di Monte collectibles, Murano vases and plates, chairs from Spain, a commode from Italy, a grandfather’s clock from Germany, antique chests from Italy and India, chandeliers from Italy, and a lot more things from the Magdangals’ travels to the US, Europe, and Asia.
“I’d say the inspiration of this house is European eclectic, not terno-terno but a combination of things with the color green as the binding element,” Jun describes. “We’re antique collectors and most of our antiques are in our Tagaytay resthouse. We buy a lot of things, antique or not, for the home when we travel. We now have two storage rooms of things from all over the world that we want to put up an outlet already to sell some stuff.”
If you have time to listen, nearly every antique or piece of furniture in the Magdangal home has a story to tell. Like the circa 1800s gramophone that was given by director Rico Gutierrez to Jolina. It was used as a prop in the movie Ouija that Gutierrez directed and Jolina starred in. Jolina liked it so much and one day, Rico told her, “It’s yours.” And hear this: This antique gramophone can still play the vintage 78 rpm (revolutions per minute) records. To hear is to believe so Jun put on some really old music for our listening pleasure.
Beside the gramophone is an eye-catching small artwork done by Jun, who also dabbles in art. Jun’s flower painting is mounted on an 1890 wooden frame. There are more of Jun’s paintings on the walls. The house is also full of pieces of art by local artists like Angelo Baldemor, Paete sculptor who’s carved a name for himself (yes, he’s the brother of famous artist Manny Baldemor). Good enough to eat is Baldemor’s “Suman,” with the rice grains almost spilling out of the chunk of wood. You’ll find this — and more — in the blue-themed Mom’s Kitchen, easily the children’s favorite part of the house where they love sharing lots of stories over tons of food laid out on the long dining table. “Here, it’s more cozy, mas masaya,” Jolina enthuses.
Back in the living room, a large wooden frame takes center stage. Jun points out, “A mirror used to be there, but following good feng shui, we replaced it with an artwork. We don’t really take feng shui religiously, but you don’t lose anything following it.”
Another favorite part of the house is the computer-cum-storage room. “It’s where we lock ourselves up and just be together as a family because there are weeks when we have no time to do things as a family,” says Jolina.
Undeniably Jolina’s No. 1 favorite part of the house is her room. “When I just want peace and quiet, I go straight to my bedroom,” she declares. “That is why I chose a room that looks out to the porch.”
When her fiance Bebong Muñoz was living in the
But life, especially nighlife, without Bebong wasn’t really that lonely as Jolina learned to party by herself in her room. She shares, “I would concoct a theme. For example, this evening, the theme is bossa nova. I’d light some candles and put on all-bossa nova music. Or it could be a beach party and I’d dress up in a sarong as if I was on the beach. I’d even put on beach oil so there’s a scent of the beach in my room. And for music, I’d play reggae.”
But of course, the gregarious Jolens goes out with friends, a lot of whom go back to her high school days. She relates, “We’d swap stories, but if I sensed that the guy wanted something more than friendship, I’d say, ‘Wait, teka lang, ba-bye!’ At the end of the day, I knew I was committed to the my boyfriend in the
A non-showbiz guy, Bebong had all the star qualities Jolina was looking for in a real-life leading man. “He never treated me like a celebrity, he was never intimidated by me like the others,” she names one quality. “When I’m wrong, he tells me; if I do something good, he praises me. He’s really a good guy and not the jealous type. And I know he won’t be the type of husband who’d tell you, ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that. Just stay home.’”
So, how did we find Jolina’s room?
Like the owner of the room, it’s happy and colorful — with nearly every item screaming Jolina, like the monobloc plastic chair in funky fuchsia and two Hello Kitty speakers for Jolina’s laptop. But it’s really not as colorful as it was perhaps a couple of years ago. “I’m past my sobrang Christmas tree phase,” confesses a now mature and mellow Jolina. “Before, my bed would even have hanging lanterns. Tapos na tapos na ’ko don, I’m so over that. I’ve outgrown my kikay stuff. I’ve mellowed even in my choice of colors and the size of my wardrobe. Before, when I’d go out of town, just the travel clothes alone would look like I was performing on stage already. Now, I just have my basic black shirt and jeans and a scarf — an Arabian sort of scarf, hindi yung parang pang mahjong.” Gets mo? Gets ko!
Through her showbiz years (she was discovered by Ryan Cayabyab at age 11 and was only 13 when she joined Ang TV), Jolens has never left home without a lampin (diaper), which is her security blanket, a jacket or a shawl to keep her warm.
Her now pared-down-to-the-basic wardrobe at home has a few everyday clothes Jolens likes to use over and over again. These include three good old pairs of jeans (Grab, Top Shop, and Antik) that she can match with any of her no more than 50 tops and tees.
“Thousands of my clothes, including my showbiz clothes, are already in the storage,” says Jolina. “Some we sell at our mini shop in Tagaytay and the others we donate to the Kapuso Foundation and my Jolina’s Little Angels.”
This shoebiz princess has thousands of shoes, only two pairs of rubber shoes (both Nike) that she keeps wearing, and a pair of Louis Vuitton rubber shoes for those gimmick nights.
Quite a bag freak, too, Jolens has 15 Louis Vuitton bags in different styles and sizes in her bag collection. “But I’m not an
And accessories? Yes! Jolina is the quintessential accessory princess. She affirms, “When I started in showbiz, I was maybe nine years old, I was already fond of the Madonna look. I like to invent clothes — my nightwear I would make into a miniskirt. Or the strings at home I would make into bracelets.”
Having spent more than half her life in showbiz, Jolina has accumulated enough stuff to fill a department store. Of course, a lot of people know about her Jolina’s Fashion Gallery in Proj. 6,
“Oh, yes, I’d been called baduy a lot of times, but I chose to turn a deaf ear,” Jolina asserts. “Nabingi ako. As for me, I’ll do what I want and satisfy myself for as long as I’m not stepping on other people’s toes. On the other hand, I even make a lot of children happy. My Ang TV fans back then now have families of their own and now, their kids are my fans. It’s really heartening!”
“Jolina has always had a wholesome image, her trademark until now,” says proud dad Jun. “From the start, she’s had a big following among young people, even toddlers, who look up to her as a role model (yes, Jolina has been named Youth Role Model of the country a number of times). So, her mother and I would always remind her to toe the line because the kids are imitating her. Even her love life is restrained.”
Little known is the fact that Jolina is a photography buff like her dad. She’s seriously considering a second career in photography.
Aside from her photography books, Jolina’s room is full of other books (she loves reading love stories, history, books on facts, etc.). There’s a vintage General Electric refrigerator from her grandmother, which is now loaded with self-help and photography books. There are miniature country-style houses filled with DVDs and CDs. And then there’s an old baul on top of which are religious images, including one of the Blessed Virgin Mary given to Jolina by editor/talk show host Ricky Lo who found the image in New York and thought the face of the Virgin reminded him of Jolina.
With a lot of guidance from her parents (her mom is a retired banker), Jolens has invested her money well. She has a four-storey unit in Proj. 6,
Not bad for this Unang Hirit TV host who bought fishballs and a ballpen from her first earnings from show business. O, hihirit ka pa?
