No network secrets for Regine and Ogie

REGINE Velasquez says hosting has taught her “to listen to guests.”

It must be difficult for a married couple, who work for different networks, to balance the personal and the professional, in light of the fierce networks war.

But singer Regine Velasquez, who signed a two-year exclusive contract with GMA7 on Tuesday, insists she and husband Ogie Alcasid, who now works for TV5, keep no work-related secrets from each other.

“It’s exciting that he works in another station,” she tells the Inquirer. “When he gets home, he has new stories to share. He updates me on things I don’t know.”

And vice versa.

Tricky

Things can get tricky, however, because Alcasid is not just a contract star of TV5; he also heads its music business unit.

“He’s not just my husband; he is also my best friend. We tell each other everything,” she points out. “He asks for my opinion about his projects and I ask him about mine. But we don’t meddle in each other’s business decisions. We know where to draw the line.”

Case in point: When it came to renewing her contract with GMA 7, Velasquez decided on her own—even though there were incessant rumors that she would follow her husband to TV5.

Velasquez says it did not take a lot of convincing for her to remain a Kapuso.

“I’ve been with GMA 7 for years,” she says. “The network has been very patient with me… When I got pregnant (with son Nate) two years ago … and after I gave birth, my bosses didn’t pressure me to go back to work immediately.”

Expressing her gratitude to the station, Velasquez says,

“It wouldn’t look good if I transferred despite the kindness they had shown me in the past. Nakakahiya naman. (It would be embarrassing.) GMA 7 is my home.”

For the next two years, at least.

Velasquez, who is currently juggling two projects (the cooking show “Sarap Diva” and the musical “Sunday All Stars”), has two more programs in the works.

“I have a new album under Universal Records. I have a concert series in the United States next month. I will be busy with local concerts in December, too. My new assignments with GMA 7 will begin next year,” she says. “I’m supposed to do a soap opera and another musical show. I will choose from two original concepts (for drama shows) that are now being developed.”

Surprised

Velasquez says she is pleasantly surprised that she is enjoying her stint as cooking show host in “Sarap Diva,” in spite of her (and some critics’) initial apprehensions.

“Hosting isn’t one of my strengths,” she admits. “I used to get confused, cooking and interviewing guests at the same time.”

She says she has learned a lot from hosting.

“I learned to listen and not to talk too much about myself. I also learned to make interviews more casual and conversational,” she quips.

She says she is astonished that some guests tend to open up in the show, sharing stories that they would otherwise not divulge in another program format.

“It must be because of the show’s homey ambience. It’s as if we’re just in the kitchen making chismis (gossiping),” she quips. “In ‘Sarap Diva,’ I get to show my real personality. There’s no point hiding it.”

Velasquez gets to showcase her personality (along with her personal triumphs and travails) not only in “Sarap Diva,” but on her Twitter account, too.

Recently, she and husband Alcasid requested for prayers for her seriously ill father, known in show biz as Mang Gerry, from their followers in cyberspace.

“My father is well. He is recovering,” she says. “He’s still in the hospital but now he’s in a regular room. His grandkids, including Nate, get to visit him now.”

If there’s one lesson she learned from her dad’s health crisis it is to value family above all else.

“We make it a point to have regular bonding sessions, but I feel we should hang out more. My parents are getting older, and we have to spend quality time with them,” she says.