Still adjusting: No baby plans yet for Karylle

THE SINGER as storyteller at a recent Inquirer Read-Along session.

Not much has changed for her a month since she became Mrs. Yael Yuzon, said singer-TV host Karylle. “We’re still dealing with the wedding. We still have to send thank-you cards. We’re still receiving wedding gifts.”

Karylle and the Sponge Cola frontman tied the knot on March 21 inside the Angelfields Nature Sanctuary in Tagaytay City. They recently returned from their honeymoon in Europe.

“I can’t say much about our short-term or long-term plans. We don’t really have many plans yet. We’re still adjusting. Everything is new to us,” said the host of the noontime program “It’s Showtime!” on ABS-CBN.

This also means having a baby isn’t among the couple’s immediate plans. “We haven’t discussed it,” Karylle said during a recent visit to the Inquirer offices in Makati City. Karylle was the celebrity storyteller for the recent Read-Along session with young cancer patients.

No empty seats

KARYLLE poses with PDI mascot Guyito.

Asked to assess how the wedding ceremony went, Karylle said: “The peg for the ceremony was really Yael’s song, ‘Singapore Sling.’ I wanted it to happen outdoors, during a bright sunny day, and [for it to be] full of love. It was good that things came out the way we hoped they would.”

She added: “What I was sure of was that I wanted the church to be filled. It was good because San Antonio de Padua has a capacity of less than 500 people. That’s what I really wanted—no empty seats. Also, that my family and friends would not arrive late.”

Karylle admitted to have planned late for the wedding. “It was by choice. Work had to come first. I didn’t want to start preparing for it while I was doing (the musical) ‘Cinderella.’ I didn’t want the distraction,” she explained. “It’s hard when we announced it because everyone had a million questions for us all of a sudden and we didn’t have the answers.”

She then recalled how confused she felt minutes before she walked down the aisle. “I didn’t know what to do and how to feel while I was still outside the church door. I felt different emotions all of a sudden,” she said. “Kuya Kim (Atienza, ‘It’s Showtime!’ cohost) advised me to pause occasionally on my way to the altar, to look around and say hi to the guests. He said I shouldn’t let the special moment fly by too fast.”

‘Where’s your husband?’

A month later, Karylle said she still had to remind herself that she was already Yael’s wife. “Right after we came home from the honeymoon, I had a gig with my mom (Zsa Zsa Padilla) and sister (Zia Quizon). While we were hanging out in a hotel room, mom asked me, ‘Where’s your husband? Let’s have dinner!’ I gasped and said, ‘My gosh! I have to go home to him!”

Karylle grew up with her dad Modesto Tatlonghari. Her mom has another daughter, Nicole, with the late comedian Dolphy.

Karylle seemed cautious when asked how her dad reacted to the idea that his only daughter was finally married. She added that he wasn’t really part of show biz. “He doesn’t like being talked about. He’s very private. There’s really nothing much to say,” she stressed. “We had this father-daughter dance during the wedding. At first, I wasn’t sure if he’d be cool with it, but he obliged. Toward the end of the dance, he called Yael on stage, too. He’s such a sweet dad.”

Not much has changed

She said there wasn’t much change in her relationship with Zsa Zsa, either. “The wedding has just happened so I guess I’ll feel the change along the way,” she added. “What’s nice about our family is the support and the love its members have shown throughout the whole thing. The event brought the family closer. Since then, everyone always wanted to hang out. It’s kind of nice that Yael and I have to do activities with everyone.”

Happy for mom

Asked to comment on her mom’s new love, Karylle said, “I’m just happy that she’s happy.” Zsa Zsa is dating architect Conrad Onglao. “I enjoyed the lunches and dinners we had with them. She has changed so much. She looks super-pretty and glowing. I kept telling her, ‘You’re so beautiful!’ She would always reply, ‘Yes. I’m like you.’”

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