Wowie de Guzman: It’s not going to be easy

A TEARFUL Wowie de Guzman talks to the Inquirer at the wake of his wife Sheryl, whom he describes as “full of life.” The cause of the sudden death has not been ascertained. Photos by Tonette Orejas

PAMPANGA, Philippines—Actor Wowie de Guzman is prepared for life as a single parent to his first child even as he expects difficulties in coping with the loss of his wife, Sheryl Ann Reyes, who died on April 26. She was 27.

“We were married for two years. I’ve become used to being with her. This is not going to be easy. But we have a child; I need to be strong for our child,” Wowie told the Inquirer during Sheryl’s wake at a Protestant Church in Barangay Sta. Catalina here.

Many plans

“We had many plans for our baby; those will be … my focus. The baby will be my priority,” he said, referring to their month-old daughter, Alex Rafael.

Wowie, 38, said his wife wouldn’t like it if he relinquished his obligation of rearing the child to his parents or parents-in-law.

“Of course, I would know little about raising a child since this is my first,” he said. “But I have a big support system—my family and hers. God would not have left me with this task if He didn’t think I’d measure up.”

Wowie is also a former member of the popular 1990s dance group Universal Motion Dancers.

Certainties

At the wake, he was visibly tense when his mother-in-law, Marlene, fainted after five Protestant pastors concluded a prayer service. She was revived 20 minutes later. Nimrod, Sheryl’s father, kept mostly to himself, crying quietly.

In the face of the daunting future, Wowie said he was certain of one thing: “I will do everything I can to be a good father. I’m sure Sheryl will be spiritually present.”

There was no doubt he would miss his wife, he said. “She was full of life; she lived it to the fullest and enjoyed all that it had to offer her. She was an avid swimmer. She liked food; we were always trying new restaurants.”

Courage, comfort

One of their immediate plans, said Wowie, was to go somewhere next summer with their baby.

“What I most especially need now is courage,” he said. “Without it, I don’t think I can cope. Seeing Alex makes me strong.”

Wowie said his grief had been eased somewhat by the comforting presence of, aside from relatives, friends and colleagues in show business.

Actress Gladys Reyes, a good friend of his, went to the wake on Wednesday night.

The cause of Sheryl’s death has not been established. Wowie and the Reyes family did not have Sheryl’s body autopsied.

Fateful night

He did not think a pain reliever that Sheryl had been taking for four days, for aching joints, caused her death.

Before she gave birth, Wowie related, her blood pressure had fluctuated. The day she died, he added, “Her blood pressure was normal. She wasn’t complaining of the usual chest pain. [From the bed] she stood up, walked to the toilet, took a pain reliever and went back to bed.”

After five or 10 minutes, he heard her snoring—and then choking. “When I went near her, I saw just the whites of her eyes. The veins on her neck seemed bigger and her hands were stiff. I tried to revive her and, when I couldn’t, we rushed her to a hospital. She had no more pulse.”

Sheryl was buried on Saturday.