Robi Domingo
TV host Robi Domingo said the biggest quarrel he had with Gretchen Ho, his girlfriend of three years, was in 2012, after he did a love scene scene with Andi Eigenmann in the ABS-CBN soap, “Kahit Puso’y Masugatan.”
“[The late] Direk Wenn V. Deramas was the type who didn’t really follow the script, which originally said Andi and I would just go under a blanket and pretend to make out,” Robi recalled at the recent press conference organized by the Knowledge Channel. “But on the set, Direk told me to kiss her on the lips 15 times. I wasn’t ready for that.”
Robi said Gretchen, whom he was still courting then, had cried and refused to talk to him. “I had to promise her that it (love scene) would not happen again,” he shared with the Inquirer. “I was on my fourth year in Ateneo then. When I returned to school, I saw disappointment in the eyes of my teachers.”
He added: “I also heard one week’s worth of homily from the priests, who were my mentors. They made me remember that I’m a public figure, and I have young people looking up to me.
“I will not do it again, not because of the girl or the art, but because of the experiences I’ve had after. Lots of people looked down on me and told me, ‘Robi, this isn’t your craft. You should just stick to what you love to do, which is hosting.’”
His parents, who are practicing doctors, shared the same sentiments as his mentors.
“My dad smiled when he saw it on TV, but didn’t make any comment. My mom is conservative. She… was turned off by it.”
Robi hosts the Knowledge Channel’s “MathDali,” a show that aims to help Filipino students overcome their fear of learning math. A math enthusiast, Robi helps Igi Boy Flores, Vic Robinson III and twins Joj and Jai Agpangan learn to love and master the subject.
Marrying Gretchen
Robi said he planned to settle down with Gretchen when he turns 30, but admitted that, at 26, he was already “starting to feel the pressure.”
Robi said he has set “either 30 or 31” as his marrying age. “When I tie the knot, I want to be prepared emotionally and financially,” he explained. “I don’t want to be worried about how I’d get money to feed my family or send my children to school.”
Right now, Robi said he was feeling “a little happy but a little afraid.” He noted that Gretchen, as host of the talk show, “Modern Girls,” has been frequenting bridal conventions lately.
“She would be presented with different wedding packages, which she would also send to me. I think she’s starting to put out feelers,” Robi quipped.
He said Gretchen would also send screen caps of wedding proposals posted on Facebook by their batchmates in Ateneo. “She does this because I don’t have a Facebook account, and I’m not in the loop. I’m starting to feel the pressure… but I also know that Gretchen has other priorities right now.”
E-mail mcruz@inquirer.com.ph