Eugene, Italian beau to tie the knot next year

Eugene Domingo

Very simple, very small and very fast!”

That was how Eugene Domingo described her dream wedding with her Italian boyfriend, Danilo Bottoni, which, she said, would happen next year.

“Maybe we could do it there (in Italy), where I saw a small chapel,” she told reporters at a recent press conference for the weekly GMA 7 game show she hosts, “Celebrity Bluff,” which returns on air on June 3.

While they’re not in any rush to take the plunge, the actress-television host related that she and Danilo discuss their “relationship goals.”

“We’re taking our time, but we’ve been talking about where we could potentially settle down. We also love traveling—although ’di naman kami atat na atat,” she added.

If anything, it’s her mother who has been egging her to get married the soonest. “Whenever I say that I’m off to see my ‘future husband,’ she’d say, ‘Hay, salamat naman!’” she related, adding that her mother and Danilo have a “very good relationship.” “Aba, they say ‘I love you’ to each other!”

At the moment, her personal life is Eugene’s biggest priority. Usually, it’s the 45-year-old star who flies to Italy. But recently, Danilo made his first trip to the Philippines. “In the beginning, I felt like giving him a disclaimer that I live in a third-world country and such. But when he got here, he fell in love with the people and the food,” Eugene said.

“We went to a beach in Bataan, which he loved. In a short period of time, I showed him as much of the metropolis as possible—from ‘textured’ Manila, to the plain but rich Quezon City,” she said, laughing. “He sees himself staying here much longer next time, especially when it gets too cold in Italy.”

Eugene met Danilo, a film critic, during the 2014 Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, where her movie, “Barber’s Tales,” won the audience choice award. It was “love at second sight,” she jested. And now, she couldn’t imagine life without Danilo, whose being funny and prayerful won her over.

“He’s crazy but gentle. He’s perfect for me,” said Eugene, who sees Danilo as her “source of indescribable happiness”—and someone she could possibly give up her career for.

But of course, Eugene stressed, artists never really retire. “I don’t think I can completely give up show biz, because giving the audience joy is what makes me lucky and blessed.”

Eugene has started posting more photos of her and Danilo on her Instagram account. Their Japan trip, in particular, got a lot of positive comments from netizens. “When something right happens to you at the right time, people can’t help noticing that. Everyone’s happy to see you happy,” she said.

For the longest time, Eugene prayed and asked God “to please take care of my heart”—and he did. So, to those still mightily waiting for “the one,” Eugene had this to say: “Kung nangyari sa akin, imposibleng hindi mangyari sa inyo (It could happen to you, too)!”