Sarsi Emmanuelle: From bombshell to bride

The actress (right) with her husband, Francis Papillero.

She described the time she walked down the aisle as “literally the happiest day of my life.”

Jennifer Papillero, who made waves in the 1980s as screen siren Sarsi Emmanuelle, finally took the big plunge with husband Francis Papillero at Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Parish in Dasmariñas, Cavite, last Feb. 28.

As she approached the altar, she recalled “trembling, feeling nervous and excited at the same time, filled with strange emotions that I couldn’t explain and understand.”

It was actually their second time to get hitched, she explained: “We had a civil ceremony 11 years ago. One day, we simply talked about having a church wedding, and that was it!”

They met by chance at her brother’s restaurant, Gary’s, in Makati. “He started wooing me as early as then. My instinct told me that he was the one. It was a meeting of hearts and minds, not just of bodies and souls.”

She has nothing but kind words for her husband, who’s a jeepney operator. “He’s a loving and responsible father to his children.”

She related that her husband, who was a widower, has four kids with his late wife. “I have four kids of my own. And now, we have an 8-year-old daughter together.”

Their children attended the wedding. “They are very supportive and are happy for us.”

Sarsi Emmanuelle

She proudly remarked that “our son, who’s a doctor, rented the bridal car and one of our daughters, who works in a bank, took charge of a lot of things that day.”

Apart from their kids, other relatives and friends pitched in to make the wedding possible, too. “Rolly Catingco, my avid fan from way back, made my gown and did my hair and makeup,” she recounted. “Our ninong, Angelino Fajardo, handled the reception.”

Jennifer, who made a name for herself as one of the few sexy stars who could act, collaborated with some of the country’s finest filmmakers in her prime: Celso Ad Castillo in “Snake Sisters” (1984), Lino Brocka in “White Slavery (1985), Peque Gallaga in “Virgin Forest” (1985), Tikoy Aguiluz in “Boatman” (1985), and Elwood Perez in “Silip” (1985).

She was last seen on the big screen in a Cinema One entry, Lawrence Fajardo’s “Raket ni Nanay,” in 2006.

She, however, has no plans of staging a show biz comeback any time soon.

“I am busy taking care of my family, especially my youngest daughter,” she pointed out.

On the international movie website Mubi, she was quoted as saying that she left acting because she “wanted to live a normal life [and] … do ordinary things, like shopping and riding a jeepney, without causing a commotion.”

Her most ardent goals these days don’t involve glitz and glamour. “My only wish is that we live a long and happy life together. Most of my hopes and dreams now are for my children.”

Sarsi (left) with Maria Isabel Lopez