The silly, goofy things celebrities did for love

In this Valentine forum, celebrities reminisce about all the silly, cheesy things they did in the name of young love—things that make them either cringe or laugh; things that could only make them wonder, “What the heck was I thinking?”

TOM RODRIGUEZ. One of my favorite books growing up was “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” And there was a part there where Tom sees the girl he fancies, so he starts showing off—doing backflips and all—while pretending that he didn’t see the girl.

I have done that when I was in grade school. “Flexing” is how the kids call it these days—magpapapansin ka, pero kunwari ‘di mo sinasadya. I mimicked Tom—I acted out, did goofy, silly things to get noticed. Kaya basted ako lahat ng niligawan ko nu’n!

I courted a girl when I was in Grade 3. I didn’t know how to play a ukulele, but I brought one with me anyway to serenade the girl. My best friend was with me as backup. To cut a long story short, we were doused with water. We just ran as fast as we could.

That girl, sad to say, had to transfer. I hope it wasn’t because of me! So yeah, those were the silly, stupid things I did for what I thought was love.

AI-AI DELAS ALAS. I used to have a crush on a basketball player in school. I would watch him practice and give him a bottle of soda—which I prayed over beforehand—when he’s done.’Di naman nag-work! ’Di ko naman naging jowa or anything!

MARTIN DEL ROSARIO. When I was younger, I used to sneak out of our house so I could meet up with this girl I liked. I would lay pillows on my bed and cover it with a blanket, hoping that it would fool my parents into thinking that I was there asleep.

I also remember hitching a ride with a truck carrying catering equipment just so I could get out of our village. I did those things because I loved going out, but my parents were very strict. They didn’t want me staying up late.

But I have matured now. I’m a sweet kind of guy. I like cuddles, kulitan, kilitian. The exes I had weren’t really into grand gestures or gimmicks—just simple joys. Flowers and a nice dinner were enough.

MARTIN NIEVERA. When I was 19, I had to scale a wall at my then girlfriend’s place and jump over it because her mother got home earlier than we expected. “You gotta go! You gotta go!” my girlfriend said in panic. So, I just ran out of there.

As if climbing the wall wasn’t difficult enough, there were shards of glass on top! I cut my hand and had to be brought to an emergency room.

JOEM BASCON. When I was in grade school, I would try to get hold of my crushes’ landline numbers, call them and pretend that I needed something. But really, I just wanted to talk.

One time, I bought a box of chocolates—Ferrero Rocher—for my girlfriend. It’s her favorite. We were to go on a date. She was running late, and I had been waiting for quite a while already. I got hungry. I ended up eating some of the chocolates! When she finally arrived, she opened the box to find out that two pieces were missing.

Luckily, she just laughed it off.

OGIE ALCASID. Valentine’s Day usually coincides with college fairs. I loved that. I would buy candy hearts and give them to my crush. Back then, we wrote letters … really long letters. I also used to create mixtapes containing my crush’s favorite songs—Toto, El DeBarge, etc.

I also thought about requesting a song from a radio DJ and making my crush listen to a dedication message. But I didn’t have the heart to do it. Pogi points sana ’yun!

JANINE GUTIERREZ. I had a super, super, super crush on this guy back in college. I would spend my free time wandering around the campus, hoping that I would bump into him or see him, even just for a second.

One time, I was so keen on trying to find him that I lost track of my surroundings. I walked straight into a parked L300 van and bumped my head.

We got to meet each other eventually. And sinaktan niya ako. Dapat hindi ko na siya hinanap (laughs). It was so cringeworthy then. But now, I just laugh at it and think, “What was I thinking?”

YENG CONSTANTINO. I wasn’t pakipot when I was in my teens. When I like a guy, I tell it to him straight—“Alam mo, gusto kita!” Hindi maganda—huwag tularan! As a result, no one really took me seriously. At most, we would become textmates. I can’t be cutesy, because that would be more awkward.

There was this guy I really liked. And I would wait in front of his office until his work ends, and buy him milk tea. I cringe when I think about it now. What’s worse is that I wasn’t that young when this happened—I was already in show biz! Bakit ko ba nagawa ’yun?

MEDWIN MARFIL. I bought Hallmark cards and wrote songs. I have serenaded people—not my crush, funnily enough—but other people’s crushes. Some friends would ask me to sing for the girls they liked, and nasagot naman sila.

There were a lot of cringe-worthy moments, too. One time, I got too drunk over someone. So, to the young ones, relax!

ICE SEGUERRA. I’m a bit of an introvert. If I have a crush on you, you won’t notice it, because I would hide it.

One of my most embarrassing experiences happened in high school. I was going after this girl I really liked.

I didn’t see that there was a bag lying on the ground, on the way. So I tripped, right in front of her!

I also had a girlfriend once—hindi kami legal. So that situation where you hide under the bed when her parents come from out of the blue? I have been through that.

JOANNA AMPIL. I really fancied Randy Santiago—maybe it was the sunglasses—when I was young. And so I knew I had to get in the entertainment industry. Siya pala ang dahilan (laughs)?

I got to perform with him, eventually, and I remember being so happy that I was finally interacting with him.

And as a singer, I guess it follows that you sing to catch someone’s attention. But you can’t be too obvious about it. You just hum a little mid-conversation.

ANGELU DE LEON. I wrote love letters using fancy penmanship. Of course I used heart-shaped paper. I made matching bracelets. I would also speak in a higher pitch when talking to my crushes. I also did mixtapes with my cassette player—“King and Queen of Hearts,” the usual—and sent them to my crush.

Kadiri! I’m trying to erase those things from memory! But I liked the fact that things were more personal back then; we really had to put in some effort. These days, you can just text.

But yes, whatever you’re going through … just go through it. Cry or cringe, if you must. Someday, you will look back on these things, all the kagagahan, and just laugh at them.