Dawn Chang (right) and Justin Cuyugan
Dancer-TV host Dawn Chang, who has been dating actor Justin Cuyugan for two years now, said she fell in love with him when she learned that “he quit show biz to take care of (his late wife).”
“I have not lived in the Philippines for a long time, so I really didn’t know about Justin’s background,” Dawn, a member of the popular dance group Girltrends, told the Inquirer.
The two met while working on the long-running action-adventure series “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” in 2017.
“When he started courting me, I researched on him. I found out that he has three kids. When a guy has kids, siyempre may nanay. I told myself, ‘Mahirap ito. It’s not ideal.’ You see, I’ve never had that kind of relationship before. But soon enough, I found out that he is a widower,” Dawn said.
Dawn with Justin’s kids
Justin’s wife, Carmi, died of ovarian cancer. “I learned that … his wife passed away. He quit show biz to take care of her. That meant so much to me because he was able to prove that he would stand by the woman he loves through ‘thick and thin, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health,’” Dawn said: “He was able to fulfill his marriage vows to her until the very end. I know that if that happened to me, he would also do the same. I’m ready to do that as well, to whoever person I’d end up getting married to in the future.” —MARINEL R. CRUZ