The most important lesson Melanie Marquez has learned from her colorful past

Melanie Marquez

Even if it’s been ages since Melanie Marquez won Miss International, she has not lost her spunk and panache.

Beauty queens come and go but there’s something about Melanie that sets her apart from the rest. Even her fumbles have become part of her charm.

She’s out to enthrall viewers in GMA 7’s “One of the Baes” (OOTB). The millennial fairy tale is the first primetime series of RitKen (Rita Daniela and Ken Chan’s love team).

Half a million Filipinos are manning ships all over the world, but rarely is a female at the helm.

The Kapuso Network’s romantic comedy series does just that—empowering women on the high seas. And when it comes to woman power, Melanie reigns supreme (with or without a sash and a crown).

Here’s my chat with Melanie:

What’s the most important lesson you learned from your colorful past? To forgive myself and other people.

If there’s no forgiveness in your heart, it will be hard to move forward.

It started with my son, who was brought back to life. I’m actually the first celebrity who confessed that I’m an unwed mother. People told me to get an abortion, but I refused.

You can’t correct a mistake with another mistake. My son died in front of me when he was 1 year old. He was hospitalized for a long time.
I prayed hard, “God, all I ask is to give my son back because I know that he would love me forever. Then, I would learn to forgive others and forget everything, and I will serve you faithfully.”

In what ways are you and your daughter Michelle Dee alike and different? We both love to motorbike, though I’m more aggressive than her. I like riding a racer bike, while she prefers a scrambler.

We don’t have the same walk. We are both originals.

What was running through your mind when Michelle was being crowned Miss World Philippines? I was a stage mother at that moment. I completely forgot that I was a beauty queen.

The first thing that came to mind was to thank God for her victory, which was an answered prayer.

I didn’t beg to God for Michelle to win. I just asked God: “Please, if she deserves it, then let [Your will] be done.”

What’s your secret to aging gracefully? Never stop being crazy. Laugh at yourself.

I am not going to do things to please people, but to please myself.

Before, my mentality was to keep pleasing people. Then what happened? They wanted more and hurt me more. So never expect something in return when you do something good.

What made you accept the offer to be part of “OOTB”? Mainly because it’s a comedy. I don’t like drama because I’ve had enough drama in my life (laughs).

What can we expect from the confrontations between your character and Amy Austria’s? The character I portray is more mataray and sosyal.

They must watch out for the interesting twists of the story. They can pick up a lot of one-liners from our bitchy confrontations and imitate the way we dress.

Why should we watch “OOTB”? The show is a good vibes provider. We all act so naturally.

My kontrabida role is not too extreme. It’s not the type that viewers will hate. Rita and Ken have great chemistry. Roderick Paulate will totally crack you up, even before he delivers his line.