Why Bublé’s grandfather left his home to Filipino carer and confidant
Michael Bublé (left) and Minette
Fifty years ago, Michael Bublé’s late grandfather, Demetrio Santaga, “proudly” built a home “with his own hands” in Vancouver, Canada, where he settled after emigrating from Italy.
The house had been unoccupied since Demetrio’s death in December 2018. But now it has a worthy owner: Minette, a former community health worker in the Philippines hired by the Bublé family to take care of Demetrio.
In a recent episode of the HGTV home renovation show “Celebrity IOU,” the crooner revealed that one of his grandfather’s final wishes was to entrust his home to Minette, whom the latter treated not only as a nurse, but also as his ‘’best friend” and “confidant.”
“She became family almost instantly,” Bublé told the show hosts, twin brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott. “He wanted this legacy to live on. He wanted Minette to live here.”
Demetrio was well aware of Minette’s financial responsibilities to her family in the Philippines. And he realized that his friend’s situation would be easier if she no longer has to worry about paying rent.
“She doesn’t keep any of the money she makes. She has a lot of family in the Philippines. And the money she earns, she sends them all back,” Michael related. “He will be thrilled, knowing that we would be lessening her burden a little bit, and allow her to continue helping her family without it being so hard on her.”
The 44-year-old singer-songwriter surmised that perhaps it was about time Minette rewarded herself for all her hard work.
“She’s a compassionate, kind, empathetic human being with a great sense of humor and a zest for life,” he said of Minette. “But she didn’t do anything for herself.”
Michael, with the help of the “Celebrity IOU” team, overhauled and transformed Demetrio’s 1970s-style home to a sleeker, more modern-looking space. And as he took the hosts for a tour of the home, he couldn’t help but turn nostalgic and reminisce about his childhood.
“The greatest moments of my life happened here. My most formative years and the songs I learned and the style of music I fell in love with happened right here,” he said of the living room, where he and Demetrio listened to their favorite artists.
Bublé and Minette with Drew and Jonathan Scott
“He was my best friend, growing up. He was my hero. He would play his records for me. ‘This is Dean Martin … Ella Fitzgerald,’ he would tell me,” Michael recalled. “He said that, because he was old and that he may die soon, I had to learn some songs for him before he goes.”
“So I learned them and sang for him. We sang together,” he added.
And in Demetrio’s final years, he would play his grandson’s songs in full blast because he was already hard of hearing. He also kept in touch with Michael regularly, through Facetime, even when the latter was on tour. “I miss him every day,” Michael said.
After three weeks of renovation, the house was ready to open its doors to its new owner. An unsuspecting Minette, who had just returned after a vacation in the Philippines, was fooled by Michael into thinking that she was going to be interviewed for a documentary.
Minette burst into tears when Michael made the big reveal. “She’s really a special and beautiful woman. My grandpa would be so happy. This was his dream,” he said.
“My grandfather’s greatest wish was not just for me to keep the house in the family; he wanted this to be your home, because he loved you so much,” Michael told Minette. INQ
