Alex Gonzaga feels lucky to be among those who beat COVID-19

Alex Gonzaga (third from left) with parents and husband Mikee Morada (right)

Actress-TV host Alex Gonzaga, who survived COVID-19 in October 2020, said the experience has taught her a valuable life lesson: “That everything you have can disappear with a snap of God’s fingers.”

Alex, who recently tied the knot with longtime boyfriend Mikee Morada, said that at the time she got COVID-19, she was already planning for her wedding, as well as the vacation that was supposed to follow shortly. “The offer to host the game show ‘Lunch Out Loud’ [on TV5] also came at that time,” she added. “But then it felt like with just one snap, God changed everything and put me inside my room to do nothing.

“That’s when I realized that as you plan your life, it’s also important that you offer those plans to God. You have to be patient, too, because everything happens in His time. You don’t own your life. Things can change and you realize that you don’t even have a plan for these changes,” Alex told Inquirer Entertainment in an interview to promote her becoming an endorser of the pawnshop chain Villarica.

Mikee and Alex’s parents got infected, too. Alex said it was fortunate that they only experienced mild symptoms while battling the virus. “I never felt that it’s gonna be the end of me when I got COVID-19. I got a text message from Kuya Luis (Manzano, TV host, and Alex’s good friend). He asked how my family and I were doing. I said, ‘We’re getting by. We’re almost on our 14th day in quarantine.’ I think we were on our ninth or 10th day already. Then he said, ‘Wow! You guys beat Covid! Ang galing!’ That’s when I realized that, ‘Yeah! We’re lucky to be among those who eventually beat COVID-19!’”

Alex said she was especially worried about her sick parents being that they’re both seniors. “It was a good thing that like me, they were also asymptomatic. I really felt that God has spared them. We’ve gone through something that other people failed to win over. We’re the lucky ones,” she declared.

Another thing that the always perky and extroverted Alex said she was grateful for was that she has won over depression and anxiety while on quarantine. “I guess I was very lucky that my mental health was stable. Thanks to my parents for that,” she said, adding that what helped was that her dad, Carlito, encouraged them to do Bible study sessions every night. “Our faith grew as a family. So if I was feeling down during the day, I know that I would get a reset around 5 or 6 p.m., after our study sessions. That’s really how I was able to get by during the lockdown.”

Now that Alex has become Mrs. Morada, she still refuses to lie low from work. “I love what I’m doing. My work right now isn’t too demanding, anyway. ‘Lunch Out Loud’ is a noontime show and it doesn’t take too much of my time. Doing my vlog also keeps me preoccupied. It’s my passion. Producing content and editing are things that I really want to do,” she explained, also mentioning that she does movies from time to time but her schedule has always been easy to manage.

“I will probably lie low when I already have kids, but that’s not part of the immediate plan. We still have prior commitments to fulfill. When we already want to have a baby, hopefully, God will want it for us, too,” the 33-year-old celebrity said.

These days, Alex said she shows gratefulness and maintains relevance through the content she produces for her vlog. “As an entertainer, I want my audience to forget all about their worries in the short time that they watch my content,” she said. “That’s what concerns me most these days—helping other people cope with the pandemic.”

She further said: “My prayer is always about me becoming a blessing to other people. I would often think of how blessed I am even though I don’t really deserve to be. It’s what I read in the Bible: ‘…that I’m not worthy of anything,’ but then the Lord has given me a lot. I pray to be able to change my mindset, to not always focus on myself but on what other people need and whether or not I could give it to them. I want to focus on what I can do in order to be God’s instrument in answering other people’s prayers.” INQ