Heart Evangelista with her mom Cecilia Ongpauco. Image: screengrab from Instagram/@iamhearte, @bobnicolas
Cecilia Ongpauco shed tears of joy as she witnessed her daughter Heart Evangelista’s renewal of vows with Chiz Escudero in Balesin, nine years after her nonattendance at the couple’s 2015 wedding.
Prior to the ceremony held on Thursday, Feb. 15, Cecilia and Evangelista had a mother-and-daughter moment which was one of the highlights featured in the video on the actress-fashion personality’s Instagram page on Saturday, Feb. 17.
“So happy for her. And I’m happier because I am around to witness this,” Cecilia said in the clip.
“Finally I arrived,” she added. “Nine years too late, but made it still.”
The video also shows a clip of Cecilia, who was the one who gave Evangelista away, tearing up while watching her daughter walking down the aisle.
Evangelista, in response to a curious netizen, then disclosed in the comments section that her father Reynaldo Ongpauco was absent from the event because he “is recovering.” She, however, opted not to expound on her dad’s condition.
Image: Instagram/@iamhearte
It can be recalled that in 2013, Evangelista and her parents had a very public spat over the actress’ relationship with Escudero, whom Cecilia described at the time as a “manipulative opportunist.”
Their reconciliation happened months after the pair’s 2015 wedding, with Cecilia even commending the senator in 2021 for allowing Evangelista to “grow” in their marriage.
During the announcement of their renewal of vows, Escudero, who went through a rough patch with Evangelista in 2022, said they decided to hold such an event because they have a lot of things to celebrate.