My touching moment with Jaclyn Jose

The author (right) with Jaclyn Jose —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Many controversies ago, Jane (aka Jaclyn Jose) felt slighted about something I wrote in this column even if I meant no harm. It was just a “misinterpretation.”

Years later, when I saw Jane at the French film fest, I was so touched when she approached me and said, “Past is past. Let’s forget about our misunderstanding. I am grateful to your mom for helping me when I was still a newbie and also to you for giving my sis (Veronica Jones) an opportunity to be a calendar girl back in the day.”

That moment made me admire Jane all the more. Even if she was fresh from her victory for winning best actress at the Cannes Film Festival, she had no airs at all.

The last time I bumped into Jane, I was with my good friend, Meds Marfil (vocalist of True Faith). They both had a good laugh about the rumor that Meds is the dad of her son, Gwen.

It’s Kenneth Ilagan (former bandmate of Meds) who’s the real father. But Jane was happy to hear that Kenneth jammed with True Faith in their US concert tour. She told Meds, “Dapat lang.”

Take a bow, Ms Jane. Thank you for bringing honor to our country by being the first Pinay to win the best actress plum at Cannes. The angels will surely give you a standing ovation as they welcome you in heaven.

EA Guzman (left) and Shaira Diaz
—GMA NETWORK

EA and Shaira a decade later

Amid all the split-ups in show biz lately, Shaira Diaz and EA Guzman dare to break the “curse” by getting engaged.

It’s been a decade since their love story began. “Unang Hirit’s” “Ms Morning Sunshine” has kept her “chastity belt” securely fastened during their entire relationship. So EA could very well stand for “eager anticipation” as Mr. Pogi 2006 waits for their honeymoon.

Here’s my chat with Shaira:

How has EA redefined love for you?

He proved to me that true love really waits. He made me feel that I was worth the wait. He respected my decision that we remain celibate before marriage, even if it was tough for him.

What marriage advice will you follow?

To prioritize and understand each other; the rest is secondary. To keep God at the center of our union. That money should not be an issue. Happy wife, happy life!

With all the breakups of celebrity couples lately, aren’t you wary of taking the plunge?

Our relationship is not perfect. There are a lot of temptations in show biz so that fear doesn’t go away. But we always let love overpower fear.

Star-studded Bingo Plus Night

I immensely enjoyed the Bingo Plus (BP) Night 2024 at Grand Hyatt Manila. With its theme, “Share the Love, Share The Luck,” the star-studded affair was in celebration of BP’s second anniversary. It quickly trended on social media.

The extravaganza was hosted by Robi Domingo. It featured performances by Piolo Pascual, Alden Richards, Maine Mendoza, Heaven Peralejo, Marco Gallo, Sarah Lahbati, Regine Tolentino, SB19’s Stell and Felip, P-pop Gen, G22, Vxon, Alamat, Mark Bautista, Jona, Arthur Nery and Vice Ganda.

The highlight of the night was the P50-million cash prize (P10 million each to five “Sure Bingonaryo” app winners), plus a car worth P2M and P100-million scholarship grants in partnership with I-Academy.

As Alden said, “It feels good to be an endorser of BP because the company pays it forward.”

What a fun night of “raining funds,” indeed.

Backstage at the BP fête, Sarah Lahbati (with her two sons in tow) declared that she’s back to being single. Her split-up with Richard Gutierrez increases the mortality rate of show biz unions all the more.