Eva Darren recalls past relationship with the late Paquito Diaz

Eva Darren looked back at her previous romance with the late screen veteran Paquito Diaz, the father of the actress’ eldest son Dr. Fernando de la Peña.

In a sit-down interview with entertainment journalist Aster Amoyo uploaded on Friday, July 26, Darren was asked about the relationship between de la Peña and his half-siblings while touching on their past romance.

“Mabuti, magkakasundo. Kapag nasa States si Joko [Diaz], nagpupunta sa Kuya niya. Noong buhay pa si Paquito, bumibisita din sina Paquito sa kanya sa States (They’re okay. They get along well. Whenever Joko Diaz is in the States, he visits his older brother. When Paquito was still alive, he visits him in the States as well), she said.

Without delving too deep into their past romance, Darren disclosed that Diaz asked to marry her at some point. The actress, however, rejected his proposal because she pointed out that he might not be ready to take marriage seriously at the time.

“Siguro nakita ko na malaki ang pamilya ko, nakita ko rin may pamilya na siya. Hindi siya ready pa. Niyayaya niya akong magpakasal n’un pero ayoko. Kasi nakita ko na hindi pa siya ready talaga na magkaroon ng pamilya,” she said.

(I guess he saw that I have a big family. I saw he has a family as well. He was not yet ready. He asked to marry me but I didn’t want to. Because I saw that he’s not ready to have a family with me.)

The screen veteran also admitted that she hasn’t been in contact with Diaz’s wife, Nena Gutierrez Diaz, ever since, although she noted they are aware of each other’s presence in the late actor’s life.

“Hanggang sa naging sila ni Nena. Kinasal na sila, may anak na sila, nagkakasundo naman sila [ng anak ko]. Kapag nagbibirthday si Fernando, dinadala niya si Joko para [makisama]… hanggang sa sumunod [ang iba kong mga anak],” she said. “Hindi [kami magkausap. Pero alam niya [kung sino] ako. Alam ko rin kung [sino] siya.”

(Until he and Nena eventually got together. They got married and had children. Our children get along. When Fernando celebrates his birthday, he brings Joko and they celebrate together. Until my other children followed along with this as well. Nena and I haven’t talked, but she knows who I am. I know who she is.)

Darren briefly shared that she got into other relationships and bore children out of them. But after getting involved with a married man, she eventually realized that she was “unlucky in love.”

The actress also opened up about her controversial snub at the recent edition of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) awards last May, saying she felt embarrassed and humiliated over the incident.

“Ngayon medyo okay-okay na. Dati nga gusto ko magtago, parang ang liit-liit ko na gusto ko magtago sa ilalim na lamesa (Now, I’m okay with it. Before, I felt like I wanted to hide under the table during the incident),” she recalled.

Diaz was a filmmaker and actor known for portraying antagonist roles in series and films. Among his most notable works include “Isusumbong Kita sa Tatay Ko,” “Dorinh Dorobo: Hagupit ng Batas” and “Ang Panday,” to name a few.

He died of complications from pneumonia in March 2011. He was 78 years old.