10 greatest love stories of all time in PH showbiz

The union between Eddie Mesa and Rosemarie Gil, without doubt, produced the most talented clan in Philippine entertainment — the Eigenmanns.

Butch Francisco·14 February 2025, 10:24 pm

This is Valentine week — the perfect time to talk about love. For this Valentine piece, therefore, I am doing a list of the 10 greatest love stories of all time in local showbiz.

Since this is an “all time” enumeration, the millennials and Gen Zs are well-advised to have Google on standby because some of the names I am including here may not be familiar to them. But it’s about time they got to know entertainment personalities from the past, especially those who gave significant contributions to the film industry.

I am hesitant to put names of younger couples in the list because unions these days don’t seem to last long. The perfect example is the failed marriage of Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez. The trip to that Batangas church where they got married seemed longer than the actual time they spent together as husband and wife.

Below is my list of the 10 of the greatest love stories in showbiz that had already been tested by time.

GELLI DE BELEN - ARIEL RIVERA

This union was not without trials. There was a time before they got married when Regine Velasquez got involved with Ariel Rivera. Gelli de Belen, of course, got the sympathy of the public. But since Regine had always been a nice person — and is so talented — people easily forgave her.

Not Gelli, however. It took almost a decade — and on national TV — before Gelli forgave Regine. Regine showed such humility that Gelli had no choice but to forgive and forget.

After Gelli and Ariel wed in 1997, their marriage went smooth sailing. The only sad part is that they became empty nesters rather early since their two sons opted to study in Canada — with their blessings, of course.

MARICEL LAXA - ANTHONY PANGILINAN

Their love story started with “taho” (sweetened silken tofu). Maricel Laxa, already a popular actress then, was a guest in the UP organization of Anthony Pangilinan. He offered to buy her “taho” — only to realize that he did not have money with him. Maricel’s mother, actress Imelda Ilanan, ended up paying for it.

They got to know each other better, fell in love and wed in December 1993. A deeply religious person, Anthony was a virgin groom.

One of the struggles in their near-perfect marriage was the heart surgery of their youngest son, Benjamin, who — by God’s grace — grew up to be a healthy teen. Last year, it was Anthony who had health problems and also had to undergo heart surgery that lasted for 12 hours.

Fortunately, the family’s faith is strong. Anthony and Maricel’s love for each is so great, they’d be able to hurdle any problem together. The couple also raised well-behaved children — as exemplified by their other son, young matinee idol Donny Pangilinan.

ROSA AGUIRRE - MIGUEL ANZURES

Rosa Aguirre and Miguel Anzures both started as stage performers before the war years. A resident of Sampaloc, Manila, Rosa’s parents were strict. They didn’t approve of the romance between Rosa and Miguel.

One Christmas Eve, Rosa and Miguel decided to elope. This was how they did it: Rosa, munching on an apple, sat by the window on the second floor of their home. When she saw Miguel waiting below, she dropped the apple and this was how she later described the scene — “nang inihulog ni Eba ang mansanas kay Adan.” (“When Eve dropped the apple onto Adam.”) She went downstairs on the pretext that she was retrieving the apple. Rosa never returned until after Christmas — when she had already wed Miguel.

Their only child, Narding, became a juvenile actor and later grew up to be a matinee idol — partnered with singer-actress Lilian Velez. Miguel and Rosa did several movies with their son.

Narding Anzures, however, fell hard for his leading lady Lilian, who, unfortunately for him, was married to musical arranger/composer Joe Climaco. Blinded by his love for her, Narding killed Lilian on the night of 26 June 1948 in her Quezon City residence. In 1995, Carlo Caparas produced and directed The Lilian Velez Story, starring Sharon Cuneta as Lilian and Cesar Montano as Narding.

Narding spent time at the national penitentiary. Shortly after his release, he died of tuberculosis — leaving his parents Miguel and Rosa to bury him.

Rosa continued with her career after losing Narding. She went on to do movies and was a mainstay in the sitcom Tangtarangtang that topbilled Pugo. Miguel, however, went on retirement, carrying with him the burden of having a son in prison and, later, seeing him get sick and die.

The couple tried to pick up the pieces of their shattered life. On their golden anniversary, they got married again — with vaudeville queen Katy de la Cruz standing as their lone principal sponsor.

I had been to their house in Sta. Mesa, Manila after Rosa Aguirre died. It felt gloomy. It had been a year or so since Rosa’s death, but Miguel still broke down in tears at the mere mention of his late wife’s name. He died soon after.

Their union could have been happier, but the crime happened and even they suffered — severely. The love between Rosa and Miguel, however, was so intense that they survived such family tragedy. Only death did them part.