Actress Cristine Reyes is still glowing in happiness as she finally shares the story behind her engagement to non-showbiz partner Gio Tingson, describing her current chapter as one marked by calm, clarity, and stability.

“Very happy, super inside and out,” Reyes said in her interview with veteran host Boy Abunda, adding that she feels more grounded than ever. “Mas kalmado, mas malinaw ang mga bagay-bagay… ‘yung stability,” she shared, reflecting on how her personal life has evolved.

What makes their love story even more striking is how far back it goes.

Reyes revealed that she first met Tingson when they were still in grade school during a school fair at Ateneo.

In a memory that now feels almost cinematic, she recalled being part of a “marriage booth” activity—where Tingson happened to be assigned as a “priest.” Even then, there was already a memorable spark between them.

She laughed as she recounted how she once gave him her number under a playful alias, while Tingson apparently began calling her afterward. Despite their constant communication growing up, he never formally asked her to be his girlfriend—something Reyes now looks back on with amusement.

Their lives eventually intertwined through shared friends, and for years, they existed in what she described as an “MU” (mutual understanding) setup. Both had separate relationships at different points, but the connection between them never fully faded.

Reyes said the real reconnection happened only when they were both single. From then on, what began as friendly meetups—often after political campaign events they were separately involved in—slowly turned into something deeper. It wasn’t until months later that they started spending more time together exclusively.

The long-awaited proposal, however, came only after 26 years of knowing each other.

According to Reyes, the engagement took place at her home one Sunday morning before heading to church.

Tingson arrived carrying a small paper bag, which immediately gave her a sense that something meaningful was about to happen. Trusting her instincts, she asked her daughter Amarah to record the moment.

What followed was intimate and emotional: Tingson knelt down and asked, “Will you marry me?” Overwhelmed, Reyes broke into tears and embraced him before even fully answering. “Yes,” she eventually confirmed—after an emotional pause that spoke louder than words.

Reyes later announced the engagement on social media with a simple but telling caption: “every timeline led here. endgame unlocked. 💍.”

For the actress, the moment wasn’t about grandeur or spectacle, but about timing, familiarity, and a love story that quietly endured through decades—finally arriving at its long-awaited chapter.