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.
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.
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.
After Liezl turned 18, she and Albert Martinez eloped — to the consternation of Liezl’s mom, Amalia Fuentes. A family friend who helped facilitate the elopement was immediately summoned by Amalia to her New Manila home and was asked to wait by the swimming pool. When Amalia came down from her bedroom, she pushed the friend into the pool without warning.
Albert and Liezl initially lived in the US where they endured hardship. For a rich girl who grew up sleeping in a four-poster bed, Liezl had to get married in America in a borrowed white dress.
In the early 1990s, the couple returned to the Philippines with their three children. Albert resumed his career in showbiz and became an award-winning actor. In 2008, however, Liezl was stricken with breast cancer. Albert, ever the devoted husband, took very good care of Liezl till the end. She passed away on 14 March 2015.
Albert, so far, hasn’t remarried. Rumors linking him to young actress Faith da Silva turned out to be untrue — as per Faith’s recent denial.
From the time he joined showbiz, Aga Muhlach was linked to different women and even had a child (Iggy Boy) with Janice de Belen. The showbiz world was actually surprised when Aga decided to end his bachelorhood.
His bride: beauty queen/actress Charlene Gonzales. Very few people knew they were dating. But they exchanged vows in May 2001 at the St. Joseph parish in Baguio.
Since the courtship was short, most everyone thought the marriage was going to be, well, just as short. But Aga and Charlene proved everyone wrong.
Next year, their union would turn silver. Right now, their twins, Andres and Atasha, are grown up and are public figures themselves.
Richard Gomez also had his share of romances before he settled down at age 33. Everyone had hoped he’d end up with Dawn Zulueta. But Richard married Lucy Torres, who gave her very first interview to this writer on 12 February 1998 for the ABS-CBN talk show, Showbiz Lingo.
When Lucy showed up for the on-cam conversation, I thought she looked like the Immaculate Conception — the Murillo version. Her skin — so fair — was without blemish.
In the beginning, they struggled to have a child. But when Juliana came, she proved to be worth the wait. She turned out to be not only pretty, but intelligent as well. Juliana graduated cum laude from the State University last year with a degree in public administration.
Gloria Sevilla was discovered for the movies during a Cebu-wide declamation contest. In the audience was a representative of Azucena Pictures, which was in search of a new face to play the title role of Prinsesa Tirana, a Visayan movie.
It was a double win for Gloria. She won first place in the declamation contest and was given the chance to audition for the film, which she passed. The bigger prize for her though was the chance to play opposite Mat Ranillo Jr., who was then the King of Visayan movies.
Mat had always been Gloria’s crush. When she was, in fact, introduced to him at the production office of Azucena Pictures, she kept saying to herself: “Sana ligawan ako.” (“I hope he courts me.”)
Her wish was granted on the fourth day of filming. The setting was in the sea where Gloria was supposed to drown and Mat would be on standby to save her. The scene would end with the two of them in a tight embrace. They were a pair by the time they wrapped up work for the day.
They went separate ways, however, when Gloria was offered to do movies in Manila. Mat followed her eventually and tried to win her back. Gloria was hesitant at first, but eventually relented — agreeing to elope with him. They wed in civil rites in Cavite during lunch break at the opening day of the film Mr. Dupong at the Center Theater in what is now Recto Avenue in Manila.
Mat and Gloria raised their children in Quezon City, but also put up their own production outfit in Cebu. On 12 September 1969, Mat flew to Cebu to collect the earnings of their latest picture and was supposed to return to Manila on the same day. His plane crashed on the way back.
Four years later, Gloria found love again and married actor Amado Cortez, who came from the Padilla clan. During a chat with Gloria three years before she died on Sabado de Gloria in 2022, she told me that she indeed loved Amado, but “iba si Mat.” (“Mat is different.”) I guess first love truly never dies.
The union between Eddie Mesa and Rosemarie Gil, without doubt, produced the most talented clan in Philippine entertainment — the Eigenmanns.
Eddie Mesa, hailed as the Elvis Presley of the Philippines, fell in love with then new talent Rosemarie Gil during the late 1950s. Rosemarie, a convent girl, had just won the search for a fresh face to play Sta. Rita de Cascia, the Italian saint whose life story was made into a film by a local movie company.
Their romance was rather volatile — parting ways, but getting back together again eventually. When they separated in the 1970s, Eddie hooked up with Chanda Romero, while Rosemarie got together with basketball star Estoy Estrada.
But their love for each other proved to be so strong, they reunited in the 1980s. By then, all their three children had joined the movies and were already recognized as very talented actors. They won most of their awards from the Urian. Michael de Mesa has two Urian trophies, while his late brother, Mark Gil, also had two. Cherie Gil won her Urian four years before she died. Eddie and Rosemarie’s grandson, Sid Lucero, also has two Urian trophies to date, while granddaughter Max Eigenmann has one. Even the “daughter outlaws” (ex-daughters-in-law) Gina Alajar and Jaclyn Jose have five Urian awards each.
It must have been painful for Eddie and Rosemarie to have buried two children, but that is life. They are in town at present, comforting grand-daughter Andi Eigenmann, who recently separated from partner Philmar Alipayo.
Carmen Rosales was a dressmaker when she became a famous radio personality. By the time she became a movie queen, she was already married to radio talent Ramon Navales — but that union was hidden from the public.
During the Second World War, Ramon was killed by the Japanese. The pain of losing her husband was unbearable for Carmen. To get even with the enemies, she herself joined the guerrilla movement.
Sure, she did Tatlong Maria, a Japanese propaganda movie, but that was only because Carmen was forced to appear in it — otherwise a whole village would have been massacred. The Japanese invaders were clueless that Carmen was herself a guerrilla.
After liberation, Sampaguita Pictures turned her war exploits into a movie called Gerilyera. A barrio was also named after her in Rosales, Pangasinan. It was called Carmen. It had since been divided into Bgy. Carmen East and Bgy. Carmen West.
Carmen eventually remarried — to Jose Puyat, who belonged to the prominent Puyat family. But again, first love never dies. She became a guerrilla not only out of patriotism, but also to avenge the death of her beloved first husband.
Atang de la Rama and Amado V. Hernandez were a power couple. Husband and wife were both declared National Artists: Amado for Literature and Atang for Theater and Music.
It is important to know these two figures. Atang was the queen of zarzuela and kundiman and was the first Filipino actress to appear on the big screen — in Dalagang Bukid. Amado, a labor leader and intellectual, wrote Mga Ibong Mandaragit, among other great literary pieces.
The couple married in 1932. During the Japanese Occupation, both were involved in guerrilla activities. Atang often served as courier for secret messages, a very dangerous task during the war years.
In the 1950s, Amado fought for labor rights and was imprisoned — supposedly for being a communist, a false accusation. While in jail, Amado managed to keep his sanity through his literary works. The trouble was, jail management forbade him to have pen and paper in his cell — his main tools for writing.
Thankfully, Atang devised a plan to smuggle in pen and paper during her visits to her husband. She would put her hair up in a bun and stick a pen in it. And for Amado to have something to write on, Atang would wrap whatever food she’d deliver to Amado in several sheets of blank paper.
Amado died in 1970, while Atang left the world in 1991. Atang was originally from Pandacan. But upon marriage, she embraced her husband’s Tondo neighborhood until she breathed her last.
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.