KNOTS TIED, UNTIED
And that’s why Vhong Navarro and Tanya Bautista secretly planned a wedding to finally let the public know that they have been living together for more than 10 years
Humans thrive on ceremonies and other symbolic public acts. We value them and they are reasons for celebrations. Or they are celebrations by themselves.
And that’s why Vhong Navarro and Tanya Bautista secretly planned a wedding to finally let the public know that they have been living together for more than 10 years — including the time that the It’s Showtime host got into trouble for visiting a woman and allegedly demanded an unusual intimate act from her.
Vhong and Tanya, a writer at the Kapamilya network, got married at a private chapel of the five-star Four Seasons Hotel in Kyoto, Japan, in a ceremony which was announced to take place on 29 November but was held instead the day before.
Of course, all those invited to the wedding knew it would be held 28 November — and one of the listed guests who turned up was the elusive John Lloyd Cruz. He wasn’t alone. He brought along his son by starlet Ellen Adarna: one-year old Elias Modesto.
It must be true that John Lloyd and Ellen have uncoupled. John has been going in and out of the country without the sexy Cebuana, very much unlike what they used to do as seeming fugitive lovers.
But the actor’s towing their son with him surely has Ellen’s permission. Under the law, either parent cannot bring a child below seven-years-old without the permission of the spouse who is not joining overseas. Ellen seems to have even allowed John Lloyd to tow the little boy without a caregiver. All the online published pictures of the father and son do not show hovering around.
It’s murky up to now if John Lloyd and Ellen ever got married legally or even just ceremonially and as of today it seems silly to expect them to pull off an act similar to what Vhong and Tanya have succeeded at, to the delight of Pinoy fans who viewed the wedding photos that showed Vhong’s co-hosts and his friends from way back, including John Lloyd.
Also now beginning to talk about considering marriage are Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla who have been off-screen sweethearts for seven years.
Easy scene stealers at the wedding and at the reception (also at Four Seasons Hotel) were Elias Modesto and Scarlet Snow Belo, the little daughter of Drs. Hayden Kho and Vicky Belo who was among the principal sponsors.
The live-in couples Richard Gutierrez-Sarah Lahbati, JC de Vera-Rikkah Cruz are about to do the same. Slated to walk the aisles without the experience of having lived together are couples Matteo Guidecelli-Sarah Geronimo, Angel Locsin-Neil Arce and Jolo Revilla-Angelita Alita.
The Angel - Neil nuptial is determinedly pushing through despite some distractions, such as Angel landing in Forbes Magazine’s top Asian philanthropists and the couple’s flying off to Northern Samar on Saturday morning (7 December) to distribute relief goods to people there who were severely affected by typhoon Tisoy. Richard’s older sister, the currently inactive actress Ruffa Gutierrez is the maid of honor despite the displeasure of their motormouth mother, Annabelle Rama, who thinks her only daughter is too old to be the maid of honor and has married and separated. Ruffa has two teenage daughters, Lorin and Venice. Oh, yes, there was another knot-tying after that of Vhong and Tanya. Kapuso actress Joyce Ching did it with non-showbiz boyfriend Kevin Alimon in Baguio City. Joyce is in the cast of the network’s One of the Baes.
Also now beginning to talk about considering marriage are Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla who have been off-screen sweethearts for seven years. “Nag-iipon
pa po ng datung (Just saving money)!” Daniel quipped in a recent interview at ABS-CBN’s Tonight with Boy Abunda.
The actor mentioned about dreaming of a “sea” wedding and having two to three kids with Kathryn.
We wonder: would lovers Vice Ganda and young lover Ion Perez think of doing a ceremonial wedding here in the country that’s open to accredited media?
That open ceremony could help popularly legitimize same sex “marriage” in the Philippines. It would only be ceremonial because the Philippines does not have a law recognizing same-sex marriage. Perhaps, it will sooner or later have one.
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Some formerly married couple eventually develop happier, more productive relationship. One case is that of Pops Fernandez and Martin Nievera have been separated for about 20 years now.
On or about their 10th year of separation, they managed to work together in a pre-Valentine concert produced by Jomari Yllana, Pops’ boyfriend at that time. Since then, they’ve done many concerts together, including in the United States, with Pops producing some of the events.
This 31 December, they’re doing “The Royal Affair” at The Tent at Solaire to welcome New Year 2020.
On or about their 10th year of separation, they managed to work together in a preValentine concert produced by Jomari Yllana, Pops’ boyfriend at that time.
Almost immediately “castigated” by showbiz scribes at the Solaire media thanksgiving-cum-press conference for the New Year show, the ever cheery Pops quipped: “What has changed about Martin Nievera? Hindi na niya ako masyadong inookray. Ha-hahaha! Hindi na siya puwedeng magalit sa akin. Iba na kami as individuals (He doesn’t criticize me much anymore. He can’t get mad at me anymore. We have changed as individuals),”
she proclaimed.
The Concert Queen made another revelation about how she and the Concert King have been behaving towards each orher: “When we’re on stage together, hindi ninyo
namamalayan na (you won’t really notice if) we’re not okay backstage. “There’s always magic onstage na maski
na hindi kami okay ay nagiging okay kami (so that even if we are not okay, we become okay) because we’re actually doing something with a purpose –--- performing together. And somehow we, too, get lost in the performance na nakakalimutan namin na ‘uy, nag-away pala tayo kanina (that we
forget we were fighting).”
But Pops has been solicitous even towards Santino, Martin’s now grown-up son (12 years old) with now ex-girlfriend Katrina Ojeda who has autism. Martin has been acknowledging in public his gratitude to Pops not only for bringing up well their two sons Robin, 30, and Ram, 29, but also for always being attentive to Santino when he brings the boy to the Philippines. Pops first met him in Las Vegas (where his mom is based) in 2016, when she fetched Robin and Ram who were vacationing with their dad.
Meanwhile, “The Royal Affair” is actually part of a longer series of events at Solaire, a casino hotel.
A quick rundown: The event starts with dinner at 7 and the guests get to partake of good food. At 9:30, they can watch “The Royal Affair.”
Afterwards, the couple joins the guests to the poolside at 11 to begin the countdown. The party ends at 2 a.m. The royal couple, however, is not the only artists who will grace the event.
There will be top theater performers at the Waterside, a bar restaurant that offers Latin-inspired cuisine. The theme is through the decades, all the dance music from the 1920s to 2000s (and present). Belting out the music will be Shiela Valderrama - Martinez, Carla Laforteza, Yanah Laurel, Arman Ferrer, Gian Magdangal and Floyd Tena. They are the leading ladies and leading men of Philippine theater. It’s like the music through the decades. The artists will join in the countdown with 3rd Avenue.
There will be a drone show, a complete one instead of fireworks. The drones will do different formations. That’s something to look forward to. There are about 200 drones that will be flying that night. It will be Solaire’s spectacle for the New Year. And it’s all symbolic of human aspirations for the best day-to-day realities, including the gleaming and the flamboyant.