Romnick & Harlene: Under one roof but separate beds?

Did you know that some celebrities (no names, please!) are actually separated but continue to live under one roof but sleep on separate beds in separate rooms?

Asked by Funfare if she and Romnick Sarmenta are practicing the same set-up, Harlene Bautista begged off. “I choose not to answer po. Sorry po.”

But she added, “I’m good and happy! We are friends.”

A few days ago, the couple issued a joint statement confirming that they were ending (“consciously uncoupling,” as Gwyneth Paltrow invented the polite term when she and Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin broke up) their 19-year marriage. The announcement came as a shock because the marriage of Romnick and Harlene (younger sister of Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista) was hailed as among the few stable showbiz unions. They have five children (plus one from Harlene’s past relationship).

It turned out that not even three weddings could guarantee “forever.” Romnick and Harlene were first married in civil rites in 1999, then in church in 2000, and then in a renewal of vows in 2002 in Las Vegas. They first met as members of German Moreno’s GMA show That’s Entertainment but they broke up when Romnick was paired with Sheryl Cruz who herself is separated from her husband, John Norman Bustos, who is a sheriff with the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD).

In their joint statement, Romnick and Harlene are requesting for privacy which is ironic because it was they themselves who broke the news and triggered all sorts of speculation, even if they insisted that there was no “third party.” (Romnick is currently appearing as a kontrabida in the ABS-CBN soap Halik.) Neither could money be the cause because, as somebody close to the un-couple told Funfare, “They are financially stable, secure.”

Still and all, Romnick and Harlene admitted in the statement, “We will always be great friends if not the best of friends.” Sad, isn’t it? It could happen to the best of families and that’s what makes it sadder… saddest!!!