First love never dies. Trite, but definitely true.
Actors Jomari Yllana and Abby Viduya became sweethearts when they were merely 15 years old. They were already in showbiz at that time.
“Made in Hong Kong kami,” Ylanna told ABS-CBN News. “We were there with the other Gwapings [Mark Anthony Fernandez, Eric Fructuoso] for Bench and Regal Films for the promo of our movie, ‘Gwapings’.”
However, the romance then of Yllana and Viduya was short-lived. They became sweethearts for less than a year and eventually went their separate ways.
Now both 45, Ylanna and Viduya never imagined they would reconnect and even fall in love again. Thanks to social media, they reconnected and discovered each other again more than two decades later.
“In the middle of this pandemic, you appreciate each other, no matter what,” Yllana maintained. “I have my own imperfections, si Abby ganu’n din. Pero everything seems perfect ‘pag magkasama kami.”
“Very, very stressful ngayong panahon ng pandemic. I look at the imperfections of my partner. I came to a solution na ang imperfections ko at imperfections niya become perfect when we’re together. It makes us stronger as a couple.”
Yllana considers himself fortunate now that he can synchronize his love life and even his profession. When he joined politics in 2016, his first term as Parañaque councilor, the actor gave up showbiz and concentrated in public service.
“Kami ni Abby short-lived ang relationship namin. I made it big in my serious movies, she made it big in her solo movies. We were never paired with each other, but we were on top of our game. Maraming nangyari sa buhay namin.”
They simply picked up from where they left off. “Mas mature na kami today,” Yllana said. “Mas mature na ang relationship namin. Hindi namin makalimutan lahat ng pinagdaanan namin in the past.”
Yllana never once thought he and Viduya would get back together again. When she turned her back from showbiz, she settled in Canada, where she had three kids, although she never got married.
“Never in a million years did I think magkakabalikan kami,” Viduya disclosed. “For the longest time, Jom and I didn’t have communication.”
“We found each other again. We started talking through Messenger. I think that was the time he was preparing to run for public office.
Returning to the Philippines to be with Yllana was a major decision that took Viduya six months to finally do back in 2019.
Now that she’s back in Manila, Viduya also decided to resurrect her acting career as she recently signed up with Viva Artists Agency (VAA) and there are projects now lined up for her. (ABS-CBN News)
