Kaye & Echo and the ‘past’ between them

Curtain-raisers:

• Happy together – John Lloyd Cruz and Ciara Sotto, Luis Alandy and Tintin Arnaldo, Jericho Rosales and Cindy Kurleto, Diether Ocampo and Andrea "Andeng" Bautista, Pops Fernandez and Brad Turvey (fresh from a two-week holiday in Australia), Anne Curtis and Oyo Boy Sotto (still on a holiday also in Australia), Tintin Bersola and Julius Babao (getting married soon), Korina Sanchez and Mr. "P", John Estrada and Vanessa del Bianco, Hans Montenegro and Maritoni Fernandez, Miriam Quiambao and her Italian boyfriend, Andrea del Rosario and her French boyfriend, and, last but not the least, "K" and "J" (and I don’t mean Kill & Joy, ha!).

• Yes, it’s true: My favorite actress-TV/host is buying a house very near that of her beloved ... so close, in fact, that, in a manner of speaking, pader lang ang pagitan. As the song goes, knock three times on the (pader) if you want me. Three times a day?

• Barely 24 hours after his and Regine Velasquez’s resoundingly successful two-night concert at the Araneta Coliseum Friday (May 9) and Saturday (May 10) night, Martin Nievera flew to the States preparatory to his early June concert at the – brace yourselves – Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. Big deal, isn’t it? Part of the promo requires Martin to sing his anti-war song (composed by his good friend Louie Ocampo) on the Fox Channel where he will hopefully bump into Cher Calvin who anchors the three-hour Morning News.

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I bet you didn’t know (or do you have such short memory?) that before his former girlfriend Kristine Hermosa and current girlfriend Cindy Kurleto, there was Kaye Abad in Jericho Rosales’ love life. That was when they were young and didn’t know any better, much too immature to value and nurture a relationship that could have bloomed into a beautiful romance.

The "rudely-interrupted" budding romance was reluctantly revealed by Kaye herself during a chat with Funfare after the presscon for the new ABS-CBN soap Sana’y Wala Nang Wakas which will take over the timeslot of Bituin starting next Monday, May 19.

"Maraming nakapaligid sa amin na ayaw," smiled Kaye who’s a promising versatile actress noted for subtle acting (which impresses a lot of people, including Susan Roces who recommended Kaye to play the daughter of FPJ in the 2002 action-drama Batas ng Lansangan). "Echo was such a nice suitor. He’d visit me at home in Cavite all the way from Antipolo where he lived. Whoever his girlfriend is is very lucky. Mabait si Echo."

But Kaye hastened to clarify that his "past" with Jericho didn’t "overlap" with Jericho’s romance with Kristine – "I came before Kristine," clarified Kaye who went steady with Tabing-Ilog co-star John Lloyd Cruz for nine months. "No, hindi naman ako nanghinayang. I’m happy for Echo. His career is going well."

Jericho and Kristine are with Kaye in Sana’y Wala Nang Wakas (along with Marvin Agustin, Cherry Pie Picache, Joel Torre, Gloria Romero, Nina Ricci Alagao, Serena Dalrymple and Gary Estrada). However, Kaye is paired not with Jericho (as Kristine’s love interest) but with Marvin who, coincidentally, himself has a "past" with Kristine (pre-Jericho days) when they starred together in the ABS-CBN soap Sa Sandaling Kailangan Mo Ako.

In the new soap, Kaye plays the daughter of an ex-Japayuki (Minnie Aguilar), in love with Marvin who has eyes only for Kristine.

"The offer for Sana’y was the sign I was praying for," revealed Kaye who had been contemplating on quitting showbiz. "I’ve been with Tabing-Ilog for more than two years, I’ve done seven movies (the most memorable being Mila, topbilled by Maricel Soriano as an ideal teacher in a not-so-ideal setting, where she played a cigarette-smoking prostitute) and I thought that I wasn’t going anywhere. I asked for a sign if I should go on or not. And then came this offer."

She could very well live comfortably even if she didn’t work because she came from a well-off family which owns and runs a school (Benedictine Institute of Learning) and a subdivision (all houses and lots sold out) in Imus, Cavite, with her parents, Noel Abad and the former Cecille Cosme, at the helm.

Since she has had a happy childhood, Kaye puzzles showbiz-watchers no end why she can shed tears easily, like a faucet that flows freely at the slightest twist and turn.

"I’m emotional by nature," admitted Kaye whose favorite actresses are Nora Aunor and Julia Roberts. "Where do I draw inspiration? From the character itself. But one thing that makes me cry is thinking of losing any member of my family," added Kaye who is the eldest of three children (Brandy and one-time child-actress Sarah Abad). "It’s my greatest fear – losing my family."

Beauties scared of SARS, too

As I’ve been saying, SARS is the greatest equalizer in the world today. People from all walks of life and from all levels of society are scared of it (aren’t you?).

Don’t look now but beauties from around the world (more than 80 of them) participating in the 2003 Miss Universe Pageant in Panama City, Panama (covered "live" by RPN 9 on June 4, Wednesday, starting at 9 a.m.) have been required to present a certificate indicating that they are SARS-free.

Also, organizers of the Miss World contest scheduled end of this year in China are keeping a close watch since China is tagged as the origin of the SARS virus. According to the International Cultural Association in a letter to the Bb. Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (in-charge of sending candidates to the three major international beauty contests, including Miss International), if the epidemic isn’t arrested by then, a new venue will be a chosen. "There’s already a back-up plan," said the ICA.

Meanwhile, the Miss International contest will go on in Japan as usual and as planned, Japan being SARS free – so far.

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