For the first time, Ricardo talked about his break-up with wife Snooky Serna (who has just announced that henceforth she would be known by the name Kate – part of her, well, "moving on"?) after 13 years of marriage blessed with two beautiful children, Samantha (13) and Zaatchi (eight).
"Until now," said Ricardo, 41, an unmistakable sadness crossing his eyes, "I don’t know where we went wrong. As far as I am concerned, our problem is not something so serious that we couldn’t solve it. But as far as she’s concerned, parang napakalaki ng problema. I don’t think pareho kami ng mindset. We look at things differently."
No, Ricardo denied persistent rumors, "Money is not the problem." Neither is there any third party on either side. Ricardo simply laughed and shrugged off the rumor that he has a wealthy gay lover.
"I was having dinner with a businessman-friend when a movie reporter saw us," said Ricardo. "He put two and two together and concluded that the guy and I were lovers. Lalaking-lalaki ang kaibigan kong ‘yon."
It was Snooky, 39, (an anorexic during the first seven years of their marriage) who left the house (given to Ricardo by his parents) which they shared with Snooky’s mom, Mila Ocampo and Snooky’s siblings. She’s now staying at a unit in the condo building owned by Lloyd Samartino, good friend of Snooky’s former boyfriend Albert Martinez (husband of Liezl).
What about the children?
"Sometimes, they stay with me," said Ricardo who now lives alone in a house that has become all too suddenly empty. "Sometimes, they stay with their mom. They are old enough to understand the situation."
Signs of what Snooky perceived as "cracks" in their marriage started surfacing middle of last year when she started guesting on showbiz talk shows to talk about the "break-up," catching Ricardo by surprise.
"One time," he recalled, "I accompanied her to The Buzz, not knowing that she was going to reveal that we were ‘separating.’ All the while that she was near tears on TV, I was in the dressing room, waiting for her. Honestly, I think my wife is confused; I could feel that up to now, she hasn’t come to terms with the reality that she’s married. Everytime she’s asked how many kids she has, she’ll say, ‘I have two daughters; dalawa ang anak ko,’ instead of saying, ‘We have two children; dalawa ang anak namin.’ Up to now, I’ve been trying to understand her."
Asked if, for his part, he has exhausted every effort to save their marriage, Ricardo said yes, he did.
"I even advised her to seek the help of a counselor, but at the last minute she would back out. I tried to convince her that we attend a marriage encounter but she would have none of it."
The way I look at it, one of them has to grow up and embrace life with a realistic outlook and attitude and that one is not Ricardo.
Meanwhile, let’s hope that the marriage can still be saved – but only, I suppose, if Snooky releases the "cobwebs" of her mind and snaps out of her make-believe existence which ended when she ceased being a child superstar.
MTV Fashionista Best Model pair Ronald Brent Barinque Javier and Bridget Tolentino Inoferio, who were chosen by ace fashion director Robbie Carmona of Saga Events, Inc., represented the Philippines in two separate international modeling pageants held in Busan, Korea, recently.
Brent, who won as Mr. Manhunt Philippines at the 2003 MTV Fashionista Best Model search, competed with 54 other male models from around the world at the 2005 Manhunt International Pageant. He won the Mr. Internet Award, proving that he was indeed the most popular fellow in the batch.
Born in Toronto 24 years ago, Brent came to Manila three years ago and has graduated from top-model status to an in-demand celebrity icon. At 5’11", Brent is relatively shorter than most of his co-candidates in Korea but this go-getter was undaunted. "I’m younger than most of my co-competitors so maybe I’ll play up this advantage as I do my best to represent the Philippines in Korea," said Brent at the send-off press conference held at Tony Roma’s in Glorietta 4, Makati.
Brent is looking forward to possible international working opportunities, including appearing in Koreanovelas after his stint in Korea.
On the other hand, Bridget, last year’s MTV Fashionista Best Female Model winner and first runner-up at the Best Model of the World Pageant in Istanbul, Turkey, emerged victorious at the 2005 Model of the Year Pageant held in Busan last Sept. 9. At 20, Bridget (who stands 6’1") is a student at UST where she is a volleyball player.
Her exotic looks complement her towering height, easily making her a standout on or off the ramp. Pageant aficionados are already waiting for her to join any of the national beauty pageants. She is touted as the next Melanie Marquez.
The winner of the Model of the Year Pageant will fulfill an exclusive contract for the various engagements, modeling jobs and advertising endorsements to be carried out by the contest’s organizing committee.
Incidentally, Robbie Carmona promises a bigger and more exciting Best Model search next year. His outfit, Saga Events, Inc., has become a breeding ground for models and showbiz personalities.
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph)