Ashlee Simpson’s boyfriend is half-Pinoy

You know, of course, that Jennifer Lopez’s ex-husband (one of the two, anyway) Chris Judd is half-Pinoy, don’t you? Or, that Billy Joe (Crawford), now a pop superstar in Europe, is an "ex" of Mandy Moore?

Don’t look now but the boyfriend of Ashlee Simpson is also half-Pinoy, proving once again that Filipinos are, indeed, great lovers. (Take note: The first Miss Universe, Finland’s Armi Kuusela, married a Filipino, the late Virgilio Hilario; and so did the first Miss International, Colombia’s Stella Marquez, to Jorge Araneta.)

Ashlee’s boyfriend is Braxton Olita. Here’s their love story filed by Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre (news editor of The Filipino Reporter):

Jessica Simpson’s equally famous sister Ashlee professes her "absolute love" for her Fil-Am boyfriend, guitarist Braxton Olita, but says she’s taking it slow and not rushing to get married after seeing Jessica "go through a really hard time" in her divorce from Nick Lachey.

"There’s a lot of growing you do in your 20s, and I definitely want to wait until my late 20s or 30s or whenever the time is right," she told Teen People in its June/July edition, which also named Ashlee one of its Hottest Stars under 25. "I’m a lot more peaceful and chilled out because of Braxton. I honestly couldn’t be more content."

As of now, Ashlee, 21, says she’s focusing on her red-hot singing career and enjoying the company of Braxton, 20, who she says has influenced her most since they started dating nearly a year ago.

Braxton, who is actually half-Filipino, half-Puerto Rican (like Gary Valenciano), is a guitarist in Ashlee’s band and hails from Hawaii. They were friends first, but the relationship blossomed into a romance after he made the band in 2004.

"‘He’s the yin to my yang; people call him my ‘Little Buddha,’ ’" Ashlee tells Teen People. "‘When he comes around, everything changes. Braxton has taught me a lot.’" Like surfing. She showed off her new skills at the Kelly Slater Celebrity Surf Invitational, which aired on MTV in late March. "‘It’s difficult, but (Braxton’s) out there saying, ‘Go! Go! Paddle! Paddle!’ and cheering me on. I ended up getting it down, and I love it now.’"

Braxton’s mother is Janice, a cafeteria worker at August Ahrens School in Waipahu, Hawaii. His father, Paquito Olita, is an employee of Dick Pacific Construction Co. Ltd.. He has a younger brother, Nico.

"Braxton is a good, positive role model," Janice told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. "He’d always been a determined child."

Following graduation from Campbell High in Honolulu in 2003, Braxton moved to California to attend the Costa Mesa branch of the Art Institute of Orange County. He had planned on studying multimedia and web page design but had to drop out when he auditioned for Ashlee’s band and became its guitarist.

Braxton said he didn’t think his parents understood how big his gig was when he joined Ashlee’s group until the band was scheduled to be on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show and Total Request Live on MTV, and when they saw her music video. The band is kicking off a North American tour anytime now.

Meanwhile, Ashlee, who two years ago figured in an embarrassing lip-synching meltdown during a guesting on Saturday Night Live (SNL), is again hounded by a controversy, though less embarrassing this time.

Tabloids are feasting on the story that the pop star had a nose job, a common beauty enhancement among Filipino celebrities.

"Everybody’s already saying it, so I just don’t talk about it," Ashlee told the Associated Press. "I’m like, okay, whatever. It doesn’t bother me."

When pressed for an answer, she simply giggled, in the arms of Braxton: "Maybe. Who knows!"

Miss Philippines-Earth 1st runner-up wants to try showbiz

As Funfare predicted (seconded by "beauty experts" Felix Manuel, Gery Yumping, Joey Cezeare and Francis Calubaquib) she would win (well, almost!), California-bred beauty Ginger Conejero (whose parents are from Bicol), one of the representatives of Filipino communities abroad, finished first runner-up or Miss Philippines-Air (and was chosen Miss Photogenic) in the 2006 Miss Philippines-Earth held at the UP Theater over the weekend.

A protege of US-based impresario Bradford Adkins, president of Adkins Multi-Media Concepts, Ginger holds a degree in political science from the University of Southern California. She was Miss Fiesta Filipina-San Francisco in 2004.

Her parents, Tony and Asila Conejero, live in San Francisco; while Ginger is based in Los Angeles where she works in an Internet company.

Beauty and brains, Ginger became a crowd favorite at the UP Theater when she was asked by former Tarlac Gov. Tingting Cojuangco, "How would you compare your beauty to the beauty of Nature?," and she gave an impressive, well-applauded answer, "I think my beauty and the beauty of Mother Nature are very comparable in that Mother Nature is very natural, laidback, easy... I’ve always been raised to be my sole person and to never forget my core... in the same way that Mother Nature is very original, laidback and comfortable in itself."

Now, the usual question: Will she join showbiz?

"Why not?" said Ginger who’s staying in the Philippines for three months to fulfill her duties as Miss Philippines-Air.

"I have had theater experience in school and did some hosting jobs, one of them for a Philippine Independence Day celebration in San Francisco."

Ruffa coming home again

Gone for barely two months, Ruffa Gutierrez will be back on June 12, Independence Day, for 10 days. Ruffa announced this piece of good news in a letter to Funfare. But she didn’t say she’s coming back for a vacation or to spearhead another charity project.

When she was here recently, Ruffa held a tiangge in Market, Market, proceeds from which were donated to the landslide victims in Southern Leyte through the Red Cross.

But before flying home, Ruffa and husband Yilmaz Bektas will have a reunion with the Gutierrezes (dad and mom Eddie Gutierrez and Annabelle Rama, and brothers Rocky, Elvis, Richard, Raymond and Ritchie Paul) in Istanbul starting on June 4.

"They are going to attend my sister-in-law’s wedding at the historical Ciragan Palaca Kempinski," wrote Ruffa. "Richard and Raymond have already blocked off their shooting schedules so they can enjoy an honest-to-goodness vacation with us for one week. I’m super excited because it will be the first time my brothers are coming and actually seeing where I live. Of course, I’m making sure that they will have a wonderful time in Istanbul. I’m the perfect hostess, you know."

Ruffa’s recent photos accompanying this story were taken last weekend at an Indian-themed fund-raiser called Bollywood on the Bosphorus held at the luxurious Sait Halim Pasa Yalisi, said to be a mansion that dates back to 1894.

"Proceeds from the affair were donated to charities and associations in Turkey, supported by the International Women of Istanbul," said Ruffa. "It was a fun night with friends, filled with food and dancing."

Dayanara to star in a US soap?

Here’s a late-breaking news from Funfare’s Bohol correspondent Leo Udtohan who got it from latina.com:

Something called MyNetwork TV will premiere in September in the US, with several English-language telenovela-style dramas leading its programming.

The new network has tapped former Mrs. Marc Anthony and l993 Miss Universe Dayanara Torres to star in Watch Over Me and with Maria Conchita Alonso in A Dangerous Love.

Details of the shows are still being kept under wraps. But expect to find a lot of women recently released from prison, surprise pregnancies, biological parents coming forward, men sleeping with their sons’ girlfriends (or the sisters they never knew), kissing scenes and a lot of tears.

Network executives in the US have been salivating over the popularity of telenovelas in Latin America. This fall, we’ll finally get to see if that type of success can cross over to the US market. In the Philippines, Latin telenovelas are a thing of the past, taken over first by Chinovelas and then by Koreanovelas.

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