‘BJ’ is not yet ready

His mother once told him, "I want to be a lola already." But Bernard "BJ" Palanca won’t be pressured into fast-tracking fatherhood. So he asked his mom to practice patience and just wait.

Although he’ll be the first to jump up and down for joy if rumors that girlfriend Meryl Soriano is pregnant are true, BJ says he’s not yet ready to become a father. He’ll be ready for marriage when he turns 35, or 12 years from now.

When the time comes, he’ll be happy to take Meryl for his wife. After all, Bernard feels on top of the world with her.

"We have been sweethearts for five months now. And we have yet to fight over something. If and when we disagree, we don’t make a big fuss over it," he says.

The enamored host of Studio 23’s new lifestyle show, It’s a Guy Thing (every Wednesday, 9:10 p.m. starting May 24) describes his girlfriend in superlatives.

"She’s my ideal girl, my angel," gushes Bernard.

And he’s proud of her. Since he’s into boxing, Bernard got her a trainer for her role as a boxer in the upcoming digital film Red Corner.

"She’s working hard," Bernard crows.

He himself is working hard on their relationship. Bernard has made a clean breast of his good intentions for Meryl when he faced the press for the launch of his new show with Borgy Manotoc, Ketchup Eusebio, John Joe Joseph and Bubbles Paraiso.

Willie Revillame and Bec Bec Soriano, Meryl’s parents, have nothing to fear, says Bernard. He has nothing but the best intentions for their daughter.

In fact, Bernard had "the longest dinner in my life" with Bec Bec last Mother’s Day.

Bernard says he had one hell of a great time during that close encounter with Bec Bec. He has also met Maricel Soriano, Meryl’s doting aunt. And he has had no problems with her either.

Bernard can thus speak with authority about getting along with your girlfriend’s family in It’s a Guy Thing.

"You’ll see a side of me you haven’t seen before," vows Bernard. For starters, he went with the staff to the mall to see how many ladies will give him their cellphone numbers when he throws his pickup lines at them.

"Wow, was it hard!" recalls Bernard. "My being a familiar figure got in the way."

Now, he’s waiting to see how his male co-hosts fared where getting a girl’s cellphone numbers in the mall is concerned.

As the eldest in the group, Bernard’s younger co-hosts expect him to end up with more cellphone numbers than them.

"Yes, everybody calls me kuya on the set. That’s why I call them hijo (son)," Bernard admits.

The joke can only come from a guy with nary a care in the world. Bernard even wishes Piolo Pascual, who is being linked to former girlfriend Rica Peralejo, all the luck in the world.

"Everything is falling into place. My life is in order and I can’t ask for anything more," says Bernard.

Even Rica must be happy for him.