Ana reveals break-up of marriage

Last Sunday, June 4, STAR contributor Leah Salterio wrote a beautiful article about Ana Roces in connection with Ana’s comeback to television via the new ABS-CBN primetime soap Calla Lily as the mother of Sharlene San Pedro who plays the twin sisters Calla and Lily. Among Ana’s other co-stars are Gerald Madrid as her husband and Yul Servo as her paramour.

Ana temporarily quit showbiz in 2002 after she got married to Greg Montenegro, brother of Angela Montenegro (wife of First Son/Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo). Leah painted a portrait of a "happy marriage" blessed with a two-year-old daughter named Carmela, (presumably after Ana whose real first name is Ela), even if Greg at 40 is 10 years Ana’s senior.

But as they say, once an actress, always an actress. Ana admitted missing showbiz during her "domesticity."

"After our marriage," Leah quoted Ana as saying, "Greg just really wanted me to stay home. He didn’t want me to resume my showbiz career. Natatakot siya baka daw may manligaw sa akin. But he probably realized I need to do things that will also make me happy, so he relented. I don’t want to wait till I’m 40 to go back to acting."

Wow, what a considerate and understanding husband Greg is for giving his wife a chance to grow and, yes, be happy.

In Leah’s story, Ana’s brushed off rumors that her marriage was on the rocks.

"I guess the rumor started when I decided to return to showbiz," said Ana who sounded Greg off on the idea of a "comeback" last year, an urge made even stronger when she guested early this year in the just-concluded ABS-CBN soap Mga Anghel na Walang Langit. "...Some people probably thought that I wasn’t happy with my marriage. But my marriage with Greg is anchored on trust. Greg is a very simple person with very simple needs. As long as there’s tapa or chorizo on the dining table, he’s happy with that. He’s not ma-barkada. He’s always home, so I always have somebody to talk to. For me, that’s the best part of being married."

Well and good, until...

Yes, until yesterday when I got this e-mail from Greg who identifies himself as "the husband of Ela Montenegro (a.k.a. Ana Roces) and also the brother of Angela Arroyo":

Hi, Ricky!

I’m reacting to the article of Ana Roces that was written by Leah Salterio. Yes, I agreed that my wife can go back to showbiz. I was also happy she got a lead role in Calla Lily. I was really shocked to see her in a scene where she was "under the sheets." Afterwards, Yul kissed her! Of course, I don’t agree on this type of scene, especially since she is a married woman and we have a two-year-old baby girl. I thought Calla Lily is for kids and it’s wholesome.

Greg ended his e-mail with what to me sounded like a "threat": I will be writing an open letter to the directors on my disapproval...

Oops! Trouble in paradise?

To clarify, Funfare had a phone chat with Ana who detonated a little bomb: "Greg and I have been separated since last April 4. No, my showbiz comeback has nothing to do with it because we agreed on that. We’ve been having basic differences which we couldn’t quite iron out. No, there’s no third party involved on either side. So last April, I called my mom, who lives in Bacolod, and she fetched me at home. That same day, I left our home with my daughter."

The Calla Lily offer came last May 2 and the first person whom Ana informed about it was Greg who, according to Ana, didn’t object to her accepting the offer. Ana said that she read the script and she understood the requirements of the role and duly explained everything to Greg. No objections, said Ana.

Asked about the "under the sheets" scene with Yul, Ana said that the lovemaking was simply implied and her kiss with Yul was only a "smack" (read: not torrid at all). "ABS-CBN is a reputable company and it won’t allow any unwholesomeness to ruin a wholesome soap like Calla Lily."

Ana added that their break-up last April 4 was their first.

"We’re trying to sort things out," she told Funfare. "Greg has a relative who’s a marriage counselor and we’ve been seeing her separately. We’re both working together in ironing out whatever differences we have."

And that’s the real story behind what was pictured in last Sunday’s story as "a happy marriage" – a real-life soap which might turn out to be more suspenseful than Calla Lily?

Abangan ang mga susunod na kapana-panabik na kabanata.

A bunch of wiz kids

Launched last Saturday morning (aired every Saturday thereafter) on Studio 23 was the Channel Kids, featuring seven wiz kids who could develop into tomorrow’s TV stars.

Channel Kids hopes to help kids learn Science, Math, English and other subjects in a fun way, and an easier understanding of Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and National Geographic, hosted by inter-racial kids ages five to 11.

During a merienda presscon last week, movie writers were visibly impressed when the seven kiddie hosts gave smart answers during interviews, some with American twang and the others speaking with a mix of English, Tagalog and either Spanish or Italian.

You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy the show (watch it and see for yourself).

Here are the seven wiz hosts:

• John Michael Yatar, nine years old, Filipino-Indian-Australian, grade three at St. John Worth Montessori

• Isaiah Earvin Leonardo, 10, Filipino, grade four at the Subic Montessori School

• Andrej Dolonius, nine, Filipino-Swedish, grade two at the Mahatma Gandhi International School

• Nicole Weber, eight, Filipino-Swiss, grade two at the Mahatma Gandhi International School

• Giada Aloha Gardini, seven, Filipino-Italian, grade two at the Sacred Heart School in Parañaque City

• Tamara Diy, eight, Filipino-American-Spanish, grade two at the Every National School at The Fort, Taguig City

• Ianna Katrina Garcia, 10, Filipino-Spanish, grade four at the Colegio de San Agustin

* * *

E-mail reactions at [email protected]