Marjorie clears name

No, it is not true that the reason why she left ex-husband Dennis Padilla was because he was penniless. It is not true that she is four months pregnant. It is not true that she is playing beautiful music with Caloocan City Mayor Recom Echeverri. Marjorie Barretto dispelled all the rumors about her when she guested on ABS-CBN’s The Buzz last week. “Timing is everything,” she said. “This is the time for me to finally speak up.” The nasty talks have been lingering for sometime now. Marjorie kept mum about them until last week. “I kept my silence for more than a year hoping they (the talks) would die down. But they didn’t.”

When her marriage to Dennis was annulled this year, speculations were rife about what really went wrong with their marriage. “I could have gone out in the open at sabihin kung bakit kami talaga naghiwalay. There was a major setback bilang mag-asawa. Matiisin naman tayong mga babae but something happened along the way. Something that was caused by him na irreversible,” she said.

Marjorie thinks she was a good wife. “The fact that hanggang ngayon mahal pa rin ako ng aking ex-husband only means that I was a good wife.” As a mother, Marjorie said that she is doing her best to provide for her kids. “I try to be the best mom that I can be given the circumstances in my life right now.”

Of the allegation that she is four months pregnant, Marjorie denied it. She also said that she is thinner than she has ever been. She knows two people who have been spreading the ugly talks against her. “There are two people na nag-aambisyon tumakbo na mayor ng Caloocan. Hindi ko ito laban. I am an innocent victim here.” As regards her supposed relationship with Mayor Recom, Marjorie explained, “Hindi ko alam kung papaano ko iha-handle ang issue. This is not a showbiz matter. Baka election fever lang ito. Wala akong relasyon kay Mayor Recom Echeverri.”

But her heart is open to love, she admitted. “I have so much love in my heart. Ang swerte ng huling magiging lalaki sa buhay ko because I’m gonna love him well, I will serve him well, I will treat him well, I will be faithful. I will be loyal. I will be a dream girl.”

George Schulze is set to follow the footsteps of his grandfather, the legendary matinee idol Armando Goyena (real name: Jose “Pinggoy” Revilla). He is a nephew of iconic beauties Maritess, Tina and Cita Revilla. His cousins Bianca Araneta and Bernard Palanca, along with his sister Lexi Schulze, have already found themselves in tinseltown via TV.

Only 18 years old and a high school graduate of La Salle Zobel in Alabang, George takes the lead role of Prince Bryan in Theater Down South’s production of the hilarious musical Rapunzel, which runs at the Insular Life theater on Sept. 7 and 21, under the direction of Repertory Philippines actor Michael Williams.

George is training his sights on a film course overseas, but prefers to get his feet wet in theater, having previously trained under Freddie Santos through the Trumpets Playshop. Despite his youth, he is a dedicated performer and an amiable fellow. He also exhibits a rare intensity onstage, which has sent his grandfather to tears, primarily because George is a brave leukemia survivor, whose own story is truly empowering.

A former fitness buff, he used to take regulated medication to improve his physique, but which apparently caused an imbalance in his white blood cells. For over two years now, he has been undergoing chemotherapy, with his family close by his side. Thank God that George is on the way to full recovery.

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