Women left behind

THEN: July 14, 1989 — 22 years ago

Stars are finding it hard to have a public pose on very private feelings. This is the pain of public women whose men left them. First of all, there is the public hurt, the image cry and then, the very private hurt.

In the case of Vilma Santos, for example, everything was nice and friendly even with estranged husband Edu Manzano having other girls, but the moment he became serious and decided to marry, all hell broke loose. The fact that Edu married Maricel Soriano, another star in her own right, added to the public hurt, though in private Vilma may not been that hurt. If Edu married a Juana de la Cruz, for example, Vilma would not carry on so, and perhaps may even show that she’s a sport since she is still the shining star in the three-cornered arena of the past and the present.

Vilma has her own private happiness. “Nauna pa siya,” Edu would later say. But just the same, she would rather that Edu, now a star himself, be just within arms’ reach.

Nora Aunor has been friendly to Christopher “Boyet” de Leon even after their separation. But she also reacted when Boyet started announcing his desire for an annulment to marry Sandy Andolong, the mother of his two sons. Of course, she had her own special relationship after Boyet, but the idea that he wanted to have their relationship finished seemed to disturb her.

At the moment, Alma Moreno, is the woman left behind. Dolphy made it such a public act that the only way she can survive was also to make the most of it publicly to help her flagging career.

The letter of Dolphy was written to her in private, why then should “totoo ang tsismis” be now public knowledge eliciting all spoofs on TV?

People say this is an even fight. Dolphy’s running off with Zsa Zsa Padilla in the most dramatic way and Alma milks the situation dry, dancing in black and singing The Last to Know with Vandolph in her TV show.

For Dolphy, this could be a last hurrah, but for Alma this could be a turning point Mother Lily has been waiting for. She is excited about Alma again and even Tony Gloria, who is usually sane about this thing, is packaging an Alma movie.

With Alma doing movies and singing her heart out on her TV show, Vilma comes back with a vengeance, too and does a tele-movie kissing scene and all with, hold your breath, the old flame of Maricel — Ronnie Ricketts. Then comes the press release that Vilma may just dump Ralph Recto for Ronnie.

The plot thickens and the fiction becomes better than fact, or is it the other way around? The fans are now getting confused with what’s real and reel. But does it matter? The entertainment industry moves on and gets better coverage by-column-inch.

Sunday night I saw Edu and Maricel at Gene’s Bistro talking to a reporter. The couple are still here and not in Spain as reported earlier. They can’t possibly miss seeing Vilma and Ronnie kissing on TV every hour on the hour to promote their movie.

Another woman left behind is Dina Bonnevie. So far, she has been handling well her separation from husband Vic Sotto. Even when Coney Reyes gave birth to Vic’s baby, Dina kept her cool. The fact that Dina has not been involved in another romance, that the public knows anyway, makes her win sympathy. She has kept her head above it all. Hindi pa siya “nawawala sa sarili.”

NOW: Oct. 1, 2011 — 22 years after

Time changed the destiny of the women left behind. Vilma is happily married to Sen. Recto and is the governor of Batangas. She has reinvented herself as a beloved politician and is a power to reckon with. Her children Luis Manzano and Christian Recto are all doing well. In fact, Luis is a very successful host and actor. Edu ran for vice president and lost but is now back on TV as a successful host.

Nora is not so successful in her private life and stayed in the US for a long time and her career suffered. She is now back in town and her friends are hoping that she can revive her career.

Dina got married again but the marriage did not last. Her other romantic attachments did not last long either. Her children with Vic are both married and happy. Both Vic and Dina are now grandparents.

Alma has also married. First to Joey Marquez, with whom she has five children, and now to a Muslim politician. She is a popular councilor of Parañaque. Dolphy and Zsa Zsa are still happily together. Their daughter Zia Quizon is now joining showbiz.