KZ & TJ open up about their first year of marriage

KZ Tandingan and TJ Monterde were friends first before they became lovers, who ended up exchanging “I do’s” in an intimate garden wedding in August of last year.

Still, the adjustment phase was inevitable for the couple.

Living together as husband and wife for a year now, TJ and KZ amusingly shared what they have so far discovered in each other.

“Our body clocks are totally different,” KZ told The STAR during the virtual media call for the release of their Bisaya singles titled Dodong and Inday as part of their Simula playlist available on Star Music’s YouTube channel.

TJ, on the other hand, laughingly declared, “Ako ang unang magising.”

According to KZ, their sleep habits do not match no matter how hard they try “at ang ending mag-aaway kami; hindi kami nagkakasundo.”

TJ is an early bird, while KZ is a night owl, who is most active and productive in the evenings. “I normally wake up late because I do whatever that needs to be done at night like kung may kailangan akong isulat o ayusin, ginagawa ko yun sa gabi pero si TJ gusto n’ya (mag-work) ‘pag gising n’ya.”

KZ said TJ would often ask her to sleep early, only to realize later on that he found it hard to fall into a deep slumber without her by his side.

TJ teased KZ with a hearty laugh: “I just learned that she easily tears up when watching a movie, hahaha.”

“Baligtad,” KZ retorted. “Siya yung pag nag-ne-Netflix kami, maya-maya he would turn his back kasi umiiyak na pala s’ya, hahaha.”

These were just some of the amusing discoveries that made them appreciate each other more. They may have differences, KZ said, yet both of them make an effort to understand each other’s interests. Even in music, TJ spends some time watching videos of rap music artists with KZ, who also does rap performances.

“We really try to love kung ano ang love ng isa. One example also is that KZ already knows who among the latest trades in the NBA and she can now identify the NBA stars,” shared TJ, a PolyEast recording artist, who is from Cagayan de Oro.

But both best express their love for each other through music. In fact, the single Dodong, is KZ’s ode of gratitude for TJ’s great love for her.

“I wrote that song seven months before we proposed to each other, so mga 2019 pa. It was my first time writing a Bisaya lullaby, but I never meant for it to be released. So TJ would have a song he can listen to when he finds it hard to sleep,” said KZ, who titled it Dodong, a Bisaya word referring to a young man.

“I was hesitant at first to release the song because it was too personal for me. I think ‘yung song ay pinaka raw sa lahat ng sinulat ko na ‘pag kinanta mo, wala kahit anong palamuti, walang rap. It’s like me singing a love letter to the one I love,” added the multi-talented singer, who hails from Davao and is part of Star Music’s roster of artists.

It was TJ who encouraged her to have it released. “I decided to also write a song so Dodong doesn’t have to be released alone.”

He wrote Inday, which means a young lady in Bisaya, as a song of reassurance for KZ, the one and only Inday of his life. Part of the lyrics are the lines, “imoha ra ko,” which means “sa ‘yo lang ako” in Tagalog and TJ deliberately used them 10 times in the song.

“I don’t know if you noticed that most girls often ask the question na mahal mo ba ako sa ka-relasyon nila so I wrote this for KZ to tell her not to worry, that I will always be here for her and I love her.”

Asked about their marriage life, KZ replied with a smile, “Despite the many negative things happening around, the one thing that I’m thankful for is TJ. I know I love him so much but every day, TJ proves me wrong kasi kaya ko pa palang mas mahalin s’ya. He’s so caring. He takes care of everything. He drives me to work even if he is also occupied with work and he never complains kahit kulang s’ya sa tulog. Sana hindi s’ya mag-bago.”

Also included in the Simula playlist is Can’t Wait to Say I Do, which the couple released after they got married, as well as the title track Simula.