MANILA, Philippines — Actor Vin Abrenica is a first-time father after the birth of his daughter Avianna, who is turning two years old. She was born at the height of the pandemic.
Admittedly, when Avianna came into this world, Vin was never ready to become a father. The baby’s name starts with the letter A following the Abrenicas.
“My real name is Avin,” Vin offered. “We named our daughter starting with the letter A, too. All of our first names start with the letter A — Aljur, Avin, Aleia, Allen.
“I guess you will never be ready to become a father,” Vin said. “Sophie (Albert) and I were going nine years at that time. On our 10th year, we decided to get married.
“We didn’t plan to have a baby right away. It was at the height of the pandemic. When Sophie got pregnant, we were together inside one room the whole nine months.
“I was part of the journey. Even if you’re not ready, you’re forced to good to be ready. The responsibility calls for it. I became ready in a way and I loved every part of it. I love the journey.
“I went through every stage of Sophie being pregnant, even the post-partum. That became a challenge to us. We loved each other even more.”
Now that he is a father, Vin is living the best years of his life. “I’m so thankful to God. I said this last year and I will say it again now. I can’t say exactly how fulfilling is it to become a father, but it’s the best part of my life.”
So will Baby No. 2 follow any time soon? “It’s my respect to my wife,” Vin said. “But when she’s ready, any time she wants, let’s go. If you will ask me, I’m ready. Hopefully, I want a boy.
“Or even twins. Once Sophie says she’s ready, let’s do it. We have been talking about it. The first two kids in our family came one after the other. Kuya Aljur and I are like that. His kids are like that, too. The gap is not too far apart.
“My daughter now is turning two years old, so Sophie and I have been talking about another baby. But she has an upcoming soap on GMA 7. I want to respect her dreams.
“I can see her working again. She is happy that she is achieving something. She earns. She excels in her work. She also excels being a mom. In order for our life to be happy, I have to give her her choice. I love her for doing that.”
Ever since Vin and Sophie got together, he is aware that she came from the eminent Aquino family.
“For the longest time that we’re together, I know I had to level up,” Vin said. “Let’s face it. The whole journey that we’re together, I want to show her family that I’m worth of your daughter. I’m worth Sophie.
“I really saved up. You never heard that I lived an affluent life or I spent too much on something. I always put my money into good use.”
Not that he really needed to prove anything to his in-laws as Sophie’s husband. “I just want to prove that they didn’t make a mistake to entrust their daughter to me,” Vin said.
“My mother-in-law and I, we are so close. She cooks for me. Whenever I tell her, ‘Mom, I miss your cooking,’ she will readily cook something for me. She is the best cook in the world. I also treat her like my mom. We have the best relationship now.”
After a decade of being with Sophie, Vin still flaunts that they are going strong together. “I get to read that they are comparing me to Aljur, who got separated,” Vin said. “It might also happen to me. I just have to prove them wrong.
“Let’s go back again to this day when I was judged by a lot of people. See you guys in 10 years or 20 years or 30 years where we will be at that time.”
The couple rarely fights, nor does Sophie still get jealous. “We have been together for a decade,” Vin asserted. “What’s good about that is whatever she does in her line of work, if she decides that we talk about it, I trust her. She’s also like that to me.”
Vin never meddles in Sophie’s showbiz projects. “She can do kissing scenes or even bed scenes with her co-stars, that’s not a problem to me,” he said. “Who am I to stop her? As long as she’s comfortable, go.”
For his part, Vin previously did beefcake poses when he did a sexy pictorial for an underwear brand. “We never talked about it. I respect her career, she respects mine.”
Vin describes Sophie as “very dedicated” to family. “She is one of the moms out there who forgot about herself and her dreams and simply focused on her baby.
“She gave everything to our daughter. She forgot about herself. She didn’t even buy things for herself. She focused on my daughter.
“I really salute her. She is the best mom that I know of. Before our baby was born, for nine months, she did nothing but read to prepare her for motherhood.
“She’s a bookworm. She reads a lot. She tells me everything that she reads about babies. She explains everything. She is always updated with the things that she wants to do with our daughter.
“If you can see our daughter today, everything that she does, everything that she knows was because of her mom.”
After they got married, Vin and Sophie’s love even got stronger. “I thought after 10 years, when your love is united by God, you thought you knew each other very well, but our love is stronger.”
With his second Father’s Day, Vin still doesn’t have a plan. “That’s weird because when it’s Mother’s Day, we surely have a plan. But I’ll make sure we’ll do something as a family.”
Fatherhood has apparently changed Vin for who he is now. “I have a purpose in life now. Everything that I do is for Avianna. It changed me in a way that I want to set up my life straight. That’s hard.
“The question always pops up in my mind. Do I want to be the person she will end up being with one day? For me, I want to be that guy.”