'I married my first love': Jennylyn Mercado, Dennis Trillo get candid on second-chance love

MANILA, Philippines — Jennylyn Mercado shed tears when she said to broadcast journalist Karen Davila that she married her first love, Dennis Trillo. 

In the same way, Dennis shared that he did not believe in marriage, but because he loves Jennylyn so much, he decided to give it a shot. 

Dennis and Jennylyn are among the power couples of Philippine showbiz today, and their storied love story is like a story line of romantic shows and films. 

Sitting down with the seasoned journalist, they talked about how they've grown more mature over the years as they tried love the second time around and what made their second chance at love work. 

After dating for a decade, they decided to get married in November 2021. Putting in 12 years together again, the couple agreed that nothing much have changed in their arrangement, save that they just formalized their union. 

"Parang wala naman pong masyadong pinagkaiba nu'ng naging kami tapos nu'ng nagpakasal kami dahil din siguro mature na kami pareho nu'ng nag-decide kaming magpakasal," said Dennis. 

They were entertaining Karen who visited them in their popular rest house in Tanay, Rizal. The couple's Rizal house has been a subject of curiosity since instead of the typical log cabin or built structure, Jennylyn and Dennis decided to use shipping containers and converted them into their rest house atop a hill with a spectacular view of Manila's skyline. 

Jennylyn agreed that it took them time before they considered tying the knot. 

Karen, in turn, asked if she thought they would still end up with each other. 

At this point, Jennylyn bared her heart's deepest secret. 

"Si Dennis kasi 'yung first love ko, Ms. Karen. Siyempre 'yun 'yung nilo-look forward ko e. 'Yun 'yung gusto ko, 'yun 'yung dream ko na makasama siya," Jennylyn said. 

Karen remarked that Jennylyn's love for Dennis is palpable, eliciting a reaction from the latter who said "sobra, sobra." 

"Ang bait kasi nitong taong ito," said the actress while wiping away her tears. Dennis, who was sitting beside her, comforted the actress. "Talagang ano siya. Hindi kasi, ibang klase si Dennis. Siya 'yung isa sa mga o pinaka-generous, pinaka-totoo, pinakamapamahal na tao na kakilala ko."

Finding each other again

Jennylyn and Dennis fell in love in 2011 when they did the show "Gumapang Ka sa Lusak." 

Both of them admitted that they had "intense" feelings for each other, but due to their immaturity, miscommunication, misunderstanding and jealousy put an end to their relationship. 

"Intense po 'yung feelings namin para sa isa't isa ng ganon ka-aga. Nangyari 'yun pareho pa kasi kaming hindi mature so maraming mga naging problema na hindi namin nagawan ng solusyon, hindi namin napag-usapan nang maigi. Kumpara ngayon na mas mature kami at napag-uusapan namin kahit ano kaya mas naaayos namin," Dennis shared. 

Dennis and Jennylyn said they had to learn to be more open-minded and to handle jealousy when they decided to get back together again in 2014. 

"Pagka-binigay mo lang talaga 'yung tiwala mo sa kanya at hindi ka mag-focus doon sa masasamang bagay na nai-imagine mo lang. Hindi mo naman nako-confirm," said Dennis. 

Jennylyn said that it is best to sit down and talk it between the couple with no other people involved. 

Blended well

Before or in between their romance, they had dated other celebrities. Jennylyn was with her fellow "Starstruck" winner Mark Herras in the mid-2000s. After Mark, she also dated Patrick Garcia, the father of her son Alex Jazz. In 2011, she was in a relationship with Luis Manzano. 

Dennis, meanwhile, also dated fellow celebrities including Bianca King, Cristine Reyes and beauty queen Carlene Aguilar, the mother of his son, Calix. 

It was good that they found each other again in their 30s. The years that they were apart, and their relationships in between, have helped them become mature. And thus, when they became a couple again with children from their past relationships, it was not much of an issue for Dennis and Jennylyn. 

"Pinasok ko ang relasyon na ganito ang sitwasyon namin pareho. Kelangan mas malawak ang pang-unawa mo sa bagay na 'yun. Mahalin mo rin kung ano siya, kung ano ang meron siya, kung anong sitwasyon niya," Dennis said. 

They both concur that acceptance of their pasts and everything that it involved was the key to their relationship. 

When Karen asked Dennis who Jennylyn is to him, he said she is his true love. 

"'Yung pinakamatinding feeling na naramdaman ko sa isang tao, sa kanya ko rin pinaramdam 'yung pagmamamahal, na alam mo 'yun, hindi ko akalain na capable pala akong gawin," the actor said. 

He confided that he went through a big change in his life when he and Jennylyn got back together again. In fact, she straightened him out, so to speak. 

"Feeling ko mas bumait ako," he quipped, earning laughter from all three of them. 

Turning serious, Dennis said, "Mas nagkaroon ng direksyon 'yung buhay ko. Dati kasi masyado akong happy-go-lucky. Wala ako masyadong plano. Nu'ng nakilala ko naman siya at kinasal kami, parang siya 'yung unti-unting nagstre-straighten ng path at nagpalinaw ng dadaanan ko kung saan man. 

"Ako po kasi talaga noon, hindi talaga ako rin naniniwala sa marriage. Siyempre dahil sobrang pagmamahal ko rin kay Jen, natutunan ko na i-embrace 'yung nakaugalian nating lahat. Isang way rin 'yun na para mapatunayan ko sa kanya, sa mga tao, 'yung pagmamahal ko sa kanya. Kaya kong baguhin 'yung mga paniniwala ko na 'yun para sa isang special na tao," Dennis said. 

RELATED: WATCH: Dennis Trillo, Jennylyn Mercado give tour of container rest house in Rizal