Photo from Instagram/@aikomelendez
MANILA — Actress and Quezon City Councilor Aiko Melendez has accepted a marriage proposal from actor Onemig Bondoc during a visit to the resting place of her late father, nearly three decades after their first romantic connection.
The engagement was documented in a video released October 6 on Bondoc’s YouTube channel. During the visit to Himlayang Pilipino Memorial Park in Quezon City, Bondoc presented Melendez with white flowers before kneeling with a ring and asking her to marry him.
Melendez initially laughed in surprise and questioned whether he was serious before accepting the proposal.
Bondoc said he had consulted Melendez’s mother, sibling and two children beforehand. He chose the location because of its significance to Melendez, who visits the resting place of her father, actor and former Quezon City councilor Jimi Melendez, around his October 31 birthday.
Melendez later said she had expected an ordinary day of recording video content with Bondoc, whom she calls Uno, and had no advance knowledge of his plans.
In an Instagram post on October 7, Melendez reflected on their history dating back nearly 29 years. Their earlier romantic connection in the 1990s did not lead to a lasting partnership, and both subsequently pursued separate lives before reconnecting.
“29 years later… I said YES,” she wrote, emphasizing that their decision to marry was based on their present commitment to each other.
The couple publicly confirmed their renewed relationship in February 2026. During a September 23 appearance on Fast Talk with Boy Abunda, they discussed how an invitation for Bondoc to appear on Melendez’s YouTube channel helped bring them back into contact.
Bondoc became known to Philippine television audiences through the youth series T.G.I.S., while Melendez has maintained her entertainment career alongside her responsibilities as a councilor representing Quezon City’s fifth district.
Following the engagement announcement, the couple thanked those who had sent congratulations. Melendez also renewed an invitation for television host Boy Abunda to serve as a principal sponsor at their wedding.
Abunda accepted the invitation during the October 7 broadcast of his television program.
