IT’S the stuff fairy tales are made of. Although many have expected that power couple Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera are likely to get married, both have avoided any kind of confirmation about when. Then just last week, on national TV, Dingdong went down on his knee and asked the actress this most important question: “Marian, will you be my wife?”
The whole proposal happened last August 9, during the actress’ live birthday celebration in her dance program Marian, on GMA 7 Network. One of the special guests that day was Dingdong.
In one of the segments of the program, Dingdong shared some photos and memorable moments in Marian’s life. When the screen showed a photo of a butterfly dome, the actress started crying.
A video was played, showing what happened in the butterfly dome. It showed the couple at the MGM Butterfly Pavilion, celebrating Dingdong’s birthday in 2012. In the video, you can see that Dingdong whispered something to Marian, which made the actress cry.
When the video stopped, Dingdong started his proposal.
“May kailangan akong aminin, may kailangan akong sabihin sa iyo. Alam ko na nung nang nangyari ‘yon, meron akong importanteng bagay na hindi nagawa. Pero allow me to do it right this time.
“Mas magiging espesyal siya ngayon dahil, ngayon, kaharap mo na ang pamilya mo.
“Nandito ulit ang pamilya ko, at nandito ang mga taong nagmamahal sa atin.
“Ngayon, ang gusto kong mangyari, gusto kong ipagsigawan sa buong mundo kung gaano kita kamahal. “And I wanna do it right this time…”
At this point, Dingdong started to kneel before Marian, prompting the audience to squeal in delight. The actress, of course, was visibly emotional.
“Yan, whenever I pray, tuwing nagdarasal ako, alam mo, ito ang isa sa parati kong hinihiling, na sana bigyan Niya ako ng isang taong makakasama ko sa kalokohan, sa kalungkutan, sa kasiyahan….
“Isang taong alam kong ibibigay ko ang buong buhay ko sa kanya. “Right now, wala na akong mahihiling pang iba. “There’s nothing that I want and to ask for, but to settle down and have a family.
“Yan, sa tagal ng pagsasama natin… may isang bagay na malinaw sa akin—that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
“Kaya ngayon, saksi ang mga mahal natin sa buhay, gusto kong ipagsigawan sa buong mundo, na ikaw ang sagot sa aking mga dasal.”
Dingdong took out a small black box from his suit pocket, which contained a ring. Teary-eyed, the actor continued to say, “I offer you this gift on your birthday, something that’s beyond any material thing or tangible want, but I offer myself, my love today and all the days of my life. “So please, Marian…will you be my wife?”
There was no “yes” from Marian, instead the actress kissed Dingdong and said, “I love you.” The actor put the ring on her finger and kissed her back, hugging her tight. Afterwards, for the first time, he introduced Marian as his fiancee.
Dingdong also confirmed last August 10 that although he has no specific date, he and Marian will get married this year.
Congratulations to Dingdong and Marian!
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We are praying for Christopher de Leon and Sandy Andolong’s son Juan Carlos Miguel, who has been diagnosed with testicular cancer.
During the grand launch of the second season of the award-winning actor’s primetime series Ikaw Lamang last August 12, he shared with PEP.ph and Cinema News that he was able to visit his son and his wife in here in San Francisco, where Miguel is undergoing treatment.
“It’s testicular germ cell tumor…I don’t like to call it cancer, because the big C for me is Christ,” he said and added, “It’s inborn. He had an operation when he was five years old pa lang, and then nag metastasize siya papunta sa lungs.”
The actor also said that Miguel is still in Intensive Care Unit and the family is hoping and praying that his son will get better.
After undergoing chemotherapy for five days, Miguel has to go have a CAT scan Christopher said. “And the next step would be radiation.”
He is also very thankful for his co-stars, the staff and crew of Ikaw Lamang for allowing him to visit Miguel when they had to transfer him to a better hospital. They let him leave right away, stayed in the US for a week and came back to his taping last August 11. His wife, Sandy, stayed in San Francisco to take care of Miguel.
We are hoping and praying too for Miguel’s healing, as well as their family’s strength during this trying time.
