Breanna in her mom Jessica’s footsteps

BEVERLY HILLS, California — “She will be a superstar!”

It’s a Thursday, Jan. 11, and we (STAR correspondent Raymond Lo and immigration lawyer Jemela Nettles) are at a suite of the months-old Waldorf Los Angeles having cocktails while waiting for the airing of the maiden episode of the reality-TV Making a Model.

Jessica Rodriguez is all nerves as she and husband David Bunevacz, along with children Hayca and Grant, do the rounds entertaining guests who are all excited to watch the show hosted by Yolanda Hadid, ex-wife of David Foster, a supermodel who appeared on the TV series Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Jessica is talking about her daughter Breanna, 14, who is among the six teeners participating in the eight-episode show airing on the Lifetime channel. Together with their moms (called “Momagers”), the aspiring models spent two months in New York for the shoot starting in March last year.

“Am I a stage mom?” laughs Jessica while sipping champagne. And before she can answer, Breanna beats her to it. “Yes, she is?sometimes!”

The “viewing party” was originally scheduled at the house of Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson, a good friend of the Bunevacz, until the guest list got longer, prompting Jessica and David to move the venue to the posh Waldorf (within shouting distance to Beverly Hilton where the Golden Globes awards are usually held).

Like the five other Momagers, Jessica believes that her daughter is the best.

And Hadid knows the feeling.

“Every girl on the planet has the dream to be a supermodel,” she was quoted in an interview. “I think (the show) is a great platform to have. We didn’t go out with all girls that are 5’9” or 5’10” like the usual model. We have a great variety of different girls and they have personality because beauty alone is not enough, as you know.”

Everybody keeps quiet as the show unreels, showing the girls in their first “challenge” — conceptualizing a pictorial on the streets of the Big Apple, mentored and monitored by the Momagers. Hadid serves as a mentor to the girls during the eight-week training program that tests their modeling capabilities as well as their mother-daughter bonds. At stake is a management contract with Hadid’s company and the chance to be represented by IMG Models in New York.

“The girls couldn’t come to the show without their moms,” explained Hadid in that same interview. (Hadid’s Philippine connection includes Dr. Vicki Belo, David Foster’s friend who never fails to call on Vicki when he’s in Manila; he was one of the judges of Asia’s Got Talent). “The moms are very much a part of the show.”

Says Jessica, “Yolanda taught us to let our kids fly on their own. The girls can do modeling but not travel around the world until they are 18.”

Now in Grade 8 (high school), Breanna knows what she wants and that’s to be a supermodel.

“I am the sum total of my parents’ best assets,” claims Breanna who migrated to the States with the family when she was five years old. “My mom is a model, a beauty queen, a singer and an actress, and my dad is an athlete. I have the best of both worlds,” adds Breanna who is also an equestrienne. “I was into horses as a girl. Now I am between modeling and horseback-riding but I am more inclined towards modeling.”

Thousands from all over the States auditioned for the show but Breanna didn’t.

“I posted my book, Date Like a Girl and Marry Like a Woman (launched in 2016), on my Instagram account, so I told Breanna that she should have her own IG account,” relates Jessica. “On her fifth posting, complete with a video, we got word from the production company. We were interviewed,” adding with a laugh, “and I think they liked my accent. After six months, we were informed that Breanna was in.”

Six more episodes and anything can happen.

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” says Breanna, brimming with hope. “We can get a lot of opportunities, hopefully. Whatever happens, I will start modeling.”

So how did Breanna fare on the first (and second, aired on Jan. 18) episodes? Watch Making a Model and see for yourselves.

“All I remind Breanna is, ‘Be humble, be grounded,’ to treasure her friends and not to forget the people who are helping her,” Jessica tells us before we bid her goodbye, and good night.

And, yes, good luck to Breanna!

* * *

What Backstreet Boy Kevin loves most about Manila

Minutes before the airing of Making a Model, Kevin Richardson talked to Conversations, recalling what he and the other Backstreet Boys loved most about Manila.

“I remember how during our shows the fans sang along with us,” Kevin’s eyes lit up, touching his mustache. “I love how they knew every word of our songs. I also like the Filipinos’ sense of family, and their love for music and the arts.”

Since 1997, the Boys (including Nick Carter, AJ McLean, Brian Littrel and Brian Dorough) have performed in the Philippines many times that Kevin has lost count. In 2012, they did a show with the New Kids on the Block at the MOA Arena where the Backstreet Boys also performed in 2015.

“Yes,” smiled Kevin, “I remember. I think that was after Pacquiao’s fight (Could be in Macau. — RFL). We rooted for him.”

Like the four other Boys, Kevin (now 46 but doesn’t look his age) is now a father of two boys with his wife Kristin Kay Willits Richardson, a dancer, a choreographer, an actress and a photographer. (“It was Kristin who takes our pictures,” shared Jessica). “In the meantime,” added Kevin, “she’s just being a mom.”
Nick has one baby boy, AJ has two baby girls, Brian has one son and Howie has two boys.

“We haven’t stopped performing,” said Kevin. “We have a Las Vegas residency through 2019. Next year, we are celebrating our 25th anniversary and we are now in the studio recording an album for it. We are also preparing for a world tour and we’re excited to be back in Manila by then.”

All these years, the Boys have stuck together even after Kevin quit in 2006, although he has rejoined the band for shows.

“We just did a New Year’s Eve show in Mexico. Even if we are always working together, we continue to see each other; we are always bonding. We go skiing…snow bonding in the mountains. But every now and then, we do have individual time with our families.” 

Asked what he thought that kept the Boys together after all these years, Kevin turned nostalgic.

“It has been too fast, very fast! The struggle is what makes us strong, proving ourselves. Once you have proven yourselves, you have to keep proving yourselves. It’s not easy. You have to challenge yourself, you have to take risks, you have to find a balance once you have a family and children.”

For sure, when the Backstreet Boys return to Manila for another show, they will regale their fans one more time with their well-loved hits, including two of Kevin’s personal favorites, Siberia and Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)