Who's hayden kho?

In the light of the sex video scandal of Hayden Kho which has now turned into a national issue, I couldn’t help but retrieve my notes from our interview with him late last year prior to the opening of the first Belo Medical Clinic in Cebu. He was the marketing director then of the Belo Medical Group and was still very much the boyfriend of popular cosmetic surgeon, Dra. Vicky Belo.

They were very sweet to each other, and even if the age gap (Dra. Belo is in her early 50s, and he, in his late 20s) undoubtedly raised doubts, their feelings for each other seemed genuine enough that you’d sincerely wish them the best of luck. At the time of the interview, he was finally emerging from the shadows of simply being Dra. Vicki Belo’s young doctor-boyfriend.

To the Cebu media present, he proved to be a charmer without even trying and gave the impression of someone who was comfortable with his growing fame. I learned that he is one of the five children of a pure Chinese doctor, who is practicing family medicine. His Fil-Spanish mother is the artistic type—a trait, he said, he inherited (he is good at playing the piano).

He claimed to “being kind of vain,”and having a natural eye for beauty and art, that’s why it was a natural progression for him to pursue cosmetic surgery after he became a doctor in 2007. One of his first patients were his sister, whose lipo procedure he personally administered.

He had said then that he starts his day early to meditate, yoga-style. He said he loves reading novels and books that bear such themes as self-help, marketing, poetry, and spirituality.

Towering at 6’3 tall, he was Mr. University Sto. Tomas in 2000, had modeling stints since he was 14 which brought him to Singapore and South Korea, and is more good-looking in person. A showbiz career was bound to happen—sooner or later.

When we interviewed him, he already had several TV assignments to his credit that I had to ask if he was ready to fully embrace show business. He answered, “I’ve been well prepared for it.”

He also showed us a photo of himself, back-to-back with then Belo endorser Katrina Halili, as promotional publicity for Belo’s treatments. They were both naked in the photo, with only the sensitive parts of their bodies covered. He said he did it because it was his idea as marketing director and that no other male endorser of Belo was willing to do it. By the manner and ease he showed us the photo, it wasn’t hard to tell that this guy was very confident of his body and wasn’t afraid to flaunt it--even before the mostly female members of the press.

One writer asked in jest if something happened between him and Katrina, to which he answered with a laugh, and we readily dismissed that reaction as inconsequential. After all, the soft-spoken doctor was very vocal about his feelings for Dra. Vicki Belo. In fact, he gave us tips on keeping the love alive: “Be mature,” “Be honest,” “Be respectful” and “Have little space for yourself.”

He really came across as a loving and loyal boyfriend during the presscon, which Dr. Vicki Belo seconded by saying, “He has never given me any reason to feel jealous.

Dra. Belo was asked on why she allowed Hayden Kho to enter the world of showbiz. One prominent entertainment editor had advised her against it, saying he will definitely changed. But she explained then, “I want him to have his own identity. I hope I won’t regret it.”

We all know what happened next, as tales of betrayal, attempted suicide, and taped trysts with different women (including Halili, by her own admission), which have captured the public’s imagination, have surfaced.

Hayden Kho finally has found an identity alright. And it’s one that nobody wants, but which he sadly has to live with for a very, very long time.