A baby wouldn’t have helped...

Curtain-raisers:

• It’s confirmed: Barbie Almalbis (formerly of Barbie’s Cradle) married Martin Honasan, son of former Sen. Gringo Honasan, at a Christian wedding held at her house a few days ago. Named Best Female Artist in the recent Awit Awards, Barbie kind of "shocked" many people when in her acceptance speech she thanked her manager, Warner Music and "specially my husband." It’s not known if Martin’s dad was present at the wedding. Barbie announced that their church wedding is scheduled either end of this year or early next year.

• Genevieve Mendoza of Toronto and other readers pointed out that Dana Reeve, widow of Christopher Reeve (Superman himself who was confined to a wheelchair due to a neck injury until his death last year) succumbed to lung cancer early this year and not to breast cancer (as Conversations wrongly mentioned last Sunday). "That’s why it was baffling," wrote Genevieve, "because Dana was a non-smoker and she subscribed to clean living."

• Congratulations to The STAR’s Lifestyle columnist Erwin Romulo for doing a good job as one of the scriptwriters for the new ABS-CBN sitcom entitled Let’s Go, directed by Edgar Mortiz. The show airs Saturdays starting at 4 p.m.

• Ricky Lee is reminding his fellow alumni of the Camarines Norte Chung Hua High School about the general assembly/meeting scheduled on Sunday, June 25, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the CHHS quadrangle in Daet, Camarines Norte. Guest speaker is Camarines Norte Gov. Jesus O. Typoco Jr.

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Everything that has to be revealed about Miriam Quiambao’s failed marriage to Italian businessman Claudio Rondinelli was "scooped" by Büm Tenorio in his column New Beginnings in the Allure section of The STAR’s June 11 issue. Until Büm told all, Miriam was trying – in vain – to keep the break-up of her three-year marriage under wraps.

Left with no alternative, Miriam finally admitted during a tearful guesting on S-Files last Sunday that, as Büm wrote, signs of a marital crack-up started showing right after their sunset wedding in January 2003 in Boracay.

Miriam admitted many more things to Paolo Bediones who did the interview, with Paolo himself confessing that he had his own misgivings about Miriam and Claudio’s (hasty?) decision to get married following a whirlwind courtship.

No third party was involved, said Miriam.

Actually, as early as October last year, I noticed a certain sadness in Miriam’s eyes when she joined our group (GMA’s Wilma Galvante, Inquirer’s Tim Yap, etc.) to watch the Il Divo showcase in Hong Kong where she and Claudio were based. During a late dinner, Miriam was telling Tim and me that she was taking up yoga and meditation and as she did so, I saw how very bored she was with her life (as a "lady of leisure"?) in Hong Kong where Claudio owns and manages a fine-dining restaurant. Miriam didn’t say so but I knew that she was terribly missing her TV work (having quit as Paolo Bediones’ co-host on Extra Challenge upon her marriage).

Was money the cause of the break-up?

Miriam said no, but her interview with Büm was very revealing ("She didn’t say that things were off-the-record," insisted Büm).

Here’s what Büm wrote:

She all the more realized that they were not compatible when Miriam, through the funding of Claudio, started a business selling jewelry to Italy. "That’s when I discovered more that we cannot go into a partnership. How can I live with him and talk to him eye to eye when in fact he’s financially dominant. Money can be an element for control. But I am not saying he controlled me. Wala akong sariling pera. I feel guilty when I spend his money. Money does not make you happy. I had access to all the money in the world but I was not happy."

Did Claudio (who admitted he wasn’t the "marrying kind" early in their marriage) pay Miriam a fat sum for the break-up? Miriam said no.

Poalo Bediones asked Miriam if her marriage could have been saved if she and Claudio had a baby and Miriam, controlling her tears, said it would have made things more complicated.

Somebody close to Miriam, 31, and Claudio, 36, told Funfare that the couple couldn’t possibly have a baby because, well, "their intimate moments were limited." Therefore, a baby wouldn’t have helped...

Well, Miriam may be hurting but I’m sure that sooner or later she’ll get hold of herself and move on with ease, sans bitterness nor resentment toward Claudio who, she said, will forever remain her good friend and against whom Miriam has no bad word to say. "He’s a good person," Miriam told Paolo, "and so am I."

Work being the best and most effective therapy, Miriam should find it easier to recover now that she’s back on television as co-host of Paolo in the new GMA show entitled Pinoy Meets World, which premieres on Sunday, June 25, after Ang Mahiwagang Baul. Miriam and Paolo will take televiewers on trips around the world in the same way that they thrilled televiewers with their derring-do while co-hosting Extra Challenge.

First on their itinerary is India where Miriam flew yesterday straight from the Pinoy Meets World presscon held at Annabel’s Restaurant (on Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City).

Did Miriam walk out in tears when an intrusive lady scribe cornered her and "grilled" her on her failed marriage? Yes, she did but she later came back with eyes visibly swelling from crying. When ribbed about it, the lady scribe also "walked out," which was nothing new because she always does it during presscons (ho-hum!).

Piolo and company ‘banned’ in Barcelona?

I just got an e-mail from Tina Paner who was featured in this corner a few issues ago with her daughter Kristiel.

This time, Tina was not updating Funfare on her comeback movie, Gil M. Portes’ Barcelona which was shot in that Spanish city recently, but to air her gripe against the group of Piolo Pascual and company who did a show in Barcelona on June 10, produced by Tina and her friends.

Here’s the gist of Tina’s complaint:

After the show, Piolo and company (including Rica Peralejo and Pokwang) didn’t even give our kababayan a chance to have photos with them or to sign autographs. It would have been a treat for our kababayan who took time out to watch the show. You know how eager our kababayan abroad are when Filipino artists come for a show.

I guess it was not really the fault of Piolo and company but that of Micky Muñoz, the artists’ handler, who didn’t let the artists go near their fans/kababayan, making our kababayan feel as if they have a contagious disease. Micky Muñoz said that the artists had to rest because they were tired but it turned out that they were just in a hurry to take the Bus Turistic for a tour around Barcelona. ‘Yon ba ang pagod? Micky Muñoz was even rude during the dinner at the Myramar restaurant which is owned by the good friends of the Lopezes of ABS-CBN. Of course, the owners felt bad.

I learned that the same thing happened in Amsterdam where the group did a show before coming to Barcelona. But I assured our kababayan in Barcelona that the same thing wouldn’t happen, that I would see to it. Eh, nangyari nga and our kababayan were blaming me for not letting them go near Piolo and company. I explained to them that the one who controlled the situation was Micky Muñoz, pero galit pa rin sila sa akin. All I could do was cry.

The show was my second production. I was happy with the first one held last March, so I and my friends were encouraged to produce again. In that show last March, Ogie Alcasid and Manilyn Reynes were very nice to our kababayan; they posed for pictures and signed autographs.

Because of what happened, we might have to "ban" Piolo and company in Barcelona (and, I understand, in Amsterdam). Our kababayan were saying, "Kung ganoon sila, huwag na lang sila bumalik dito!"

(My comment: Sometimes, in situations like the one narrated by Tina Paner, the stars don’t really have a say and it’s their "handlers" who will wield the baton, so to speak. Even if the stars would love to mix with the fans, sign autographs and pose for pictures, if the "handler" says no, the stars can’t do anything but obey. Unfortunately, it’s the stars who get all the flak. I know Piolo to be nice to his fans and more so to our kababayan abroad who are eager to see their idols if only to ease their homesickness a bit.)

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