Danica Sotto & Marc Pingris: Friends in Love

Regal Matriarch Mother Lily and Remy Monteverde.
Marlene Dauden and Nonggoy Hernaez.
Daisy Romualdez and Manny Paner.
Marita Zobel and Boy Roxas.
Rosemarie Gil and Estoy Estrada (they separated and Rosemarie reconciled with first husband Eddie Mesa).
Rio Locsin and Padim Ysrael.
Coney Reyes and (the late) Larry Mumar (annulled).
Almira Muhlach and Bong Alvarez.
Jackie Forster and Benjie Paras (annulled).
Alma Moreno and Joey Marquez (annulled).
Mikee Cojuangco and (Rep.) Dodot Jaworski.
Vince Hizon and Patricia Bermudez (expecting their second child anytime now).
Sherilyn Reyes and Chris Tan.
Maricar de Mesa and Don Allado.

And, of course, Kris Aquino and James Yap (expecting their first child last week of May).

Yes, basketball and showbiz have long been loving bedfellows. It’s easy to see why. Like beauty and brains, beauty and brawn have to be a perfect match. Beautiful women are helplessly attracted to macho men. You know, birds of a feather...Well, that seems to apply in these matches, in a sense.

Now, add Danica Sotto and Purefoods player Marc (not with a "k") Pingris to the growing honor roll. The couple has decided to tie the knot in a "quiet, simple, solemn and strictly-family" Christian wedding on March 3. So "secret" is the affair that Danica, 24, and Marc, 25, won’t give further details.

As the whole world knows, Danica is the daughter of ex-couple Vic Sotto and Dina Bonnevie, raised in comfort and luxury. In contrast, Marc comes from humble beginnings, reared (along with two siblings) by a single mother abandoned by her French husband (lover?) when Marc, the youngest, was only months old. Heaven and earth do meet, don’t they?

They began as friends and, ask battle-scarred lovers and couples, relationships founded on friendship are said to be lasting. Danica and Marc have become so comfortable with each other that when he finally proposed, she felt that it was, well, "anti-climactic."

Three days from today, it’s Valentine’s Day. We can stand one more sugary-sweet love story, can’t we?

How did you meet and match?

Danica: Matched ba talaga?

Sure, you do! (Even if he towers at 6’5" and, beside him, she looks like a doll at 5’4".)

Danica: Oh yes, we started as friends.

Marc: I had just broken up with my girlfriend and I was feeling lonely. We were introduced to each other by a mutual friend. I didn’t know that she was an actress. I know her father but I didn’t know that she’s his daughter. Wala akong alam sa showbiz. When we were introduced, I simply said, "Hi!" Ganoon lang.

Danica: I also didn’t know that he was a basketball player. I learned only much later. Actually, we would bump into each other in the gym. We were working out in the same gym. He was only passing me by, as if he didn’t notice me, so I was starting to be irritated. Naiinis na ako, ‘no! I mean, if he wanted to make friends with me, why not say so, di ba?

Marc: We were limited to exchanges of "Hi!" and "Hello!"

Danica: Then, our mutual friend told me that Marc wanted to get my number so, I said, "Don’t give it to him." I also had just broken up with my boyfriend (a band member) and I resolved to just stay single muna. I was beginning to enjoy being single. I didn’t want to have another boyfriend and get hurt again. I was broken-hearted, you know.

How did the courtship start — and lead to the marriage proposal?

Danica: It didn’t happen at once. Everytime Marc would ask me out, I was always with my family or with my friends. Never did we date na kaming dalawa lang.

Marc: We met in Oct. 2005. I was free and she was free.

Oh, you were both, ehem, broken-hearted. Did you fall for each other on the rebound? A case of "misery loves company"?

Danica: Not really. We were friends for four months before we entered the courtship stage. He was very formal when he began courting me.

Marc (Joking): Actually, I was afraid to court her because I thought that since she’s an actress, she must have many suitors.

Danica: Hoy, not all actresses are like that, huh!

Marc: By then, I already knew that she’s the daughter of Vic Sotto and Dina Bonnevie. Pero okay lang because I didn’t have any bad intentions.

You said you didn’t want to enter another "commitment." How was Marc able to make you change your mind and say, "Yes"?

Danica: In December 2005, our family went to Boracay and he followed me there. But before that, he was already sending "feelers" — you know, he’d drop by the set when I had taping or he’d give me flowers even in front of many people at Starbucks. I must say that of all the guys who courted me, Marc was the only one who faced my parents decently. Siya lang ang humarap sa magulang ko nang maayos. Before he would visit me at home, he’d call first and ask permission from my mom.

Did your mom take to Marc easily?

Danica (Laughing): At first, no! Tinalakan siya to death! My mom gave him a "sermon." You know what, I knew that Marc would be a good husband because I saw how he treats his own mom. He’s family-oriented, mapagmahal sa pamilya. Once, I saw him joking around with his mom; nagsasayaw-sayaw pa sila! You know, my mom would always remind me, "Kung paano inaalagaan ng isang lalaki ang kanyang ina, ganyan ka rin niya rerespetuhin at mamahalin."

Are you a Mama’s Boy?

Marc: Yes, I must admit that I am.

Danica: Marc is really a generous soul, very good-natured. He’s the type who would give to somebody his supper; isusubo na lang niya, ibibigay pa niya sa iba. That’s when I realized that if and when we got married, he’d really love me with all his heart and take good care of me.

What else made you fall in love with him?

Danica: I was touched by his life story. He has gone through a lot of hardships and he survived them all. Hindi siya bumitiw. So I’m confident that when we go through the trials, he won’t give way, he will hold on, hindi niya ako iiwanan. I know that he’s firm and strong.

How did you know that Danica is the one?

Marc: I prayed for a sign. I was hurt when I broke up with my girlfriend of three years, so I prayed that if my next relationship would just end the same way, with me hurting, sabi ko, "Diyos ko, huwag na lang po!" I would text her as soon as I woke up... I wanted to call her up. I couldn’t understand myself. That’s when I knew that I was in love with her.

How did Marc propose to you?

Danica: I knew that he was going to propose to me but he was just biding his time. Besides, you know what he did? He connived with some people close to me in "stealing" my ring. He was going to buy me a ring secretly and he wanted to know the size of my finger.

Marc: The night I proposed to her, I didn’t know what to do. One side of my head was telling me, "Give the ring to her now!" while the other side kept saying, "Not now, not yet!"

Danica: I saw him crying and I started to laugh. Ang laki-laking tao at umiiyak! At the same time, I was so moved. What else could I do but say "yes"?

Do you see qualities of your dad in Marc?

Danica: Actually, many people say that Marc and my dad are alike in some ways.

Is Marc faithful — to one?

Danica (Lovingly elbowing Marc): Sana, sana!

How did your mom and dad react when they learned about the proposal?

Danica: My dad wasn’t so happy and at the same time he wasn’t sad naman. I think he reacted the way most dads do. My mom? Okay lang siya. Cool lang siya.

(To Marc) What did Vic tell you when you made pamanhikan?

Marc: Kung maghihiwalay lang kayo, huwag na kayong magpapakita sa akin. That’s what he told us.

(To Danica) And how did your brother Oyo react?

Danica (Laughing again): He told Marc, "Hey, even if you’re taller and bigger than I am, don’t fool my sister or I will beat you up!" Actually, Oyo and Marc are friends.

I gathered that you haven’t seen your dad, a French now in Paris. How do you think he will react if you tell him that you’re getting married?

Marc: You know what Danica did? Without telling me, she went to the French Embassy to inquire about my dad’s whereabouts and she did locate him in Paris. To make a long story short, I was able to talk to him for the first time. And to think that I was only months old when he left! I must admit that I felt resentment toward him, so at first I couldn’t say, "I love you, Dad!" But soon, we were laughing and laughing na, and I kept saying, "I love you, Dad!" na. He asked me to visit him in Paris after the wedding, with Danica. Maybe next year, if we can’t go to Paris, my dad said he might be the one to come.

No wonder you’re close to your mom, a Mama’s Boy.

Marc: Before, I wasn’t interested in meeting my dad. I was bitter, eh! Besides, I saw how my mom struggled as both our mother and father. We helped her by working in the market.

It’s a pity that your dad won’t be here for the wedding. You want it to be a quiet, simple but solemn affair, right?

Danica: It’s going to be a garden Christian wedding.

Okay, no further details about the wedding. But could you give us a preview of how you will exchange vows?

Danica (Addressing Marc in a serious tone): No marriage is perfect. Time will come when we will face challenges. We should focus not on the problems but on the solutions. Always bear in mind that I believe in you...

Marc (Addressing Danica also in a serious tone): Basta, nandito lang ako kahit anong mangyari; I’ll be by your side come what may. (Adding with a laugh) Pero kapag tumaba ka, iiwanan kita!

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