Fabio is here to stay

Like his fellow Brapanese Daniel Matsunaga and Akihiro Sato, Fabio Ide has found a new home in the Philippines after working as a model in Bangkok, Singapore and other parts of Asia. It’s here that Fabio has embarked on a career as a TV host (with Eugene Domingo and Allan K. in the GMA late-night Saturday show Comedy Bar). He has also done commercials and, on the side, making personal appearances around the country.

Daniel is vocal about his desire to live in the Philippines now that he’s going steady with Heart Evangelista. The two are even talking marriage.

Winner of Survivor Philippines Celebrity Edition, Akihiro also plans to live here, and put up a restaurant.  

Last Sunday night, my friend Raoul Tidalgo and I chanced upon Fabio at the rooftop of a condo building in Makati City where Fabio lives. Raoul’s sister Hilda, who works with the United Nations, also lives there. Raoul and I were, well, shooting the breeze, gasping at the panoramic view of Metro Manila from 23-storeys high, when guess who stepped out of the elevator, dressed in sando and loose shorts — yes, Fabio Ide! We were mutually surprised seeing each other at such an unexpected place. He said he just came from a meet-and-greet in Laguna and he was unwinding at the gym beside the family-sized pool.

Raoul and I decided to ambush-interview Fabio who has been staying in his bachelor’s pad for years, presumably the same one where he lived-in with a Filipina beauty queen. Daniel lives (yes, alone) in the same building but Akihiro has moved to another place.

“She didn’t like it when you mentioned in your article that we were living together,” said Fabio, sounding neither offended nor offensive, adding in a bit crooked Tagalog, “baka daw hindi magustuhan ng mga kababayan n’ya because she said that Filipinos are conservative.” He was referring to a Conversations piece (Boys From Brazil) I did with him, along with Daniel and Akihiro, middle of last year. They have already broken up.

So you see, Fabio beat Daniel to establishing a Filipino connection. It was only last year that Daniel started going steady with Heart. The sweethearts have introduced each other to their respective families. The three Brapanese have roots both in Brazil and Japan.

“Like Daniel and Akihiro, I like it here,” said Fabio.

That’s why he’s determined to master the Filipino language, unrepentantly speaking in even broken Tagalog every chance he gets.

He disappeared for three weeks (with Daniel pitching in for him in Comedy Bar) when he visited his family in Brazil, parts of it suffered damages brought about by floods, typhoons and landslides.

“My family was safe,” assured Fabio. “Hindi naman nabaha ang lugar namin.”

It was the eve of Valentine’s Day and Fabio said that he’s “unattached.”

“No girlfriend na muna,” he said. “Concentrate muna sa career.”

Asked in jest if he brought home girls when he felt lonely, Fabio smiled.

“I bring home only food. Or I order ‘delivery’.”

I told Fabio that he looked fit while Akihiro seemed to be gaining weight.

“Kasi may pera na s’ya,” referring to Akihiro’s P3-M prize as Survivor Philippines winner, “so he can now buy good food. Joke lang!”

What role would he play if given a chance to do a movie?

“A kontrabida,” said Fabio who will soon join as co-host of Lolit Solis, Tim Yap, Gorgy Rula and Ronnie Carrasco in Tweetbiz on QTV. “Hindi ko pa nagagawa ‘yon.”

After Raoul and I took a few shots of Fabio lifting weights, his muscles rippling like gentle waves, we bade him goodbye. In a while, he’d be back in his lonely room, ready for an empty Valentine’s.

Watch video interview

The 10 Practical Commandments for 2011

I just got the following “10 Practical Commandments for 2011” from my friend Leila Fernando-Tolosa (who didn’t say where she got it) of the Bethlehem House of Bread, Baliuag, Bulacan. Funfare readers might get some grains of wisdom from the list.

1) Prayer is not a “spare wheel” that you pull out when in trouble, but it is a “steering wheel” that directs the right path throughout.     

2) So a car’s windshield is so large and the rearview mirror is so small? It’s because our past is not as important as our future. So, look ahead and move on.     

3) Friendship is like a book. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.     

4) All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy them; they will not last forever. If going wrong, don’t worry, they can’t last long, either.     

5) Old friends are gold! New friends are diamond! If you get a Diamond, don’t forget the gold! Because to hold a diamond, you always need a base of gold!     

6) Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, God smiles from above and says, “Relax, sweetheart, it’s just a bend, not the end!    

7) When God solves your problems, you have faith in his abilities. When God doesn’t solve your problems He has faith in your abilities.     

8) A blind person asked St. Anthony: “Can there be anything worse than losing eyesight?” He replied: “Yes, losing your vision!”      

9) When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them. And sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.    

10) Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today’s peace.

Said Leila, “If you really enjoy the ‘Commandments,’ please pass them to your friends so as to brighten their day.”

Why showbiz romances don’t usually last

Why is it harder to keep a showbiz romance?

Ask those who have been through it.

Anne Curtis and others like her with non-showbiz partners now agree that their love life is more quiet. When both partners are in showbiz, the relationship can get complicated.

Ask a psychologist.

“The showbiz environment is like one big pick-up joint,” says Dr. Randy Dellosa, relationship expert and life coach to celebrities. “Since most everyone is beautiful and handsome, there is a natural temptation to get attracted to and lust after someone more physically attractive than one’s current partner.”

Another source of friction, he added, is that many female celebrities get a kick out of being temptresses and seductresses while their male counterparts tend to be “players,” that when by chance these people meet, they seize the opportunity to enjoy the chemistry.

“Thirdly,” Dellosa said, “Rumors of break-ups, stormy relationships and exposés of infidelity are staple news in gossip shows. Sometimes, gossip is intentionally created to destabilize and otherwise harmonious showbiz couple.”

Finally, there’s the fact that showbiz people are treated like “commodities with a short shelf life.”

Younger stars replace the more mature ones. This idea of disposability, explains Dellosa, is carried over in showbiz relationships. Once the partner loses his magic, the other looks for someone to replace him.

(Note: Dellosa may be reached at www.randydellosa.com.)

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