Welcome to Marc's World

Nestled at a cozy corner of Mahogany Place 3 in Taguig City, right in front of an empty lot, the three-storey house has everything except a “queen.”

Marc Nelson lives there, alone, but a cleaning woman comes six days a week.

Doesn’t he feel lonely?

“No,” said Marc as he ushered me in. “I don’t. Friends come and sometimes stay. Sleepovers, you know.”

Built more than a year ago, the house occupies 330 of the 380 square-meter lot. It has three bedrooms with a den, a small garden and a deck at the second floor and third floor which has a sweeping view of the subdivision where also live other celebrities including Marc’s buddy-buddy Rovilson Fernandez, Bianca King, Joey Mead and Ian King, Robbie Carmona, and the newly-wed Maggie Wilson and Victor Consunji (whose family is the place’s developer).

The three-storey house occupies 330 of a 380-square-meter lot in Mahogany Place 3, Taguig City, where other celebrities also live.

He unwinds at the sala where he watches his favorite TV series (and, yes, porno films), seated on the sofa at the back of which is an aquarium where swims a little turtle (“I love turtles because I’m a water-loving person”) given to him as a gift by Patricia Javier almost a decade ago when they were going steady. Patricia is now happily married to chiropractor Robert Walcher III and they live in San Diego, California, with their son; while Marc has remained fancy-free even if he has had serious romances with the likes of Paula Taylor and Priscilla Meirelles (the Brazilian 2004 Miss Earth who is getting married to John Estrada at a beach wedding in La Union next weekend). Marc has remained friends with Patricia and so with Robert. In fact, he has visited the couple in San Diego.

“Patricia dropped by when she came home late last year,” volunteered Marc.

The house is ‘very Marc Nelson,’ the sala, take note of the aquarium where swims a turtle given to Marc by Patricia Javier a decade ago when they were going steady.

Behind the sliding door from the sala are the well-kept kitchen and the dining room (the long table seats eight people), with a bar in-between.

“Do I cook? No, I don’t. Oh yes, I do…pasta. I host simple dinners with friends. The house is like their own. They feel at home here. If I have to go out of town, they can stay here and have a party if they want to.”

It was his friend Aisha Gonzales who did the interior décor according to Marc’s specifications.

his bedroom.

“I got tired of living in a condo unit for many years, so I had this house built,” said Marc who once described himself as a “Citizen of the World” because he traveled a lot for work and then some, not wanting to stay put in one place, until he fell in love with the Philippines. “At first, I looked for a bigger condo unit. Then, Victor told me that he was building houses here at Mahogany and showed me a model unit. I said, ‘Wow!’ When he told me the price, which was almost the same as that of the condo unit I was looking at, I said, ‘Are you kidding me…I can get a house for the same price?’ I fell in love with the style of the house. I love tall windows, I like having a view, I like having decks, and a breeze and fresh air — everything that I missed while living in a condo from which all I could see was the tall building next door.”

Marc has lived in Australia, Hong Kong, Tanzania, Kenya, the US, Canada and some other places in the world but, he qualified, “The Philippines is home.”

Twelve years ago, Marc came here on a month-long vacation — you know, for scuba-diving. Then he started getting work and the longer that he stayed here, the harder he fell for the country.

“I used to live here as a kid, “ revealed Marc. “My parents were based here for a few years. My father worked with the DBP here while my mom ran a scuba-diving club.” Marc’s mom is Burmese-English and his dad is Chinese-Burmese (but Marc is using his stepfather’s surname).

Marc has an older brother and a younger half-sister, and all of them are in Australia.

“I used to say that I have no family here. That was a lie. One of my cousins from the States is now living here with her husband who works here. I have distant cousins by marriage in Legazpi City. My mom’s brother married a Filipina. I was here during the whole People Power revolution. Coming back here, I realized how much I love the country and the people; the country has so much to offer. You can do so many things here.”

Asked if he’s single (and available), Marc admitted, “I’m dating,” without identifying who the girl is.

So how does he cope with lonely nights in such a big house with, so far for company, only his collection of figurines (turtles and elephants), his books, his paintings and souvenirs (including a wooden figure called Ujamae from Tanzania) collected from his travels around the world, and blown-up framed photographs which he himself has taken?

“Are you kidding me? All my friends are here! Last night, I went to the gym and I had like eight friends come over. We just sat around and watched TV, and then I just left them, went up to my room and slept. My friends can take care of themselves. Because I don’t have a family here, my friends are still my family. My barkada is very closely-knit.”

On the steps of the stairs to the second floor are framed photos and on the wall at the top of the stairs is a small library containing Marc’s favorite books. Besides his bedroom and a guest room (where his mom usually stays when she visits), also located at the second floor are Marc’s office and two walk-in closets packed full with his clothes and shoes. At the bathroom hangs a huge painting of a beautiful woman who looks very much like Patricia Javier. “Yes,” Marc confirmed, “she’s Patricia.”

The sheet covering Marc’s bed was a bit crumpled and I presumed that he had just lain on it. He said that he sleeps in boxers and T-shirt. Never in the nude? “Hmmmm, it depends!”, he joked and then laughed. “I usually sleep with just one pillow.”

It was only when I was bidding Marc goodbye at the front door did I notice a marker under one of the Japanese Bamboos that surround the house. You won’t miss it: MARC NELSON engraved on stone.

The “Citizen of the World” has finally stayed put in the Philippines.

He has found a home. Watch video interview

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