Doing it Chacha’s way

DJ Chacha is doing pretty well. She has a successful radio show and two best-selling books. So, it surprised everyone when she entered Pinoy Big Brother’s (PBB) house.

?“I wanted to find out if it is scripted or not,” Chacha says. “I texted Eric Nicolas, when I saw his Facebook post that they were looking for one more celebrity housemate. Eric said he’d bring it up with the staff, then I texted my manager.”

?The next thing Chacha knew, she was already en route to Vietnam, where the first phase of the show would be held. When she finally got to enter the PBB house, what she saw inside surprised her.

“When I saw Hashtags and Yassi Pressman, I thought Big Brother would make me their tita. They were all bagets,” she laughs. “I enjoyed spending time with them. They were all nice to me. Hideo Muraoka, Jinri Park and Nonong were closer to my age. So, everything was okay.”

?Chacha enjoyed being in the house, but eventually she realized it wasn’t for her. She thought about her life outside the PBB house — her career as an author, event host and radio DJ. And she missed her family, especially her daughter Sabb and partner Mike. Chacha, not used to being away from them for an extended period of time, decided to do a voluntary exit from the house.

“That’s the reason why I left PBB house in haste,” she says. “It was so hard to be away from my family. I am used to having them around. Not once did I go to a mall without them. They always come with me.”

For her, it was not a career boost when she decided to become a housemate. What she really wanted was to learn more about life — and find herself in the process.

“When you are outside, you take so many things for granted like bread or condensed milk. Me and my housemates, we love those. We felt so happy whenever we had those in the morning. Moral of the story? When you’re inside the house, you’ll learn to appreciate the smallest things,” she says.

?She also learned to do her share of the household chores, which, she says, came as a surprise to her family, who kept up with her stint on TV. “Since most of the time you sit idly, you will have to look for things to do. I learned how to cook adobo, nilagang baka at sinigang. Nonong taught me how to cook those. When I got out of the house, I cooked for my family and it was a big surprise. My mother asked, is that the way things are inside PBB because you were always cooking and cleaning each time we open the TV.”

?Chacha admits that before she landed a place in Pinoy Big Brother Lucky Season 7, she depended on other people to do the cooking and the household chores. “Until now, my parents are with me. I am so dependent on other people.”

?Chacha’s time in the house somehow changed her attitude. It also made her realize that there are more important things in life than fame or fortune.

“I work very, very hard because I want to save up for the future. When I was inside, I realized I need to slow down a bit and have time for my family. I really thought that I would miss the social media but no, I longed for my family. I missed them so much.” — With reports from Almed Garcia and Julian Mauricio