#JakAndGill living happily ever after

Right after he and his bride Gillian “Gill” Salita exchanged “I do’s,” Jako de Leon posted this on his Twitter account, “I used to joke that the longest sentence in human history is ‘I do.’ But as I stood there in front of my now wife, I immediately realized how true that is because ‘I do’s’ deserve no end.”

Very true! At their wedding last March 16 at the small chapel of The Archbishop Palace, Jako and Gill were given a “life sentence” calculated to make them live happily ever after.

“As you can see,” said Jako in a Funfare interview, “our names pair up quite nicely. In fact, our hashtag is simply #JakAndGill.” 

Jako with proud parents Joey and Eileen

A celebrity in his own right (although he can’t escape being identified as the son of Joey de Leon and Eileen Macapagal-de Leon), Jako is the executive producer and creative director/writer for the PaperbagTV YouTube channel noted for various online web series, game shows and characters including a parody of Bogart the Explorer in Gangnam Style Philippines which enjoys a few million followers. Gill has been working as a training and development specialist for a local airline.

The wedding capped a friendship that started in 2011 when they met through common friends at a quiz/trivia night. Soon after, Gill moved to New Zealand and came back two years later.

The newly-weds with (from left) Jako’s brother Jio, half-sister Cheenee, mom Eileen Macapagal-de Leon and dad Joey de Leon, Jako’s sister Jocas and half-brother Keempee…

“That was when we began dating,” noted Jako. “We dated for around five years before we decided to tie the knot. It was a relatively small event with only about 60 to 70 guests since early on, we wanted an intimate ceremony surrounded by mostly family members and some of our close friends. We then proceeded to Blue Leaf Cosmopolitan for the reception where we were joined by other relatives and friends.”

Unlike other newly-weds who usually spend a “one-time-big time” honeymoon, Jako and Gill have scheduled several which they call “mini-moons.”

…and officiating priest Fr. Jose ‘Bong’ Tupino Jr.

“Actually,” admitted Jako during this e-mail interview last week, “we are currently enjoying one of our ‘mini-moons’ in Bali. We both love and enjoy traveling so much that we thought it was perfect and most convenient, given our busy schedules, to split our honeymoon over the next year. We are planning to visit a different place every month.”

Asked how soon they plan to have a child, the first apo of Jako’s mom Eileen and that of Gill’s parents (Joey has a few grandchildren from Cheenee and Keempee, his children from a previous marriage), Jako said, “Sooner than later, we hope.”

…with Gill’s parents, Gilda and Atoi Salita…

And what kind of dad would he be?

“People always say that having a child changes everything,” added Jako. “I guess I’ll just cross the bridge when I get there. Though, of course, I wish to be as a great a dad as I possibly could. My own father is one of the most supportive people I know…in every sense of the word…and I can only hope that when my time comes to have a kid, that I can be at least as amazing a father to my child as my dad was to me.”

…and with principal sponsors Cristina Salita, Nelia Cosio, Margarita Medina, Joyce Salvador, Maret Bautista, Madelin Samonte and Teresita Gonzalez; and Albert Salita, Gus Cosio, Capt. Rodolfo Medina, Victor Salvador, Jun Bautista, Danee Samonte and Louis Bartolome Borja.

In vintage Joey de Leon, the groom’s father delivered a light-hearted message with serious undertones. Said Joey, “Going up or falling down, ay walang iwanan. Remember that life is a wheel. You go up, you go down. Kaya ang maganda, gawin n’yo na lang siyang playground. Jack and Jill sana ang theme song na gamitin n’yo. Do you remember kung ano ang nasa dulo? La, la, la — may ibig sabihin pala ito. According to a song ‘La, la, la, means I love you.’”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)