On the heels of a wayward husband comes the suffering wife.
Speaking to Showbiz Central host Pia Guanio, former actress Almira Muhlach opened her heart regarding the latest incident involving her husband Paul "Bong" Alvarez and its effects on their already shaky marriage.
To start with, Almira admitted that her marriage with the ex-cager was indeed going through tough times, although things were doing relatively well for a month until the alleged mauling incident took place. When Almira saw the footage of Bong in the precinct, surrounded by policemen and reporters, she confided that at that exact moment she just lost it.
"I am very tired. Parang I've come to the point na nga of asking why is these all happening. Actually nung nandun nga siya [Bong] in prison, talagang parang I was like dreaming. Parang sabi ko sa sarili ko, is these true? Nakita ko na naka-posas siya, nasa loob siya. Naka-shades lang ako, iyak ako nang iyak. All of these happened nang bigla, e. It was all sudden kasi maayos kami lately," Almira told Pia.
"Oh no, what is this again? 'Yung napapanood ko na lang 'yung nasa kabilang channel na pagkasama-sama na ng asawa ko. Sabi ko, 'Ano 'yan? What's happening?' So I had to rush to go to him to know kung ano 'yung story. Kasi nung kausap ko siya, ang alam ko lang istorya is about the taxi driver. I didn't know na meron na palang isa pang incident," she added, referring to her husband's tiff this time with ABS-CBN reporter Gretchen Malalad after she attempted to get the side of the cab driver.
NATURALLY CALM. This is not the first time that Bong got involved in a controversy that has to do with assault allegedly brought about by his volatile temper. Almira openly acknowledged her husband's tendency to gravitate towards trouble. However, she insisted that Bong wouldn't hurt anyone, especially a woman, out of the blue.
"Yes, I do believe kasi nga ganun siya talaga. Pag inunahan siya, hindi niya puwedeng hindi papalagpasin. Talagang if someone... may ginagawang masama sa kanya, talagang magfa-fight back siya, gaganti."
She then proceeded to defend her husband against accusations of physical violence: "Alam mo si Bong, brusko lang siya as in maski sa basketball kilala siya with his built and everything. Pero with hurting Gretchen, I don't think so, Pia."
ALMOST GIVING UP. "Honestly, totoo nagkakaproblema kami. Matagal na kaming nagkakaproblema ni Bong. There was this time na talagang feeling ko I wanted to give up already," Almira opened up, her voice cracking a bit.
When Pia asked why she thought of giving up on the marriage for a time, the former actress simply said, "I can't take the life that I have right now."
Fortunately, Almira assessed her plans and decided to stick to the marriage thus keeping the family intact.
The thwarted split-up has nothing to do with reports of Bong being violent, alcoholic, and unfaithful. No such things come into play according to Almira.
"It's as a whole na. Hindi lang nakaano dun sa violence. Hindi sa pambababae kasi wala naman kaming problema dun sa pambababae. As a whole, kapareho ng sinasabi ng ibang tao 'yung parating gulo, 'yung parating ganyan. It really hurt me so much because we have kids, so parang ang katuwiran ko, I don't want my kids to grow up na palaging may ganyang gulo.
"Sabi ko nga kay Bong, kung tayong dalawa lang madali ito, e. But there are three kids that are really affected. Alam mo, Pia, bawal ang TV, bawal ang newspaper sa bahay. But there are just some people who are really inconsiderate of the children's feelings."
BONDED IN TROUBLE. "We are not on the rocks. I'm here to stand by his side," affirmed Almira without blinking.
