Recent tabloid blind items claimed that a celebrity couple was having marital woes. It didn't take long before news columnists named that couple as Dingdong Avanzado and Jessa Zaragoza.

At first, the couple was reluctant to speak on the issue. In fact, Dingdong told PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) in an earlier interview that he was not aware of the issue (Click here for the article). But, in a telephone interview with Startalk, Jessa admitted that she and her husband were having marital issues but added that they were not separated.

The news going around about Dingdong and Jessa having problems  pointed to one possible reason: Dingdong's alleged relationship with ex-girlfriend with Rachel Alejandro.

It may be known that Dingdong and Rachel were together in one concert. Rumor has it that Rachel continued texting Dingdong even after the concert, which resulted in an alleged bond between the two, something which Jessa had no knowledge of.

Rachel's manager Girlie Rodis spoke on behalf of her talent and said in a statement published in Ricky Lo's column last March 26, that Rachel seldom texted Dingdong and it was all business-related. In fact, Rachel already stopped texting Dingdong when she heard that Jessa was bothered by the text exchange.

Girlie added, "I am really getting tired of Jessa's PR slants. Maybe what bothers Jessa is not really that she believes there is something going on, because clearly Rachel is no longer attracted to Dingdong, but the fact that there is more of a clamor for the Dingdong-Rachel tandem than there is for the Dingdong-Jessa one."

DINGDONG AND JESSA REACT TO RUMORS. Before the husband and wife could answer the issue with Rachel's manager, Jessa spoke first  to explain about the issue regarding their "problem."

"Kaming mag-asawa, mayroon kaming naging problema, lalo na recently," Jessa admitted. "Sa iba't ibang...maraming bagay. Kumbaga, normal lang na mangyari sa mag-asawa. Iyon po yung nangyari sa amin."

Dingdong added, "To be straight about it and for the record, e, we never separated. Talagang we had problems...Lahat naman ng mag- asawa dumadaan sa ganyan, eh. We've been married for what, eight years. Just like any ordinary couple, we have our ups and downs. We have our moments na minsan we just don't agree on certain things. So, iyon lang ang nangyari. It was just blown out of proportion."

"Kahit siguro gaano katagal na kayong mag-asawa, lalabas talaga differences ninyo," agreed Jessa. "Iba talaga ang pananaw ng lalake at iba rin sa babae, lalo na sa babae—emotional. So, minsan doon nagkakaroon ng conflict."

So, does this mean that their marital problems won't end in calling  it quits?

"Hindi naman," exclaimed Dingdong. "I mean, mayroon kayong sinumpaan na, 'For better or for worse.' Mayroon kaming mga problemang dinadaanan and hindi naman lahat ng marriage, e, for better. During those times, you have to recall your vows."

The couple stressed that there was no third party involved in their rumored separation. They also wanted to clear Rachel's name in the issue. "Sa problema namin," Jessa added, "sa amin lang iyon. Walang third party, walang fourth party. Walang ibang tao na may kinalaman sa problem namin. Hindi na sana dapat na lumabas pa pangalan ni Rachel Alejandro dito."

"I feel bad," expressed Dingdong, "kami we feel bad na pangalan ni Rachel was dragged into this. Really unfortunate, pero I guess nasa mundo ka ng showbiz, so, maraming speculations talaga and part na ng business iyon, e. Pero I wish hindi na na-drag ang name niya dito sa situation na ito."

So how would Dingdong describe his relation with Rachel right now?