Cong TV and Viy Cortez are one of the most-admired couples in the world of digital content creation.
The two popular vloggers, who are also part of Team Payaman, earned a throng of fans for their funny antics, relatable and true-to-life vlogs, and their cute and crazy sweetness.
Individually, Cong TV, whose real name is Lincoln Velasquez, has been one of the top vloggers in the country for the past couple of years, and is known for his catchphrase "Yow wassap paa!"
Viy Cortez is a successful businesswoman, and usually greets her fans this way: "Hello mga Viviys!"
Together, they show the netizens a different kind of kilig—the one that is not formulated to please the fans.
Here's to give you more reasons to love this couple.
On humble beginnings and working their way up together
Both lived a simple life prior to becoming famous vloggers.
In fact, when Cong was just starting to vlog, Viy was selling eggs and cars for a living.
According to their interview with Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, it was the lady who made the first move; it was the guy who found a way so they could spend more time together.
“Crush ko siya na may halong takot. Ini-chat ko siya kasi crush ko siya,” Viy recalled.
For Cong's part, he said, "Nagulat ako kasi sino itong magandang dilag na nag-chat sa akin. Sabi ko ang ganda nito. Pero nung nakita ko siya sa personal, mas maganda!
“Pagkakita ko sa kanya, 'I love you' kaagad. The rest is history after nun.
"As time goes by, na-realize ko na ito talaga yung taong para sa yo,”
Eventually, Cong asked Viy to try her hand at vlogging, so they could spend more time together.
“Madalas kaming nagkakalayo. So umisip ako ng way para lagi na kaming magkasama.
“Naniwala lang din ako na balang-araw, may mangyayari. At siyempre pag may mangyayaring maganda sa iyo, siyempre ang gusto mong kasama mo, yung mga mahal mo sa buhay,” Cong said.
That was when Viy resigned from her job to start her vlog.
However, there were a few bashers who did not know the real story.
Viy revealed their common comments: "Naging boyfriend mo lang naman iyang si Cong kasi may pera."
She underlined, “Hindi nila alam, wala pang kita talaga si Cong, kami na."
To date, both of their YouTube channels have amassed an impressive number of followers. Cong TV, who started his channel in 2008, has 9.34 million subscribers. Viy, who started vlogging in 2016, has 5.42 million subscribers.
Team Payaman, a group of vloggers which Cong founded himself, has also been gaining a lot of recognition this pandemic. Indeed, the only way up is through helping each other and other people as well.
On trusting each other
Viy had always wanted to become a businesswoman. It took PHP10,000 (approximately 200 USD) for her to start her business, and she borrowed this money from none other than Cong.
"Sabi ko sa kanya, kung hindi rin naman niya ako mapahiram noon... ok lang. Try kong maghanap sa iba kong mga kaibigan," Viy said.
But for Cong, he trusted Viy with the money.
"'Susuportahan kita'..."
".. Kasi 'yun yung nakikita kong, talagang balang araw, magiging success."
To date, Viy has her own cosmetics, clothing, and milk tea businesses.
On their finance set-up, Viy said, "Hindi niya ako binaby, e, pinatayo niya ako sa sarili kong paa. Kung tutuusin, puwedeng asahan mo na lang siya, e. Natutunan ko na kahit kami, dapat meron kaming sariling buhay pa din.
"Healthy competition kami. Hindi ko alam magkano ang pera ni Cong... hindi niya alam magkano ang pera ko."
On being strong together through sorrows and joys
In December 2020, Cong and Viy revealed in a vlog that they lost their baby just a few days after finding out that Viy was pregnant.
Viy posted a vlog titled "BLESSING" on her channel, where she tearfully talked about their journey.
On December 12, 2020, they discovered that Viy was pregnant, and upon her check-up, they found out that she was six weeks along the way.
A week later, she had a miscarriage. It was a very sad episode fot the couple.
After a year, they had an unexpected yet wonderful announcement through a vlog titled "PLASWAN" in Viy's channel.
She said, "Naiiyak ako kasi natatakot ako... kasi di ba kaka-opera ko lang? Negative ako nun. Ano yun, mga two weeks ago. So kung negative ako, baka false positive din ngayon.
"Naiiyak ako kasi, baka umasa na naman ako, 'tapos hindi naman pala."
She added, "Hindi ko alam. Halu-halo yung emosyon ko, naiiyak ako sa saya, nalulungkot ako kasi paano kung mawala na naman?
"Paano kung wala pala talaga?"
Her worries would soon ease.
On February 5, 2022, the couple announced the gender of their baby nicknamed "Kidlat."
They mounted a grand gender-reveal party involving a helicopter and fireworks.
Cong was the happiest. He got his wish: They're expecting a baby boy!
They will become parents sometime in July. Viy's due date is actually July 24, 2022.