Nakausap ng PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) at iba pang piling entertainment press ang Concert King na si Martin Nievera upang kunin ang kanyang reaksiyon sa breakup ng dati niyang asawa na si Pops Fernandez sa boyfriend nitong si Jomari Yllana.
Matatandaang ilang linggo pagkatapos ng Missing You concert nina Martin at Pops ay inamin ni Jomari na break na sila ng Concert Queen. Ang Fearless Productions, na kinabibilangan ni Jomari, ang producer ng reunion concert ng dating mag-asawa.
May usap-usapan na pera diumano ang dahilan ng paghihiwalay nina Pops at Jomari, pero itinanggi ito ng aktor.
"I'm shocked!" sambit ni Martin nang kunin namin ang kanyang panig. "It's really a shock for me that they have any kind of disagreement or argument, lalo na breakup. Kasi kapag dumating sa mga concert productions, palaging may problema, may mga questions, may mga issues. So I thought maybe after the show, wala na yung pressure, wala na ang lahat. That if ever happened of any kind of issues between the two of them, we didn't see it during the production. Wala."
Wala ba siyang napansin during the staging ng reunion concert nila ni Pops na maghihiwalay ang dalawa?
"No, no. Not that I saw. Maybe everyone is so intense, siyempre, pagdating sa mga kantahan and sa mga choreo [choreography] and all the scripts. Pops and I were very ano, and then Jomari was always doing what producers do. I guess he's looking for sponsors and doing the work of a producer thing. So, we were never, the three of us, together. I never saw the two of them together. Only in the show, the cast party, the surprise party that they threw for me for my birthday," lahad ni Martin.
THE BREAKUP. Paano niya nalaman ang hiwalayan nina Pops at Jomari?
"It was actually Pops who told me," pag-amin ni Martin. "She says she has something to tell me and I said, 'What is this?' I felt, you know, because when Pops said, 'I have something to tell you,' it's pretty serious. We were both very much in shock with all of the things.
"It was a phone call, actually. She asked me if she can call me at the end of the night. Almost three in the morning. We spoke many hours on the phone as she does in any situation Pops is in an emotional problem.
"First, for some reasons, we find each other and I think that's what keeps this friendship going so well. No matter what we've been through, it's the love that we have for each other. Kapag may, kunyari ako, kapag may bad day or I'm going through a personal problem, I'll just send her one text and I'll say, 'How are you?' That means, please ask me how I am.
"And more often than not, she'll say, 'Why? What's wrong?' She knows right away kung may problema ako. So, we have this connection pa rin until now, and we spoke for many hours about this. Of course, she wasn't very happy and I was trying to console her and let her, you know, 'Ganyan talaga ang mga lalaki.' I mean, of all people to give advice!" natatawa niyang sabi.
Lagi ba niyang binibigyan ng advice si Pops?
"Always, always naman," sagot ni Martin. "In all of her more personal problems—whether it's about relationship or not—ako palagi ang nagbibigay ng second opinion or from a man's point of view. Parang ganun."
POPS IS HURTING. Ano ang nararamdaman niya ngayon para kay Jomari?
"Well, there's so many issues. If you believe what you read, siyempre magagalit ka talaga. Mapipikon ka talaga sa mga lumalabas because it's all anti-Pops. Kasama pa rin ako diyan sa mga ibang write-ups, but that's okay.
"The only thing I told Pops, and [about] any guy that becomes close to [her] or friends sa buhay ni Pops, I always say, 'Basta Pops, masaya ka and nobody breaks your heart the way I did.' That's always been my formula for... How do you hang out with those guys? How did you get along with the latest guy, or the latest love interest, or the guy courting Pops? Yung mga ganun. Maraming guys are after Pops. She's a beautiful woman. But I always say, for as long as she doesn't get hurt. That's always been my standard answer.
"So, right now, she's hurting. I'm not very happy that she's hurting the way she is. I'm just happy that she came to me, not to the press, not to anybody. She's making comments only now and I think it's because she wants to cool off. She wants to understand. She wants to step back and take a bird's eyeview of the problem before how she tells the world how she's been."
Umiiyak ba nang husto si Pops habang sinasabi sa kanya ang breakup nila ni Jomari?
"She cried a lot, but she's funny now. Because during my time, she wouldn't stop crying. But, ang galing ni Pops ngayon. She's really grown up, 'I won't cry anymore.' She's a big girl now. So, when she cries, she laughs immediately and I mean, literally. Habang umiiyak si Pops, may pahabol na laugh. 'Mart naman, bakit ganun?' Then, we both start laughing."
Hindi kaya siya ang dahilan ng hiwalayan nina Pops at Jomari?
"I can't... I don't know. I can't say for sure. To be honest with you, this is the very first concert, very first. Sa lahat ng mga back-to back namin ni Pops na, my own opinion, ha, from where I stood, sa point of view ko, this is one of the most un-sweet shows.
"In other words, kung ako nasa audience, kung ilalagay ko ang sarili ko sa audience, parang they've grown up. Martin and Pops have grown up. They make beautiful music together. Hanggang ngayon, may mga fans na who want and pray that we get back together as a family, right?
"But that's professional, fun watching. This is one show where there was no looking back at the past. There was no putting me down or me acting like I'm still in love with her. There was no acting. Not that we used to act before, but siyempre yung sakit noon, fresh pa.
"Ngayon, after all the years that we've been through, parang nag-mature na kami ni Pops and that's what I saw from my point of view on stage. So, I thought about that and anybody who's in our personal lives, both Pops and I, they should get intimidated by this love team because it's not dead yet. Our love team has not died. But in this show, there's no reason in the world anyone in our respective lives should or could have gotten jealous.
"So, my answer to your question is, no. I don't think there's such a thing. I'm almost positive. I'm talking again about the emotional, 'Is he jealous of me that he thinks I'm still after Pops?' Mga ganun? Absolutely not," diin ni Martin.
Will he go out of his way para makausap si Jomari?
"I wanted to," sabi ni Martin. "I asked Pops if she... 'Do you want me to speak to Jom?' Can you imagine? That's how much, if anyone's gonna learn from anything, that's how much I love Pops. That's how much! And if people don't know what love really is, it becomes full circle. And that's how Pops and I are.
"We are in that point where she can tell me anything and hindi ako masasaktan. Masasaktan ako kapag nasaktan si Pops. And that's where we are today. So, my job now is just to hold her hand, you know, even just on the phone or text, 'Are you okay?' 'No.' 'What do you want to do? You want go talk about something else?' I'm the comedy relief in Pops life."
Pinayagan ba siya ni Pops na kausapin si Jomari?
"No, no. I'm glad because it's really not my business. Even to talk to all of you now in these interviews... I know you want to hear Martin's side because my name comes out all the time. I'm not here to promote or demote anybody. Pops and Jom are grownups. They know what they're getting into. Love is not love unless it hurts and it hurts, so it must really have been love."
Paano naman hina-handle ng mga anak nilang sina Robin at Ram ang nangyaring ito sa lovelife ni Pops?
"The way they always have," sagot ni Martin. "They've seen both their parents hurt from relationships and failures and expectations not fulfilled. And they know that their places are just to stand back until mom needs a hug. So, the two major hugs in Pops life right now."
NEXT: (PART 2) Martin Nievera: "Jomari is not okay with me now for hurting Pops and being so mysterious."