“Iyak Manang” ang pagsasalarawan ni Tom Rodriguez sa pag-iyak ni Carla Abellana nang mag-propose siya ng kasal sa kanyang fiancée noong October 2020.
Sa virtual presscon ng GMA-7 para sa kanila ni Carla nitong Martes ng umaga, March 23, nagkuwento si Tom tungkol sa mga nangyari sa importanteng araw sa buhay nila.
Naganap ang proposal sa bahay ng ina ni Carla, ang former actress na si Rea Reyes, dahil ito ang kasabwat ni Tom sa pagpaplano ng sorpresang nagpaiyak sa aktres.
“Iyak Manang, pulang-pula yung ilong,” kuwento ni Tom tungkol sa reaksiyon ni Carla.
“Nanginginig ang tuhod ko noon. Ang feeling ko, parang gulaman yung legs ko.
"Kasi, first of all, I didn’t know kung mabubuko kami. So there was uncertainty or if she would say yes.
"One hundred percent naman, I’m sure she would say yes, pero paano kung biglang nag-no?
"Sabi ng mom ko, 'Nak, magye-yes ba ‘yon?' Sabi ko, 'Oo naman, Ma!'
"Yung nanay ko nagtanong kung magye-yes ba si Carla!" natatawang pahayag ni Tom.
Ayon kay Tom, long overdue na ang wedding proposal at hindi na siya makapaghintay sa wastong panahon.
"The simple answer is it just felt right. It was the most lucid moment of my life where all of my fears and anxieties were just lifted.
"I couldn’t wait for the right time.
"As soon as you feel it, as soon as your whole body is screaming for it, you jump on it, you act on it, especially since we had this whole relationship together spanning years, and you know you’re with the right person."
TOM AND CARLA ENGAGED FOR FIVE MONTHS ALREADY
Rebelasyon pa ni Tom, limang buwan—o bandang October 2020—na ang nakalilipas buhat nang maganap ang engagement nila ni Carla.
May kinalaman daw ang coronavirus pandemic sa kanilang desisyong ilihim muna ang nangyari.
Paliwanag ni Tom, "We wanted to be sensitive because of the pandemic so we didn’t want to announce it, and we wanted to wait for the right time na okay na lahat.
"We would have expected na, by now, the cases would have flattened na. Parang, we can go back to normal, so akala namin okey na.
"Then, all of a sudden, now there’s a resurgence happening, cases are an all-time high.
"Kaya it goes back to that lesson na when you wait for the right time, it may never come.
"Kaya we thought na maybe the right time na din to share it with everyone else. Kasi kung hindi, maybe they’ll find out na lang once it all happened na, and we didn’t want them to feel like…
"Siyempre, we wanted to savor it muna, keep it private. Pero we wanted them naman to know eventually and we don’t want it to happen na they’re the last one to know.
"We felt that we owe them that respect, especially the people who’ve been there for us, who supported us and have seen us grow as a couple."
Sa PEP Live interview ni Carla noong January 2021, itinanggi niyang engaged na sila ni Tom.
Samantala, excited nang maging tatay si Tom sa magiging anak nila ni Carla.
Aniya, "Ako, gusto ko agad! Pinipilit ko siya. Isa yun sa mga pag-uusapan namin.
"Sabi ko, 'Mama, gusto ko nang maging tatay.' Hahaha!
"Sana nasa dugo ko yung kambal kasi wala, e."