Importante kina Tom Rodriguez at Carla Abellana ang number 18 dahil ito ang petsa ng kanilang anibersaryo bilang boyfriend at girlfriend.
Kaya siniguro ni Tom na 18 ang date noong October 2020 nang alukin niya ng kasal si Carla, at .18 ang size ng kanilang engagement ring.
Walang kamalay-malay si Carla na may magaganap na marriage proposal nang dumating sila ni Tom sa bahay nila ng kanyang inang si Rea Reyes, kaya nagulat siya nang makita niya ang mga bulaklak, kandila, at ang popular florist na si Gideon Hermosa.
Lahad ng aktres, "When I realized it was for me, that Tom was proposing, I was just really staring at the flowers and the candles.
"Para akong nag-space out kasi ganoon pala ‘yon. Parang wala kang masyadong narinig, so I couldn’t even understand what Tom was saying.
"Pero noong medyo nag-sink in na siya, of course, I cried.
"I became really emotional, lalo na when I saw Tom’s family was there virtually. Nakita ko sila, yung faces nila sa screen.
"Madaling-araw [3 a.m.] sa U.S. pero nakabantay sila sa proposal.
"Iyak ako nang iyak. Yung iyak ko, parang lola daw na iyak."
Nakausap ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) at iba pang entertainment press sina Carla at Tom sa virtual presscon na inihanda para sa kanila ng GMA Network ngayong Martes, March 23.
THE PROPOSAL
Anong pumasok sa isip ni Carla nang sabihin ni Tom na 'Will you marry me?'"
Sagot ng Kapuso actress, "Siyempre, yes, hindi na yun pag-iisipan.
"Sometimes kasi, di ba, napapanood natin sa movies na kapag may ganyan na nagpo-propose, parang medyo nabablangko pa yung girl, hindi makasagot agad.
"But, really, almost automatic naman yung answer. Yung yes to that question.
"Kasi kung tutuusin, proposal lang naman yung hinihintay.
"And our plans, stuff like that, so ‘yon yung una kong naisip when I heard him asked that question, yes talaga."
Nagdasal ba siya o humingi ng sign mula sa Diyos kung si Tom na ang “the one” para sa kanya?
Ayon kay Carla, “Way before naman na I met Tom, nagdadasal na talaga ako just like anybody else who would pray for that na meron meant for them.
“Along the way, as Tom and I became closer, dun ko nakita na this is it. Maybe he’s the one.
“It’s not always rainbows and butterflies like they say, that’s part of it. That’s part of the process, that’s part of the relationship.
"And mas tumitibay pa nga ‘yung relationship sa ganoon."
Patuloy niya, "Hindi man siya yung na-imagine mo, hindi man siya yung dream guy na matagal mo nang… hindi siya yung hulmang-hulma or perfect because, really, there’s no perfect person.
"But you see the relationship growing, you see the beauty in that person.
"And then, nasa sa 'yo na ‘yan, choice mo na ‘yan. Magde-decide ka na, kasi love is a decision, e.
“If there’s one thing that I can promise and tell Tom, it’s I will continue to fight for the relationship and walang give up, give up!”