Sa unang pagkakataon, inamin ni Tessa Prieto na "infidelity" umano ang dahilan kung bakit naghiwalay sila ng kanyang ex-husband na si Dennis Valdes.
Nagsama sila bilang mag-asawa sa loob ng 26 taon hanggang sa maghiwalay sila limang taon na ang nakararaan.
Annulled na sila ngayon.
Pero hindi raw maiwasang manumbalik kay Tessa ang hiwalayan nila noon dahil sa balitang engaged na ang dating asawa sa longtime girlfriend nito.
Sa ekslusibong panayam ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) sa pamamagitan ng Google meet noong June 2, 2026, ibinahagi ng socialite-philantrophist ang tunay niyang saloobin tungkol dito.
"It's not that I want to go back. It's not that, you know, I have feelings for him. No.
"Before, dalawa kayo private, fine. You got out of my marriage because you didn't want public life, you didn't want anything.
"And the girl is the reason why the marriage broke up," diretsong pahayag niya.
Dito na binalikan ni Tessa ang panloloko umano sa kanya ni Dennis.
Kahit masakit sa kanya ang nangyari, handa raw siyang makipag-ayos sa asawa at siya pa raw ang sumuyo rito noon.
Pero sumuko raw agad ang mister.
"He never gave our marriage a chance," diretsong sabi pa rin ng bubbly socialite.
Dagdag niya, "Parang I think I deserve even just a trial period man lang."
Ang hiling lang daw niya noon kay Dennis ay iwan nito ang "other girl" nito.
Sa isip ni Tessa, pareho silang hindi perpekto kaya handa raw siyang patawarin ito.
Aminado naman daw siyang sa isang pagsasama ay maraming pagsubok na maaaring pagdaanan kaya umasa siyang malalampasan din nila iyon.
Sabi raw niya noon, "Let's still work it out."
Pero matigas daw si Dennis.
"He never gave me even like a sliver of, 'Okay, let's try.' Alam mo yun, parang nag-check out na siya."
Hindi raw gusto ni Dennis ang buhay ni Tessa na high-profile at laging nasa limelight.
Bilang isang celebrity, kilala si Tessa sa kanyang larger-than-life personality pati na ang kanyang flamboyant outfits na naging trademark niya sa society at showbiz events na dinadaluhan.
Nag-iba raw ang direksiyon nila nang manindigan ang mister na gusto raw nitong manatiling pribado ang kanyang buhay.
Marahil daw ay nakadagdag pa na si Tessa raw ang todo magbigay ng pagmamahal, atensiyon, at panggastos sa mga pangangailangan ng mister noon.
Tingin ba niya ay nakaramdam si Dennis na hindi nito mapantayan ang estado niya?
Tugon ni Tessa: "I was so conscious about that. I'm a big person. I light up a room. You know what I mean? My energy is so...
"I'm very conscious about it. I make extra effort to make sure, 'Hey, Dennis, I'm still... I can't do stuff.' Mga ganyan. And we're a team.
"And, you know, I guess he got burned out or I don't know. I don't know."
Hindi raw niya akalaing ganoon kadaling tinalikuran ni Dennis ang kanilang marriage of 26 years at ang pangakong habambuhay silang magsasama.
"He said, 'Tessa, you'll be fine. You have so many friends, so many activities.' 'Huh? What do you mean you'll be fine,' I said. 'We're married. Till death do us part.'"
Pakiramdam daw ni Tessa ay na-blindside siya noon.
Wala raw silang matinding pag-aaway, liban na lang noong huling bahagi ng kanilang pagsasama dahil gusto nang makipagkalas ng mister.
Tingin ni Tessa, mabilis nangyari ang breakup at maging mga anak daw nila ay nagulat na hindi na talaga naisalba ang kanilang marriage.
Pinili raw ni Dennis na sumama sa "other girl" na mas bata raw rito ng higit tatlong dekada.
Humingi ba ng tawad sa kanya ang mister?
"I think kasi his sorry was more like, 'I can't do anything about it anymore. Sorry, that's the way it is,'" sabi ni Tessa.
TESSA PRIETO ON BEING ESTRANGED FROM DENNIS VALDES
Sa nagdaang limang taon matapos nilang maghiwalay, hindi raw sila umabot sa puntong naging civil sila sa isa't isa.
Saad ni Tessa: "There was no need anymore for any co-parenting. Our youngest was 16, now she's 21. So it wasn't anymore necessary to have anything amicable.
"And because for me, I felt I couldn't be in that stage of let's just stay civil, because I still wanted to fix the marriage."
Noong unang dalawang taon matapos ang kanilang breakup, umasa pa raw siyang hihiwalayan din ng estranged husband ang ibang babae umano nito.
Pero hindi raw iyon nangyari.
"And for me, that was all, everything, betrayal, you know, everything na."
Kinailangan din daw niyang putulin ang koneksiyon sa estranged husband para maka-move on.
"But really, it's not that time heals everything, no. It's more like acceptance, di ba?" sabi ni Tessa.
ON DENNIS GOING PUBLIC ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP
Ang buong akala raw ni Tessa ay magpapaka-"hermit" na ang ex-husband nang piliin nitong magpakalayu-layo at manirahan sa probinsiya kasama ng karelasyon nito.
Kaya raw nang isapubliko ni Dennis ang engagement nito sa babeng naging dahilan ng paghihiwalay nila, pakiramdam daw ni Tessa ay nabastos siya.
"I don't even want to go back to him anymore," diin ni Tessa.
"It's really now, it's a slap on my face that you are living the life that we could have fixed, that you're back in public...
"And then you proposed in Hong Kong where you proposed to me.
"And, you know, it's not that parang you're doing activities that we used to do...
"But because we came from an agreement in the past, you don't like public. Yeah, okay, stay private because that's the life pa in moving forward."
Sana raw ay hindi na ipinangalandakan ng couple ang relasyon ng mga ito.
"And you're flaunting it to my friends. We have joint friends who are some divers. And what? To show that, 'Hey, this is my life now.'"
Sabay sabi rin ni Tessa. "In closure for everything, I said, like, you know, 'Dennis, I know we're annulled. I know you're free to do anything. I know that I can't demand that you guys stay in private.
"'But all I'm asking, after 26 years, don't treat me like I was a s**t of a wife. Parang, I think after 26 years, a little respect is all I'm asking. Respect man lang.
"'You don't have to announce because you were in the beginning of time a private person, and even the girl.'
"And I think they started posting, then it became public."
Diin pa niya, "It's a matter of decency, e."
Read: Tessa Prieto posts bail for estafa rap; insists, "I'm a victim."
TESSA PRIETO ON "REBUILDING" HER LIFE
Sa kaso ni Tessa, inamin niyang siya man ay nagkaroon na rin ng ibang karelasyon matapos ang hiwalayan nila ni Dennis.
May mga pagkakataon ngang umamin siya sa estado ng kanyang puso.
Pero tila maingat na siya sa pagpo-post sa social media pagdating sa kanyang love life dahil hindi ito nakabandera sa kanyang Instagram at Facebook feed.
Read: Tessa Prieto wants to keep current relationship low-key
Sa huli, sinabi ni Tessa na patuloy siya sa pagbuo sa kanyang sarili at pag-move forward.
"I don't want to use the word healing, e. 'Cause healing feels like, 'Huh, hindi ka pa healed [after] five years?' No.
"But I want to say I am rebuilding, you know. 'Di ba?
"I love where I am. I am in control of my relationships already.
"I have become more insightful and soulful. I'm journaling more. I've become more spiritual. Not religious, 'cause I've always been religious."
"I'm very happy na with my family, with my finances, with my career and stuff. So I'm all good.
"I am already in a perfect blend of where I want to be."
Bukas ang PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) sa panig ni Denis Valdes kaugnay ng mga pahayag ni Tessa Prieto.