Will Devaughn and wife Joanne dela Rama first fell in love as close friends.
The couple celebrated their wedding anniversary in August, and their deep bond was on full display during their interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal)—frequently finishing each other's sentences and keeping their eyes locked on one another.
They first met at a Bible Study session, but went their separate ways at the time, not knowing that they're bound to be each other's forever.
Smiling, Will began: "The truth is we were friends for a very long time, but we didn't get a chance to connect, because of other outside forces."
"And then, yeah, like 15 years later, we met through family connections because of work during the pandemic.
"So friends talaga. We were rooted in friendship before we became lovers."
Joanne continued, "So it was purely a friendship and professional work for two years.
"After that, I think it just naturally flowed also—like us getting to know each other outside of work."
Joanne admitted to being attracted to Will from the start.
But she said their love story "unfolded beautifully" at a "perfect time" when they were working on becoming better versions of themselves.
It was like they attracted who they are in that season of their lives.
Will explained: "[We were] working a lot, especially on our habits, my habits especially.
"I was in a place where I was consumed by the world, whatever habits that you get pulled in sometimes.
"But once I started to fall away from these type of habits and this world, I started to see her for who she really was.
"And my heart opened up for her very naturally, very organically, divinely, if I were to say so. So yeah."
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PEP interviewed Will and Joanne on the sidelines of the store opening of focus_ at Festival Mall in Alabang on Thursday afternoon, September 24, 2026.
Located at the Upper Ground Floor, East Wing of Festival Mall, the lifestyle concept store allows customers to experience premium global brands to see how it fits their homes, routines, and adventures.
The couple took their time touring the sections that showcased intentional living that inspires exploration and creation.
WILL DEVAUGHN ON FALLING FOR JOANNE
What did Will discover about Joanne that he fell in love with?
"Well, she's always been really sweet and kind and very family-oriented. That's one thing that I can say about her," Will replied.
Continuing, "Uh, many things. She has such a kindness to her that, I can say, it's very inspiring.
"That no matter what is thrown her way, she stays calm in the chaos of things, and I admire that about her."
On Joanne's part, she admired how Will was intentional about learning things about himself.
"Bcause he's very curious, and him wanting to also evolve or grow, that's one of the things that I like about him.
"So when he started, like, being curious about where he is or where he was and working on himself as well, so that's one of the things that I admire about him, even though, you know, he's still in that space."
At the time, Will was learning to be mindful about his attachments and surrender things he has no control over.
"We're always wrestling with something. There's always something to wrestle with, right?
"So the question I ask myself is if I wanted to know if something has control over me, I then fasted from it.
"So once I started to fast from these things that had control over me, it brought me a lot of awareness. Like, okay, I need to get control over this.
"Not myself, but I need to maybe pray about it, meditate, or ask some higher, something higher than me to help me with whatever I'm going through."
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JOANNE ON GETTING TO KNOW SOMEONE NATURALLY
As for Joanne, she learned to be patient with the process of getting to know Will for who he is and not what she expects how a partner should be.
"One of the things also that I learned from that experience with him during that time was really, like, to let go of any agenda.
"Because, you know, when you get to know someone, sometimes you already have that agenda. This needs to be like this and that way.
"It's really like genuinely coming from a place of love. Like, I wanna get to know this person more wherever he is right now, and I want to love him also, like where he is.
"Not really with the agenda, but letting go of that."
They tied the knot in Batangas on August 31, 2025.
After a year together, Will described marriage as "beautiful" as he gets "a chance to love her every day and getting to know her on a deeper level every day."
While there may times when it feel like an "emotional rollercoaster," he emphasized that it's a "blessing" to share a lifetime commitment of "choosing each other every single day."
Beyond their marital life, Will and Joanne co-founded The Holistic Life where they organize and facilitate holistic coaching and wellness retreats.
Joanne is a life transitions coach, while Will is in charge of the movement program for their retreats.
At the same time, Will remains to be an actor-host.