A seemingly minor issue may put an end to the nine-year marriage of Dingdong Avanzado, 42, and Jessa Zaragoza, 31.
So goes the latest talk to hit the well-known showbiz couple, who have kept their singing careers active by moving back and forth between the Philippines and the United States since August 2007, after taking up residence in the U.S. in 2006. Dingdong is best known for his 1990 hit, "Basta't Kasama Kita," and Jessa had her biggest hit in the 1997 song, "Bakit Pa?"
Last night, August 15, an informant told PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) that several people witnessed how Jessa gave Dingdong the cold shoulder, soon after completing her show at Robinsons in Imus, Cavite.
The reported reason for Dingdong's troubles is unclear. What is apparent is that Dingdong drove from Dasmariñas, Cavite, to pick up his wife from her show in Imus. For some reason, according to the PEP informant, Jessa seemed displeased with Dingdong. In the presence of many onlookers, alleged the informant, Jessa kept ignoring the balladeer, who looked like he was calming her down as they walked towards the parking lot.
In a phone conversation with PEP, the informant said, "Ang daming nakakita. Nandoon ang mga guards, may mga tao. Napansin talaga ng mga tao na things were not okay between them."
This incident, according to the informant, may end up becoming one of the stronger storms in a relationship that has been allegedly rocked by other storms. "They've been having problems...and what happened was embarrassing. Habang inaamo ng lalake ang babae, pinahiya siya. Dami pa namang nakatingin."
Meantime, a TV insider told PEP that, if the Imus incident did happen, then it was not the first time that the couple have figured in an uncomfortable, or downright tense, scene in public.
According to the TV insider, the couple's recent guesting on Love ni Mister, Love ni Misis, the new morning show on GMA-7 of partners Carmina Villarroel and Zoren Legaspi, left the staff of the show feeling a little "tense". The August 10 episode was titled "Ex-Factor," and the discussion was about whether ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends can be friends.
The brief "tense" moment, said the TV insider, happened when Carmina asked Jessa: "Paano kayo nag-jive na tatlo?" The bubbly host was referring to Dingdong and former lover Rachel Alejandro.
Jessa answered: "Actually, hindi lang naman talaga si Rachel. Marami naman talaga siyang ex."
This earned a nervous "Ayayayyay" from Dingdong.
Also according to the same TV insider, other performers who have been in an event with the couple in the past have picked up on "small irritations" between them. And the irritants, added the insider, did not look like they were just borne of the moment.
A COMPLICATED START. The two well-known singers tied the knot in a grand ceremony on March 18, 2001, at the Christ The King Church in Greenmeadows, Quezon City.
It was a wedding well-covered by the media which, on the side, also reported that the union caused heartbreak for sexy comedian Rufa Mae Quinto, reportedly the immediate past girlfriend of Dingdong and supposedly the best friend of Jessa.
The three finally managed some "closure" six years later, in 2007, on the set of Showbiz Central, where Dingdong revealed his reason for choosing Jessa. Then just back from the U.S, he said to Rufa Mae on national television: "Alam mo, and alam na rin ng tao na kung ano yung reason kung bakit ko pinili si Jessa...and it has nothing to do with you. Jessa came [at] the right time." (CLICK HERE to read related story.)
But in the February 2008 issue of YES! magazine, the sexy comedienne's tell-all interview—where she claimed that she and Dingdong were still in a relationship when he began secretly courting Jessa, who she also claimed was her best friend at the time—sparked a public word war between the two high-profile women that lasted nearly five months.
A very upset Jessa and Dingdong denied, through local television interviews, that any of Rufa Mae's revelations were true. Dingdong in effect said that nothing serious transpired between him and Rufa Mae while Jessa said they were never best friends. Thereafter, an angry Jessa asked for an apology. An unmoved Rufa Mae never gave one.
SEPARATION RUMORS. In early March 2009, the couple became the subject of blind items that claimed they had separated. The third party was said to be sultry singer Rachel Alejandro, also a former girlfriend of Dingdong.
The buzz went on for a weeks until Rachel's manager Girlie Rodis stepped in and called the issue "Jessa's PR slants."
On March 28, 2009, Jessa and Dingdong cleared the air. In so doing, they also revealed that there were little storms hitting their union.
The balladeer said: "To be straight about it and for the record, e, we never separated. Talagang we had problems...Lahat naman ng mag-asawa dumadaan sa ganyan, e. We've been married for, what, eight years. Just like any ordinary couple, we have our ups and downs. We have our moments na minsan we just don't agree on certain things. So, iyon lang ang nangyari. It was just blown out of proportion."
For her part, Jessa said, "Kahit siguro gaano katagal na kayong mag-asawa, lalabas talaga differences ninyo. Iba talaga ang pananaw ng lalake at iba rin sa babae, lalo na sa babae—emotional. So, minsan doon nagkakaroon ng conflict." (CLICK HERE to read related story.)
Early this year, Jessa promised to face 2010 "with so much positivism." She said being a mom to their daughter Jayda has done a lot to temper her reaction to showbiz issues.
But the two have ongoing "differences," the informant told PEP, which have put a steady strain on their marriage. In the insider's words: "Matagal na silang may problema."
JESSA DENIES IMUS INCIDENT. Philippine Entertainment Portal got in touch with Arnold Vegafria, Jessa's manager. In a return call to writer Jo-Ann Maglipon this morning, Arnold said, "I don't know about this. Let me call Jessa and get back to you."
Minutes later, Arnold called PEP and said, "Wala daw nangyaring ganun, sabi ng handler ni Jessa, si Benj Gavitan. He was with them in Cavite. Wala siyang nakitang ganun."
Asked what Jessa herself said about the incident, Arnold said: "Nakausap ko si Jessa nga kanina. Imposible daw 'yan. Hindi sila nag-away. Sabi niya, 'Paano mangyayari iyon? And how come these people know that Dingdong was coming from Dasmariñas and picking me up? May nanggugulo riyan. No such thing happened. No such thing as a fight. We were in the car, tatlo lang kami sa loob ng kotse. Paano magkakarun ng kuwento?'
"Sabi ni Jessa, Dingdong just asked her if he could go to Singapore with her in her next show. And Jessa daw said, 'Wag na.' Kasi wala daw magbabantay sa bata. Pero sabi niya, 'It was just a conversation. Hindi argument. Walang away. Nasa car lang kami, pinag-usapan lang namin ang show sa Singapore.'" (The couple have one child, a seven-year-old daughter named Jayda.)
PEP then asked Arnold if he had noticed any issues between the two, since he had regular, direct access to his client. Arnold replied:"Kilala mo naman ako, Jo-Ann, wala akong alam. Sa personal na buhay ng mga alaga ko, wala akong alam, kasi nga hindi ako nakikialam. I don't even try to find out. That's their life."
In another interview, a Jessa camp believer, who asks to remain anonymous, suggested: "Walang insidente. May gumigimik diyan, siguro iyong kabilang kampo. Baka may show?" But pressed to define what "kabilang kampo" referred to, the anonymous source refused to say more.
DINGDONG'S SIDE. PEP got in touch with Dingdong's camp, through his manager Noel Ferrer. Reporter Karen Pagsolingan narrated the PEP informant's claim that there was trouble in the marriage of his client, and asked about the so-called latest incident in Imus, Cavite.
By way of response, Noel Ferrer told Karen that he got in touch with his client Dingdong. The singer was clearly told that PEP was coming out with this story. Noel said Dingdong's brief reply was: "I'd rather not talk about it."