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Filipino actress, artist, businesswoman, socialite and global style icon Heart Evangelista is known for her sense of style and coveted wardrobe of luxury pieces. The 37-year-old fashionista has recently been seen in Milan, and since then in Paris, flitting from fashion show to fashion show – Victoria Beckham, Hermès, Elie Saab and more.
This past week, Heart revealed that she is expecting her first two children after undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, describing it as “one of the toughest, challenging times” in her life.
Evangelista, who suffered a miscarriage in 2018, told fashion magazine L’Officiel Philippines: “I had three injections a day over a two-week process. After harvesting and the processes that came after, they were able to gather the perfect boy and the perfect girl,” Evangelista said, who is already stepmother to Chesi and Quino, children from husband Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero’s earlier relationship.
“I actually have a baby boy and a baby girl waiting for me.”
Evangelista did not specify whether she was referring to cryopreservation, where embryos are frozen and stored for later use, or whether she is currently pregnant.
Evangelista’s interview with the magazine came amid rumours her seven-year marriage to Escudero, 52, was on the rocks. The couple has neither confirmed nor denied the rumours.
Besides looming motherhood, what else is there to know about the global influencer? On her social media, which she largely uses to interact with fans, Evangelista, 37, often talks candidly about life behind the cameras and before the fame. It’s a welcome glimpse into her personal life and preferences, and shows how she can be just like the rest of us. Here’s what we’ve learned:
Despite her wealthy roots, she’s very hardworkin
While Evangelista has often admitted to indulging in shopping sprees, she’s always been proud of how hard she works – and has been at it for 24 years already, beginning in 1998 when she started her career as a model and actress at age 13!
At one point, she used to do three or four television drama series a year, and only got two weeks of rest, per a local TV station’s website, GMA. From dominating the youth-oriented shows of her time in the late 1990s, she has since transitioned to becoming a sought-after endorser, influencer and visual artist.
When she was asked by a fan how she has managed to accumulate such wealth, she replied, “I work hard – damn, I do!” In the clip on her Instagram stories, she also added how she’s very capable, and often dreams big, then works hard and prays hard to get it.
She has a simple palate and it’s very Filipino!
Evangelista hails from the wealthy clan who own the Barrio Fiesta restaurant chain with restaurants all over the country and several international branches too.
As reported on local TV website Push, Evangelista, in another Instagram Q&A with fans, was asked if she enjoys eating green mango with bagoong or salty shrimp paste – a staple Filipino street food. Evangelista replied with a, “Yes, but only with Barrio Fiesta bagoong, or my dad’s amazing version of that.” So it’s not always croissants and lattes, then.
Believe it or not, while she’s now amassed 10.8 million followers on Instagram, Evangelista wasn’t always as well-liked. The style star has even previously opened up about being bullied in school.
She recalled, via an interview with local fashion magazine Preview, having to resort to home-schooling because she couldn’t stand having to eat inside the bathroom during lunch to avoid the bullying.
In 2018, in a surprising twist of events, one of the school bullies sent her an apology via Instagram, and Evangelista posted about it. “You didn’t have to, but I appreciate it so much,” the actress captioned.
“People change and people go through life, have children as well, and they realise that maybe it was really just childish,” she told Preview. “She had so much grace for her to message me and to even bother and I really appreciate it,” she said of the gesture.
On a lighter note, Evangelista has her fair share of funny childhood stories, too, and, as reported on GMA, there was a time when she accidentally swallowed bubblegum and thought she was going to die.
While she makes it seem effortlessly easy, strutting through fashion capitals in sky high heels isn’t a walk in the park for Evangelista. She’s previously talked about having to use silicone plasters to avoid blisters when walking in heels, and in 2017, revealed to Preview how she uses a topical anaesthetic to numb her feet, giving her extra hours – to take more photos, shop and do what she has to do – in her heels.
“Chiz is a really good guy though we’re very different because he’s very conservative and I’m also a little bit more modern. Perhaps it’s because of our age gap,” she said.
“But what I like about him is he tries. He tries to be as supportive as he can be.”
Evangelista, who earlier this month removed the Escudero surname from her Instagram account, said in a video she had been “going through some personal struggles and felt a lot of pressure in my life”.
The couple has not commented on the rumours publicly.
