Binalikan ni Dina Bonnevie ang pagsisimula at pagwawakas ng pagmamahalan nila ng dating asawa na si Vic Sotto.
Ibinahagi rin ng aktres ang pagpapatawad niya kay Coney Reyes, na siyang naging dahilan ng paghihiwalay nila ni Vic.
DINA BONNEVIE-VIC SOTTO SEPARATION
Sa Fast Talk With Boy Abunda nitong Biyernes, Mayo 10, 2024, isa sa mga paksa ng pag-uusap nila ng host na si Boy Abunda ay ang pagtatapos ng relasyon nila ni Vic.
Nangyari ito noong mayroon nang dalawang anak sina Dina at Vic—sina Danica at Oyo.
Mabigat man ang problema nila ni Vic, sinabi ni Dina na hindi nila ipinakita sa harap ng kanilang mga anak na nag-aaway sila.
Vic Sotto with her children with Dina, Danica and Oyo
“We never fight in front of the kids and I never badmouthed their dad. Never!
“Never ko siyang siniraan sa mga anak niya and I would always say, ‘You only have one dad… and you have to respect him. Whatever it is.’
“Minsan sasabihin nila, ‘There’s another boy in the house. Who’s that?’
“’You ask your dad about it but, you know, you have to respect him ‘coz you’d only have one dad and no other.
“Dun naman nako-confuse si Oyo, ‘How come there’s another boy. Who’s that? And the boy, why is he riding on Papa’s back?’” paglalahad ni Dina.
“Who’s the boy?” tanong ni Boy.
“Si Vico,” sagot ni Dina, na ang tinutukoy ay ang anak nina Vic at Coney na si Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto.
Pagpapatuloy ni Dina, “And for me, it’s also hard to explain, kasi I was a kid! Hello, how old was I nung nahiwalay kami? I was only 23.”
Coney Reyes and Vic Sotto with the young Vico Sotto
DINA BONNEVIE ON VIC SOTTO-CONEY REYES AFFAIR
Si Coney, na co-host noon ni Vic sa Eat Bulaga!, ang naging mitsa ng paghihiwalay nina Dina at Vic.
Tito, Vic & Joey with former Eat Bulaga! co-hosts Coney Reyes and Aiza Seguerra
Tanong ni Boy kay Dina, “Did you have a conversation with Vic about Coney Reyes?”
Sagot ni Dina: “Yeah, but it wasn’t even a spirited fight or what, quiet lang. Nag-usap kami.
“Parang, ‘Bakit?’ [sabi ni Vic]. Because I was inexperienced.
“Tapos sabi ko, ‘What can you do, virgin ako, e? I mean, what, you want me to read all the books? I mean, you wanna play games? Show me how.’
“I was a kid. I didn’t know much.
“Parang yun ang sinabi niya sa akin na sagot, ‘You’re so inexperienced.'”
Dala na rin marahil ng kanyang pagiging immature noon, ikinumpara raw ni Dina ang mga pisikal na katangian nila ni Coney, kung bakit ito nagustuhan ni Vic.
Saad niya, “For a while, parang, alam mo naman, kolehiyala. ‘My God, my feet is only a size 6, size 5. What about the other one?’ Mga ganoon.
“Maldita siyempre ako noon. Kung anu-ano ang iniisip ko.
“‘Bakeet? She’s ten years older! I can’t believe it na itong ganda kong ito and siya [Vic], ang haba ng baba niya, bakit ganoon?'”
Pero napagtanto raw kalaunan ni Dina na hindi lang sa pisikal na aspeto nagkakagustuhan ang dalawang tao.
“And then eventually, you mellowed down and say, ‘How dumb of me. It’s not in the physical world, girl. It has nothing to do with physical. It’s probably the meeting of the minds.’
“Kasi that time, Vic also wanted to start producing and, of course, I could not contribute anything to that because I was young. Malay ko about producing?
“I wasn’t even in the corporate world yet.
“Maybe at the time, there was a meeting of the minds because they were both learning the ropes of production. And, I think, she [Coney] was already producing then,” sabi ni Dina.
Si Vic ay nagtatag ng kanyang sariling TV and film production, ang M-ZET Productions, na nag-produce ng sitcoms gaya ng Okay Ka, Fairy Ko at ng blockbuster movies gaya ng Enteng Kabisote franchise.
Si Coney naman ay itinatag ang CAN Television and Productions, na co-producer ng dating drama anthology ng aktres na Coney Reyes On Camera. Ang CAN ay initials ng tunay na pangalan ni Coney na Constancia Angeline Nubla.
Dagdag ni Dina, “Iba talaga, siguro parang nasa AM sila, nasa FM ako. And I don’t really know.
“Pero ang alam kong pinakaano niya [Vic] was, ‘Parang masyado kang inexperienced.’”
Nabuntis si Dina ng edad na 19, at naging ina sa edad na 20.
DINA BONNEVIE ON FORGIVING CONEY REYES
Ipinagtapat ni Dina na matagal bago siya nakapagpatawad. Pero nang mangyari ito, pinadalhan niya ng bulaklak sina Vic at Coney.
Dina Bonnevie and Coney Reyes
Pahayag ni Dina, “It took a lot of time until the point na Danica was telling na, ‘Alam mo, Mommy, you’re so bitter. I wish you’d really let go because you’re so bitter.’
“Parang, every waking moment, if there’s a little opportunity, like when I felt sad, I’m alone and I was having a hard time with the kids, like when we’re transferring house and all these things, I would rant.
“Kasi, di ba, parang ang bata-bata ko, I should have a man with me. Parang I’m so pretty and then why? Parang I’m up there. Parang, ‘Whaaaat, are you serious?’
“I wasn’t child anymore, but 23 is young. You don’t understand a lot of things.
“Nung sinabi ni Danica yon, and then, of course, I studied Taoism, Hinduism, lahat na lang ng religion.
“And then I said, ‘Why are you doing this to me God? I’m a good daughter. I’m a good mother. I am a good wife. I am a good daughter-in-law. Why? Why do You do this to me?
“’I didn’t steal from anyone. I didn’t do any evil thing to anyone. But why do you repay me with this? I asked for bread and then You gave me a snake?'”
Ang lalo pa raw nagpasakit ng kalooban ni Dina ay mag-“best friend” sila ni Coney noon.
Aniya, “And siyempre, best friend kami, so ang sakit lalo.
“But I guess through times, sabi ko, walang pupuntahan ito unless I really let go and just accept that it’s like this.”
Kalaunan, naging daan ang relihiyon para sa wakas ay magkasundo at magkapatawaran sila ni Coney.
Saad ni Dina, “And so, eventually, naging Christian ako after studying all the many religions. And then I bumped into her.
“She asked me, ‘Do you want to go to our church?’ Parang nagulat ako, ‘Go to your church? Talaga lang?’
“But then sabi ni Danica, ‘Hindi ka naman pumupunta sa church para sa tao, e. You’re going there for God.’
“Then I realized, nakita ko na… I mean, she [Coney] changed in leaps and bounds. Bringing people to God, bringing people to Jesus, telling the people about salvation.
“So I asked myself, ‘Is this the person I’d like to hate? I can’t hate this person. I can’t!’
“So I let it go and I gave her a bunch of white roses and then I said, ‘I forgive you.’
“Actually, there was one time na she tried to talk to me and ano pa ako noon, kasi it was in public.
“But then, I forgave her, I forgave Vic.
“I also sent him flowers and I said, ‘I forgive you but most of all, I forgive me.’”
DINA BONNEVIE ON GROWING IN LOVE WITH VIC SOTTO
Gaya ng dapat asahan, inilahad din ni Dina sa panayam sa kanya ni Boy Abunda ang pagsisimula ng pagmamahalan nila ni Vic noong 1981.
Nineteen years old lang noon si Dina at nagsisimula nang sumikat bilang aktres sa bakuran ng Regal Films.
Humantong ito sa kanilang pagpapakasal, kahit tutol ang ama ng aktres na si Honesto Bonnevie.
Dina Bonnevie and Vic Sotto on their wedding day
Lahad ni Dina, “Supposed to be, ikinasal kami, pero hindi naman pala totoo yung kasal. Kasi yung nagkasal sa amin was a clerk of court, which we didn’t know.
“And then, nagtanan kami, kasi we’re doing a show together, yung Lucky Stars.
“Sabi niya [Vic] lang sa akin, ‘Do you want to come home with me? Come home na lang with me.’
“And, di ba, lagi naman tayong may mga maleta ng damit kapag artista ka? E, di sabi ko, sige. So, nagtago na kami from my dad.”
Ayon kay Dina, hindi siya agad na-in love kay Vic kundi natutunan niya itong mahalin nang nagsasama na sila bilang mag-asawa.
“And then eventually, that’s why I always say, I didn’t fall in love with Vic. I grew in love.
“There’s a difference. Kasi when you fall in love, you fall in love, then ‘I’m so in love. He’s so pogi and all these…’
“That’s not the case with Vic.
“It wasn’t about being pogi, but he was Mr. 1-2-3, and I’m like, ‘Duh! Mr. 1-2-3?'” pagtukoy ni Dina sa titulo ng 1980 movie ni Vic kasama sina Tito Sotto at Joey de Leon.
Sabi pa ni Dina, “Parang ang pogi-pogi ng boyfriend ko dati, Alfie Anido, di ba?”
Si Alfie Anido ay ang aktor na pumanaw sa edad na 22 noong December 30, 1981.
Kalaunan daw ay nagustuhan na rin ni Dina si Vic.
Saad niya, “But then, iba when you grow in love, kasi you’re beginning to see his good points.
“Okay naman pala siya. He’s kind, he’s magalang, he loves his mother a lot, he respects his kuyas.
“Parang dun mo mabubuo yung pagkatao niya. One doesn’t judge because of one’s inability to speak sosyal English.
“But then I saw that talagang he had a good heart. Eventually, dun mo nakita na mabuti siyang tao. How could I have judged him, and that’s when I really really grew in love with him.
“And then when I grew in love with him, naging possessive na ako. ‘You have to bring me to taping, you have to bring me to shooting. You have to pick me up.’
“Baligtad na. Samantalang yung una, ‘Haaa, God, nooo!’
“Naalaala ko, sabi ko pa dati, ‘Why do you have a lot of toilet jokes? Really? I am so sick of hearing them, do you mind?’ Ganyan pa ako!’”
