Toni Gonzaga: "Maraming nakalagpas dahil nagpakipot ako"

Toni Gonzaga is one celebrity whose fame is a product of hard work and incomparable talent. She’s a singer, an actress, and a host. She may be squeezing “intriga statements” from her interviewees on The Buzz every Sunday, but she’s one of the few celebrities whose private life remains, well, private.

In a rare moment, however, Toni takes the hot seat and talks about her mother, who is also her manager. She shares how her mother left a thriving career to support hers. “Mommy Pinti will always be Mommy Pinti. Career woman s’ya. She had a very nice job na talagang boss sya. Iniwan n’ya lahat yun. Nag-resign s’ya at the peak of her career para maging P.A. ko. Dun s’ya nagsimula.”

Toni admits that having a mother for a manager is no easy feat. “Hirap nang manager mo ang mommy mo kasi lagi at lagi syang makikialam sa personal mong buhay. Diba ang manager usually sa trabaho lang but Mommy Pinti, “What time is it? Uwi ka na.” Hindi ako nagbibiro, si Mommy Pinti, meron pa rin syang curfew sa kin—12 am. But ‘pag may occasion, 1am. Pero syempre pag trabaho na, naintindihan ng mommy ko yun. Pero pag leisure time, no.”

She also recalls her Mommy Pinti’s advice on boys. “Pa-hard to get daw ako kasi ang isang bagay na pinaghihirapan, mahirap pakawalan.” At some point, however, following that advice seemed frustrating and she blamed her mom during those moments. “Maraming nakalagpas dahil nagpakipot ako. Maraming hindi naghirap. Sinisi ko s’ya for a time. Pero sabi ng Mommy ko, there will come a time that there will be one guy who will fight for you ‘til the end and who will wait. So, dumating naman yung time. Timing is everything.”

The man that’s she’s referring to is her current beau Paul Soriano. She describes him as ‘the man who fought for my honor,’ and jokingly adds, “That’s why I’m the first honor!” Toni admits that Direk Paul was very jealous when their relationship was new but he was able to understand her job. “In-explain ko naman sa kanya. Lahat naman ng mga katrabaho ko, siyempre kailangan kausap mo, close mo, ‘tsaka mga naging kaibigan ko ‘to before him. Hindi ko pwedeng putulin yun ng basta-basta. Isa yun siguro sa mga magagandang trait nya. Inaral nya’ng mahalin yung mga taong mahal ko.”