Lea Salonga, Nadine Lustre, Aristeo Demavivas Metamorphose

AFTER ALMOST TWENTY years of blissful marriage, Filipino international star, Broadway maven, Tony Award Best Actress for “Miss Saigon” and idol for humanitarian services Lea Salonga, has broken up with businessman husband Robert Chien.

It has come an end this way despite Lea seemingly an ideal wife and is a doting mom to her and Robert’s only child, Nicole.

In an interview, Salonga said that children are wonderful.
“My kid is wonderful,” she smiled.
Nicole, according to Lea, loves theater.

In this case, even if theater isn’t an easy field, she never fails to support her kid in his dreams.

Why the couple broke up in spite of a lovable human being in their child, we still don’t know.

We aren’t privy to Lea and Robert’s married life and we can only surmise although we won’t dare.

LEA SUPPORTS TRANSMAN KID

In the course of the conversation with the press, Lea without caution would spill the beans in the most natural way while talking about the welfare of Nic, Nicole’s pet name.

It’s enough that she just set the record straight when she said that Robert and his new partner are caring for Nicole.

“Yes, we’ve been separated for a while,” Salonga disclosed.
And the “while” didn’t recover.
The breakup was inevitable.
“He’s happy, I am happy, I’m happy he’s happy ” Lea quipped smilingly.
A milestone has left behind her and another has just begun to shape up.

No way that Lea would sulk in one corner because of the separation.
It is because Salonga has gray matter between her ears and as level-headed as she is, could only weave meaningful thoughts and feelings as an artist and as a mom.

‘LES MISERABLES’ PERFORMANCE

She has inspiration to go on like her work.

Currently, she is very much involved in the world tour staging of “Les Miserables” as Madame Thenardier in Manila.

At the same time, she is nourishing a deeper and more flourishing motherhood for Nicole, her transman only child.

Lea is proud of parenting for Nicole as she witnesses his genuine and beautiful soul she would always become a rah-rah girl of her unica hijo.

The mother has embarked on a new journey as a single parent who loves her kid as he is.

UGLY DUCKLING

From ugly duckling to a lovely princess.
That’s how actress Nadine Lustre has transformed.
Really, now.

Let me take you down memory lane when Nadine was just an upstart, a nobody, a plain Jane.

Controversial Fil-Briton filmmaker and director Jowee Morel of Pilar Pilapil’s “Leona Calderon” fame (Jowee once worked for Viva Entertainment as Creative Research Head where Nadine started her showbiz career) remembers the struggles the former member of Viva’s P-pop Girls had gone through. “Akala mo kung sino lang nagtatrabaho sa office ng Viva. Tapos (You would just think she was just anyone working in the Viva office. Then), she was picked up from the group for solo stardom,” recalled Jowee.

PYGMALION AND GALATEA

Viva honcho Vic del Rosario was Pygmalion to Lustre’s Galatea.
Eventually, the image of the young star was carved out from the shadows of past and present screen idols as a teenybopper to represent the ordinary female millenials and Gen Zs’ teenage romance opposite emerging matinee idol James Reid in their launching rom-com vehicle “Diary ng Panget.”

It was such a big hit that a series of Jadine movies were churned out.
At this point, Nadine has transfigured into a young lady, a respected actress who has already won the prestigious Gawad Urian Best Actress from the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP).

To test her star value, she is now paired off with Alden Richards in the series “Love. Siargao.”

BALLADEER ARISTEO DEMAVIVAS, HOTELIER

Meanwhile, from a very popular entertainer, balladeer Aristeo Demavivas (the voice behind Kodak’s ad campaign in the 70s, “Good morning yesterday, You wake up and time has slipped away…,” adapted from Paul Anka’s “Times of Your Life) who popularized the hit song “So Lucky in my Life”–later adapted to Filipino in Anthony Castelo’s “Balatkayo”–has found a new world in the middle of his famous singing career: hotel management.

After a series of shows abroad to promote Philippine tourism as a producer and performer, Aristeo, simply called Aris, enrolled in franchising and hotel business courses and OJTs in the US and eventually succeeded in putting them up.

Demavivas, in his wit and alacrity, readily transported his American HRM influences in the Philippines.

For years now, Aris, aside from crooning in his own sweet time is managing the Gateway Hotel and Suites in Iloilo City.