
Marian gets another proposal from Dingdong after ten years of marriage


ON the tenth anniversary of the wedding of Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera last December 30, Dingdong proposed anew to his wife in front of their two children and Marian was simply reduced to tears.
“I don’t want to give full details, but when Dingdong did that in front of our children, humagulgol talaga ako,” Marian said.
“Ano ba ang meaning ng pagpapakasal sa amin? Malinaw sa amin at pinagkasunduan namin na ang pagmamahalang ito na tumagal ng sampung taon ay relationship naming dalawa kasama na ang mga bata.
“Gusto naming makita ng mga bata kung saan kami kinasal, kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng love at kung gaano namin kamahal ang isa’t-isa.
“Kinilig ang mga bata. ‘Yun talaga ang nagma-matter sa akin. Sa mata ng mga anak ko at sa harap ng asawa ko, ‘yun talaga ang totoong buhay na pinapangarap ko.”
Will they renew their marriage vows every ten years? “Gusto talaga naming pasalamatan ‘yung nasa taas. ‘Yun talaga ang pinghahawakan namin. Buong pamilya namin.”
Marian proudly said their family is now doing Bible study every night. “That was what’s new in our bonding,” she said. “Kahit isang verse lang from the Bible.
“Kahit nagkakaduling-duling na ako sa trabaho, we do Bible Study every night at nakakatulong sa amin. We ask each other what’s the meaning of that particular verse to us, what they can share about that verse.”
Marian reiterates to her children that without the Lord, we will not be here in this world. “That’s what I want to implement sa mga anak ko,” the actress and product endorser said.
“Lumaki ako sa lola ko at ‘yun ang pinanghawakan ko,” Marian added. “Kahit na may broken family at hindi naging maganda ang childhood ko, dahil sa lola ko, binuo nya ang konsepto ng pamilya sa akin at ‘yun at gusto kong ipasa sa mga anak ko.”
She strongly prioritizes motherhood and talks to her children about their life in school. “Kapag uuwi sila ng bahay, hindi pwedeng matapos ang araw na hindi ko kinaka-usap and do heart-to-heart talk about what happened to their day.
“Palagi akong involved ng mga bata. Every night, hindi pwedeng hindi kami nag-uusap. Kailangan mapiga k kung ano nangyayari sa kanila. That’s the challenge to me. Kahit na pagod ako, kailangan ma marami akong time sa mga anak ko.
“Hindi pwedeng bukas na. Never akong magpapabukas pagdating sa mga anak ko. Kapag may mga activities sa school, hindi ako pwedeng mawala.”
The swimming coach of her daughter Zia, was the one who invited them to engage in Bible Study with CCF (Christ’s Commission Fellowship).
Marian is excited about her projects this year that her management approved for her. She is with manager, Michael Tuviera, president and CEO of Triple A Management, Jojo Oconer, CFO and COO of Triple A Management and Jacqui Clara, head of Operations and Sales.
Marian attributes it to “time management” that made her give her nod to return to primetime TV this year.
“’Yung isang project, sobrang maikli lang,” she said. “They just need me to commit my time para matapos ko. Nakipag-compromise sila with the other project. Kaya excited ako.”
After director Kip Oebanda’s “Balota” last year, where Marian won best actress and Excellence Performance Award, as well as Mae Cruz Alviar’s “Rewind,” the box-office Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) topgrosser in 2023, Marian is primed to make another film this year.
So far, she has seen about ten scripts, according to direk Mike, but Marian has not given her nod to any project yet.
“In the past two years, grabe and box-office performance ni Marian,” disclosed direk Mike. “She won several best actress awards long after ‘Balota’ was screened. Ang daming blessings na nangyari sa kanya.
“What I have to really complement Marian about, if she chooses her projects, she never about box office or awards, it’s always what she wants to do, what speaks from her heart, what she’s passionate about.
“She always wants to do good work and she always wants to inspire. I guess bonus na lang ang awards and box-office.”
The actress knows she will be really busy this year. “Kung dati busy ako, ngayon parang times two,” Marian admitted. “Nakakatuwa because ang daming mga opportunities and naka-line up na gagawin ko. I look forward to everything that I will do this year.”
With her cropped mane and new look, Marian recently renewed her contract as brand ambassador of Ecran de Luxe for her skin and ultimate protection, by founder and CEO Anna Magkawas of Luxe Beauty and Wellness.
Ecran is French for screen, as Anna informed. “The cream shields our face from UVA (ultraviolet A) and UVB (ultraviolet B) rays. Even if we’re inside the house, we need to protect of skin from the sun. So we need to use sunscreen.
“We need to protect our skin from the blue light from our gadgets. If you will stay under the sun, Ecran really helps your skin and protects it from pre-mature signs of aging.”
Anna is amazed at how Marian loves Ecran and how the actress uses the product. “Super happy ako na nakikita ko that Marian always posts about Ecran,” said Anna. “Hindi mo na dapat sabihin at hindi na dapat paki-usapan, ginagawa ni Marian. At super malaking bagay ‘yun sa akin.”
It helps that the product aligns with the brand of Luxe Beauty and Wellness. “We also look closely if our endorser really uses the product,” Anna said. “During the time of the first contract, nakikita naman namin that Marian really uses our product. Kaya talagang we renewed the deal.”
When she wakes up in the morning, Marian does her daily rituals to condition her body. “Hindi ako gumigising na hindi ako naka-condition through praying,” she said. “That’s my number one.
Then gigisingin ko ang dalawang anak ko – Zia and Sixto – papaliguan ko for school.
“While they are doing that, mag-Ecran ako and put blush on. Then ihahatid ko na ang mga bata sa school. While they are in school, I do Pilates every other day. That’s my exercise.
“Healthy living din ako sa bahay namin. Not just with me and Dong, but even sa mga kids. We all eat healthy food. That’s what we implement sa house. Wala kaming ina-avoid. Walang bawal. Lahat pwede.
“Since Chinese New Year (last Wednesday), we ate Chinese food. After that, the next day, back to reality kami kung ano ang kailangan namin. Mahilig kami sa gulay. We do juicing every day – carrots, apple, celery.
“Gusto kong proteksyonan lahat ng aspeto outside or inside the house. Mas maganda din that the kids mirror the healthy eating that Dong and I do. Less sugar. The kids eat organic chocolates, with cocoa sugar.”
With 32 million followers on Facebook to date, Marian is admittedly excited with the renewal of her partnership with Anna. “Alam ni Miss A (Anna), whether mag post ako or not sa social media, ginagamit ko ang Ecran.
“Everyday, ginagamit ko ang Ecran. Hindi ako pwedeng umalis ng bahay without using Ecran. As their ambassador, I want to share my routine every morning to others. How to protect my skin. Karapat-dapat talagang protektahan ang skin natin.
“Masuwerte siguro ako that from the time of ‘Marimar,’ ‘yung mga taong sumusubaybay sa akin at kay Dong at ngayon sa pamilya ko, nandyan pa rin talaga sila. Lahat ng ito hindi ko maa-achieve kung hindi dahil sa nga taong ‘yun.
“Walang hanggang pasasalamat ko sa kanila. I see them during my fans day, our anniversary and during Christmas, so may connection talaga ako sa kanila. That’s how much I love them.
“May awareness kami kung kumusta na sila. Nararamdaman namin palagi ang pagmamahal nila.”
Everything that Marian did last year, she uses that to become her motivation this 2025. “Thankful na talaga ako doon at kung ano pa ang mga dadating this year, sobrang blessings na sa akin ‘yun. Kung ano ang ibigay sa akin. Gagampanan ko ng buong puso.”
Marian expresses her desire to return to Spain and visit her dad (Francisco Javier Gracia Alonso) anew in Madrid, this time with their son, Sixto. The family previously visited Spain in 2017, when they toured Europe and also went to Greece and Italy.