How Carla Abellana and Reginald Santos found each other again

January 9 ------ After all the heart battles Carla Abellana endured, love owes her a better fate. So, Cupid did his job and made Carla cross paths again with her high school beau, Reginald Santos. Their love story is one for the books (pun intended).

They make the cliché “Love is lovelier the second time around” turn into an understatement. The couple’s trending all-white slab cake symbolizes the kind of relationship that they have: less fluff, more substance. Carla and Reginald could very well be called “CarReg,” which sounds like courage. And that is exactly what their love gave them: the courage to try once more. They remind us that we cannot keep on looking for something we already found many love stories ago. Congrats, CarReg, for finding your way back “home.” Thank you for restoring our belief in second chances.

After 20 years, how has your love for each other evolved?

“We are both at the right age and levels of maturity and security in life. We’ve both already gone through a lot in life apart, several long-term relationships, lots of work experiences, established careers, milestones and even heartbreaks. This time around, our love felt much better, right, peaceful, calm, secure and reassuring.”

Please share even just a bit about the moment Reg and you reconnected.

“We both just came from long-term relationships that had just ended. I came from a seven-and-a-half-year relationship that ended in a short-lived marriage, while he was previously engaged to someone he had been with for around nine years back then. One Christmas, he reached out on social media and greeted me, ‘Happy holidays.’ I greeted him back, but it wasn’t until about a month and a half after the holidays that we continued talking on social media. Eventually, we messaged each other directly when we both realized we still had each other’s cell phone numbers saved.”

What do you love most about Reg?

“He’s the most wonderful partner. He is calm, loving, so caring, hilarious, responsible, mature, gentle, admirable, hardworking, passionate about what he does, and best of all, his words match his actions. He shows me how much he adores me, loves me and prioritizes me above all.”

What’s your advice to women who are wary to give marriage another try?

“I don’t blame you. I was once just like you because I really thought I was done. I had come to the belief that I was meant to be alone for the rest of my life and that I was meant to take care of myself and my family alone. I know exactly how you feel and I really don’t blame you for your change in views and beliefs, especially about marriage. Just know that how you feel is valid and that there’s nothing wrong with believing marriage isn’t for you anymore. Whether or not that’s the case, just keep on praying and loving yourself just as God loves you. Focus on your healing and believe that one way or another, the love you give to the world will always find its way back to you in more ways than one.”

What lesson from your previous marriage will you apply to your marriage now?

“Quite honestly, I didn’t even feel and experience what it was like to be married because my marriage back then only lasted seven weeks. There wasn’t even enough time for me to learn any lesson from the marriage alone, given that it was short-lived. It’s also a bit too early to learn lessons now that I’m married again, simply because it hasn’t even been two weeks since our wedding.”

Source: philstar.com