Ruffa shares what Yilmaz told her after reunion with their daughters

June 15 ------ “Tears overflowed” when Ruffa Gutierrez’s daughters — Lorin and Venice Bektas — reunited with their father Yilmaz Bektas in Turkey after 15 years of being apart.

The actress-TV host and former beauty queen first took to Instagram to share a touching video of Lorin and Venice being welcomed with long and warm hugs, as well as forehead kisses, from their Baba after flying to Istanbul over the weekend. “The greatest love story of all time is between a father and his daughters. A beautiful and heartwarming reunion after 15 years of being apart,” Ruffa, who didn’t join her children on this trip, captioned the video clip with the hashtags #NewBeginnings and #TogetherAgain.

Ruffa’s mom, Annabelle Rama, was reduced to tears herself upon seeing the video. “Answered prayer” was how she described the reunion to The STAR. She was also able to talk to the Turkish businessman, who had assured them that the kids would be well-taken care of while they’re there. “Natutuwa talaga ako. Naiyak ako. Pagkakita ko nung una (sa video) nabigla ako. Ito kasi si Ruffa (nag-patugtog ng music), yung Where Do I Begin?” she said, referring to the theme from the movie classic Love Story embedded in the video. “Favorite ko yun. Yun pala theme song nila ni Yilmaz kaya pala pinatugtog ni Ruffa yun habang nagkita sila sa airport. Siempre yung story ni Ruffa nakakaiyak talaga, ‘Day, no? Grabe!”

Ruffa and Yilmaz wed in the Philippines almost 20 years ago, in March 2003, separated in 2007 and got annulled in 2012. It’s public knowledge what led to the breakdown of their marriage. But through the years, Annabelle said that her apos, particularly Venice, hadn’t lost touch with her father. “Siya yung laging kausap ni Yilmaz nuon pa. Nasa Dasma pa kami. ‘Sino yan, Venice?’ ‘My Baba.’ ‘Hi Baba, I miss you, I want to see you now.’ Ganun, ganun siya.’” According to Annabelle, Venice had the least memory of her father because she was just about a year old when Ruffa and kids came home to the Philippines. So when father and daughter finally reconnected, her granddaughter told Annabelle that “titig lang siya ng titig sa daddy niya.” The veteran talent manager further revealed that it only took 20 minutes for the plane tickets to be sent to Venice and Lorin the moment it was decided that they were going to Turkey. Incidentally, Lorin was home on break from college studies at Pepperdine University in the US.

Meanwhile, upon the request of their paternal grandmother, the girls stayed at the house of Yilmaz’s mother for the first few days of their visit, while the rest of the vacation would be spent at their father’s home. They’ve also been updating the family here of the “touristy” activities they’ve been doing, from visiting palaces to cruising along Bosphorus river. They’ve also been bonding with their older half-sister, Ilknaz Bektas, who just posted a reunion photo with her siblings with the caption: “I think today is the happiest day of my life.”

Source: philstar.com