For the whole month of July, Kris Aquino has a very special co-host in the person of Sen. Chiz Escudero, who was also her very first guest when her morning show “KrisTV” was launched on a different time slot last year.
On Monday, Kris wasted little time before she hurled the questions many people were dying to ask the youthful senator.
Is he really dating Heart Evangelista? He gave a rather cryptic reply: “We are not dating. Sabi nila, ‘pag nasa edad 42 na ang mga lalake, ang tawag na dun ay meeting.”
He admitted that his 10-year marriage to Christine Flores has been annulled.
“We still talk pero nothing personal na. I don’t talk about personal matters nor ask. We just talk about the children and the future,” he said.
Kris, who knows a thing or two about separation, asked him: “When it’s over how do you become friends?”
He replied, “Was it good for you as it was for me?” They both laughed.
After the show, we had the chance to sit down with Kris and Sen. Chiz over brunch. It was our turn to ask Kris some questions.
Why a reformat of “KrisTV”?
“Hindi naman actually nag-reformat. We just moved it to an earlier slot. Matagal ko na ‘yun gusto and nire-request,” she explained.
Whose request was it for Sen. Chiz to be her co-host for a whole month?
“I was asked by his parang media handler na si Ms. Arlene de Castro. It was a good idea naman. So, hindi naman buong week mga three times lang pero the whole of July. Kasi, may mga backpack din ako, ‘di ba? Inilatag lang ni Tita Arlene ‘yung idea. And kasama naman siya sa wish list ko, which I cannot divulge. In fairness to him, magkasundo naman kami and nakapag-adjust naman siya. And ako rin, I’m really adjusting sa dumaming schedule ko.”
We reminded Kris that the last time we talked to her she vowed to lessen her workload.
“I know. But there are two movies. One is with direk Chito Rono, ‘yung “Undo” na about annulment ang story– the project I’m doing with Piolo (Pascual) where ang magiging daughter ko is Ella Cruz of ‘Aryana’. ‘Yung with Vice Ganda na for MMFF will start third week of September na. Then, we go out of town for the other segments we’re started showing na sa ‘Kris Reali-TV’. Our next stop is Baler, Quezon. And we do that sa weekends.”
So she has no more time for love? Who knew?
“I’m not in a position to entertain any thoughts. Ang drama ko ngayon, pagiging nerdy. So every week, I finish at least four novels. Or four books a week. Michael Bennett, James Patterson, Jeffrey Archer, his ‘Cliffton Chronicles’. And I bought from Amazon lahat ng isinulat na books ni Nora Ephron. ‘Yan ang mga next on my reading list.
“I started na sana ‘yung ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ (E.L. James). I tried! ‘Di ko masakyan. Mas gusto ko talaga ‘yung mga political thriller, detective thriller. Bloody! Kasi naman, dati pa mga una kong binasa eh ‘yung Bobbsey Twins then Nancy Drew. Leroy ‘Encyclopedia’ Brown…
“Nag-start na rin ako mag-watch sa pagbabalik ng ‘Dallas’. O. ‘di ba ‘yung gardener sa ‘Desperate Housewives’, siya na ‘yung anak ni Bobby Ewing! I also watch ‘yung ‘Master Chef’. Nasa Season 3 na. I keep crying when I watch it. Sabi nga ni Bimbs, ‘Mom, it’s a cooking show, why are you crying?’ Kasi, may bulag doon na nagku-cook. Kaya I keep crying. Kaya nawi-weirduhan sa akin si Bimbs.
“So, it’s not in the cards!” she concluded, laughing. “O ‘di ba nag-mature na ako? It’s easier for men. Lalake madali pumili.”
What if the Chiz-Kris tandem works. On to the next level?
“Wala naman siyang ina-acknowledge na girlfriend, eh,” she quipped.
“Hindi kasama sa maturity ‘yan!” he remarked.
He is mum on the subject of who owns his heart these days. Is he dating or having a meeting with someone special?
“Naku, may nagsabi nga sa akin na dapat, gaya ng sinabi ng sisters ni Kris sa kanya, na mag-travel siya, sumakay sa eroplano sa Business Class para may makatabi at maka-tsika. My cards say otherwise. Ilang beses akong sumasakay ng plane. Eh, minsan, hindi naman Business Class ‘di ba? Malas ‘ata ako sa cards ko. Kasi mga nakakatabi ko, hahawak to pray. Or will talk. Not naman for anything. So, how can you find the one in a situation like that?”
Kris, on the other hand, already has her hands full raising her two sons.
“Except last Saturday when we were supposed to watch ‘Spiderman’ in 3D kasi ‘di ko kinaya. I was not really feeling well,” she shared.
Kris mentioned when Sen. Chiz sat down with us that he is doing the show for free. Really?
“Yes, no pay. Ano kapalit? For the love nga,” she insisted.
Why did he accept the gig?
“Bakit hindi?” He repeated his answer in a lower tone.
This prompted Kris to say he’s smarter than her. He didn’t buy the compliment.
“Iba ang mundo niya. Ibang level. Kapag pumasok siya sa mundo ko, malalampasan niya ako,” he said.
Kris did not deflect his praise. “One frustration nga of my Mom was having a lawyer in the family. Kaya, after ko mag-showbiz, that’s one thing I wanna do. Mag-study pa. Naka-dalawang years din kasi sa Law si Mom before she got married,” she said.
She’s back on Twitter. Can she can handle the haters and hecklers?
“Like what Senator Chiz said, ang asar, pikon talo. Eh, ‘di i-block mo lang kung may mga pinagsasabi na you don’t like. Lugi nga ako kasi marami akong followers,” she said.
One last try at making the senator cop to the real score between him and Heart…
“Pag Kapamilya ka, hindi puwede magtanong ng Kapuso,” he answered again without answering.
