Ria Atayde and Zanjoe Marudo. Images: Screengrabs from YouTube/Bernadette Sembrano
Ria Atayde was all praises for Zanjoe Marudo, whom she started dating in late 2022, saying he is the type of partner who makes her feel valued as a woman.
In an interview with TV reporter Bernadette Sembrano, Atayde briefly opened up about her relationship with Marudo on her YouTube channel, which was uploaded on Saturday, Mar. 4.
“I’m very happy right now. I’m in a relationship where I feel valued and where there’s so much mutual respect, mutual admiration,” she said, when asked about Sembrano about her personal life without naming the “Dirty Linen” star.
Sembrano then asked the actress why she opted to keep her romance with Marudo private. To recall, the couple’s relationship status was made public by Atayde’s mother Sylvia Sanchez in October 2022.
“I feel like because much of it is so public, just to protect it from people’s thoughts and intentions. Basta it’s nice to be happy,” she explained.
The “Viral Scandal” star admitted that she is actually unsure how her romance with Marudo began since they have been friends for “so long.”
“I actually don’t know [how we started],” she confessed, before bursting into laughter. “We’ve been friends kasi for so long. Basta it started around last year, and we made it official last year din, in 2022.”
However, the actress, who hinted that their relationship blossomed from friendship, did not disclose the exact date when she and Marudo started dating.
Atayde also expressed her support for her older brother Arjo, whom she sees as her best friend. The actor-politician is now engaged to actress-TV host Maine Mendoza since July 2022.
“Maine is so funny, so nice. I really appreciate her. She brought out the best in my brother. Like right now, I can say that he’s ready [to get married]. Nice, ‘no,” she added.
During the interview, Sembrano also asked Atayde’s mother to share the characteristics of the person that the younger actress should date, although she noted that she’s “happy” for her daughter.
“‘Yung mahal siya talaga bilang siya, ‘yung pagkatao ni Ria. Sabi nga ng daddy niya, ‘yung kaya siyang buhayin at pakainin, and maaalagaan siya. And isa lang takot ko, which I never received from [Ria’s] father in my life, bilang babae, ‘yung hindi siya sasaktan. Kasi kung sasaktan niya ang anak ko, hihilingin ko na lang na ibalik niya sa’min ang anak ko,” Sanchez said.
(The one who loves her as her own person, as Ria. Her father also said that her partner should be willing to give her a good life, feed her, and take care of her. I’m only scared of one thing, especially that I never received it from Ria’s father — and as a woman. I hope that he would not hurt her. Because if he ever hurts my daughter, I would beg him to return her to us instead.)
Despite their 10-year age gap, Atayde told the Inquirer in January 2023 that Marudo never made her feel uncomfortable about it.
“He is just from an older batch, but we’re both millennials. We get along really well. I laugh a lot [when I’m with him] and, for me, that’s the most important thing,” Atayde said.
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