he first two meetings between Urian best actress Judy Ann Santos and eloquent Y Speak host Ryan Agoncillo were casual and uneventful.

The very first was at Raymund Isaac studio in Makati , and the second, at a grooming salon. “Hi-hello lang,” Ryan told Nitz Miralles , contributing writer of Hi! Magazine . “Sa Krystala na lang kami nagkakilala nang husto.”

Ryan was one of Juday's three leading men in ABS-CBN's recently concluded television fantasy Krystala . It was Ryan's first foray into acting, although he's a veteran at TV hosting.

On the TV series, Miguel, the character that Ryan played, ended up as the husband of Tala, also portrayed by Juday.

This happens to be the big question on everyone's mind these days: Will Ryan also end up as Juday's husband in real life?

Juday and Ryan, as of press time, have refused to answer this query directly anywhere. So we turn to Juday's mother, who is known to showbiz as Mommy Carol. Well, Mommy Carol does not give a direct answer either, but we can safely make some accurate conclusions.

Listen to Mommy Carol speak about Ryan. She is so obviously in favor of him.

“Matinong bata. Maayos ang pamilya. In fact, nitong nagkaproblema si Juday [meaning, the problem with the Bureau of Internal Revenue], ang pamilya ni Ryan, napaka-sweet—they offered to help.

At si Ryan, hindi lang si Juday ang inaalala. He keeps checking on me din. ‘O, Tita, okey ka lang ba?'

“And take note, he was never presumptuous to call me Mama or Mommy, ha. Always Tita lang, “At kahit coñotic, kalye rin minsan kung magbitiw ng salita. Kalog. Minsan, binati ko ‘yong bigay niyang kuwintas kay Juday… Nagbiro: ‘Ninenok niya po!' Sabi ba naman?

“Pero sinabi din niya na bigay daw sa kanya ‘yon ng Mama niya. At sinabi niya sa sarili niya na ibibigay lang niya ‘yon sa babaeng mamahalin niya. O, ‘di ba?

Ninenok is slang for ninakaw. But the silver crucifix necklace that Ryan gave to Juday—seen in photos in the next spread—is obviously not stolen goods. He himself gave it to her on May8—and people close to the two of them now believe that was also the day when Ryan became exclusive owner of Juday's heart.

Mommy Carol herself has tried to get the two to tell her the real score. That was right after Ryan picked up Juday at the airport after Juday's brief vacation in United States of America last May.

“Pero eto muna ang drama,” laughs Mommy Carol, who is natural storyteller. “Ang Ryan, sinorpresa ang Juday sa airport, text daw siya nang text kay Ryan bago umuwi, saka noong nakababa na ang eroplano. Hindi daw sumasagot. Paglabas niya ng arrival area, nandoon ang Ryan, may dalang bulaklak.

“E, nako, type na type ng dalaga ko ang ganyan… mga surprise-surprise. Kinikilig ‘yan.

“Dito sila dumiretso para kumain. Ang dalaga ko, nalulutu-lutuan—aligaga. Sabi ko ke Ryan: ‘Oy, ikaw nga, tell me, what's going on between the two of you?'

“Of course, alam ko na—gusto ko lang marinig directly from them.

“Sabi ng Ryan: ‘Puwede po bang magyosi?'

“Akala n'yo ba sinagot ako ng dalawa? Hinde! Pero ano'ng sagot pa gusto mo, e, ayon at habang ini-interrogate ko e magka-holding-hands at nginingiti-ngitian lang ako?”

As Mommy Carol says, they didn't have to tell her a thing anymore. She knew.

In fact, she has since taken the liberty of telling Juday's strong-willed manager Alfie Lorenzo that if there is one thing he should never reprimand Juday about, that would be matters of the heart – especially now.

“Kilala ko ang anak ko,” Mommy Carol tells YES! “Mabait ‘yan, hindi ‘yan kikibo pag pinagsabihan mo sa ibang bagay. Pero pa in love? ‘Day, mag-aaway kayo.”

Good thing, Alfie likes Ryan, who keeps saying that Juday is a woman of texture and substance, a lot.

Mommy Carol adds that Juday once told her elder sister Jackie that she had a crush on Ryan: “Kaso lang daw, ‘loyal sa girlfriend.' May girlfriend kasi noon si Ryan. Kaso, nagpunta sa U.S. Parang nagkalabuan na after that.”

After the falling-out with his U.S. based girlfriend, Ryan did not immediately court Juday. But unknown to the public, these two—who were spending a lot of Krystala moments together—were also spending an even more substantial amount of non- Krystala moments, such as eating out and watching concerts.

Both adventure seekers and nature lovers, Juday and Ryan bonded during out-of-town get-togethers with their friends—spending Holy Week in Batangas, celebrating Juday's birthday (May 11) in Palawan, and touring Guimaras island, to cite a few.

The star with the mass appeal was getting along just fine with the TV host with the coño background.

In time, Ryan was reportedly telling his friends that he was “charmed by her.” These days, in fact, Ryan is saying that he's “in awe” of Juday.

“It's the way she treats people,” Ryan told Hi! Magazine “Maasikaso talaga. Iniisip ko nga, if she's doing it dahil superstar siya… Ganoon ba silang mga superstar? I'm still in awe. May certain magic.”

And since we believe mother knows best, we leave Mommy Carol to sum up this whole equation: “Sa sobrang picky niyang anak ko, feeling ko, basta's nagka-boyfriend, sa kasalan na ang tuloy.”

And the bottom line for Juday's mom? She hums, “Masaya ang dalaga ko.”
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