“He thinks I’m the glam girl, and I think he’s the serious guy. But when you put us together, we’re the happy couple!” says Daphne. (Photo by PINGGOT ZULUETA)

They lived over 7,000 miles apart, both taking completely different career paths with a very slim chance of ever meeting. That time, she was delving in the world of urban planning and design while he was carving a name for himself in journalism.

Daphne Oseña didn’t come to the Philippines looking for love or even a job as a broadcaster for that matter. A fresh graduate from the University of Toronto with a degree in Urban Planning, she started working for the Canadian Urban Institute and was sent to Guimaras island as manager for urban and environmental projects. There she met people from television network ABS-CBN and her sharp wit and commanding presence on screen earned her an offer to become a broadcaster.

“I switched over and tried out broadcasting. It was a big switch from Urban Planning but I gave myself one year just to try it out,” says Daphne. “I figured the Philippines was giving me all these opportunities that in Canada normally don’t happen. You work in the field of your study, and that’s it. It was a great opportunity and I tried it out. Just before the year ended, I met him.”

Patrick Paez is a hardcore journalist. After graduating from the University of Santo Tomas, he worked for five years as a reporter for the Manila Chronicle and later switched to television where he covered most beats. After another five years, Patrick decided to work behind the camera for a change and ABS-CBN made him a TV producer.

 “I was supposed to take up architecture because my father is an architect and my sister is an architect as well. Everybody thought I’d take up architecture too but the country was calling [for journalists].”

He has won several KBP and Star Awards, not to mention the silver award in the New York Festival for his report on Afghanistan which tied with NBC. Despite his modest approach when it comes to work, Patrick takes great pride in that award. “We were the only Filipino team to enter the country (Afghanistan),” he divulges.

“I had heard about him because he was already Patrick Paez! He’s a senior, he’s a producer. I was the weather girl. It’s like the story of Up Close and Personal!” says Daphne. “Except for the part where the guy dies,” she quickly adds.

She continues, “ABS-CBN had a cadetship program and they would train you and it would be survival of the fittest thing for all the young reporters. I was in the second batch of reporters to be trained and apparently he was one of the teachers. But I was always absent. I never met him but my classmates would talk about him.”

During a Christmas party in ABS-CBN, Daphne went up to Patrick and introduced herself. “It was a totally normal thing to do in Canada!” she insists. “But here in the Philippines, it’s like…wow,” her husband counters. A besotted Patrick stuck to Daphne’s side for the rest of the evening, engaging her in conversation and even offering to drive her home. But he was turned down.

“That gave a strong impression on me,” notes Patrick. “She’s not easy and she could take care of herself.” After the party, Patrick and Daphne became friends.

“He was already senior producer so he sort of mentored me in the newsroom. We were just friends but he had ulterior motives!” she says. Daphne was dating other men and because Patrick was her officemate, he was automatically disqualified. However, he did have first dibs on information about her.

“We would have lunch together as friends, and ‘yun pala he was taking notes of all my comments and suggestions!” says Daphne.

“Then I knew how to court her!” Patrick says with a knowing smile. He found out that Daphne didn’t like Filipino men for though they’re famed Romeos when it comes to the dating scene, Daphne didn’t appreciate expensive gifts or cheesy declarations of love. “I felt objectified by them,” she adds.

Patrick first suggested setting Daphne up with his friend but Daphne adamantly refused. “I don’t get set up,” she says.

“One day, he just asked me out. We went out after work and it became a weekly thing,” recalls Daphne. “We would hang out on a weekend and hang out with the barkada and next thing we knew, it was just the two of us going out.”

Patrick acted as a tourist guide for Daphne, taking her to see cockfights, shopping at Divisoria, and admire the architecture in Intramuros. “He showed me Manila beyond what a tourist saw,” relates Daphne. Her enthusiasm towards the country propelled the producer in Patrick to put out his handy cam and record Daphne as she talks about different buildings and sceneries.

Together, they edited the videos and Daphne even recalls waiting for the “big bosses” at the ABS-CBN parking lot just to show them their project which was called Video Postcards. The executives of the company liked their project that even ABS-CBN CEO Gabby Lopez was lauding their efforts.

Video Postcards inadvertently kindled their romance. They were spending so much time together and whatever attraction they felt for each other was disguised by a thin veil of friendship. There was one line Patrick told Daphne that left a huge impression on her and she remembers, “He told me that my parents raised me well. Nobody ever said that to me before!”

“I knew that would get her because she’s such a daddy’s girl,” laughs Patrick. “A lot of guys she dated didn’t want to talk about her parents and she’s the type of girl who really wanted to talk about her family.”

“I’m really devoted to my parents and the time he said that, I was really missing home. And for somebody to understand that — that was what I was looking for,” she shares. But still, Daphne would insist that they were just friends.

The “pretentious” friendship soon became too much for Patrick to bear, that he told her, “Do you know why we’re together every day and every night? Why do you think I drive you home every night?” Daphne answered, “Because you like hanging out with me, that’s it!” A line was always drawn, keeping him from confessing his true feelings. But that day, Patrick told Daphne how he really felt, and once again he was shot down.

“I went home that night and it’s over and I couldn’t sleep,” reflects Daphne. “I told my mom that I’m in my mid-20s and I don’t think I’m ever going to meet someone for me. I meet so many amazing people but it’s just not right. And she said, ‘Don’t look too far, he could be right in front of you.’”

Daphne immediately thought of Patrick. The next day, she called him up for dinner. She was planning on taking back her “no” and giving their relationship a try. But on the way to the restaurant, Patrick received a heartbreaking call. His mom had a stroke and was in the hospital.

Needless to say, Patrick and Daphne spent their first official date at the hospital emergency room. “She never left my side,” Patrick says.

Daphne even considered that maybe she was just feeling sorry for Patrick and that was why she agreed to give their relationship a go. She went back to Canada for a month to reflect and there realized, “I knew then that it was not sympathy, it was love. I just can’t live without him!”

They became steady for five straight years before Patrick proposed to Daphne. When asked about the proposal, Patrick and Daphne looked at each other and laughed. “It was bad, wasn’t it?” Patrick chuckles. “Could we skip that part?”

Apparently, Daphne was bugging Patrick for a “moment.” She wanted a proposal that would surprise her, but the “moment” happened on the way to NAIA while Patrick was driving. He took something out from his pocket while his other hand was firmly gripping the steering wheel. He handed Daphne a small box and said, “Here.”

Daphne opened the box and found the ring. Flabbergasted, she berated Patrick for his unimaginative proposal: “This is it? My moment?” Despite the lackluster proposition, Daphne accepted Patrick and they got married on May 4, 2002 in Batulao, Batangas.

The groom couldn’t help but shed tears for his beautiful bride as she was walking down the aisle. One thing the couple could not forget about the wedding was the kiss. “When the preacher announced: you may kiss the bride, he kissed me with his hands on his pocket!” complains Daphne. Patrick admits that the pictures of the wedding kiss turned out bad. “When you look at it, you’d go ugh!” he says.

Patrick and Daphne have been married for seven years and together they have three girls – Sophia, Lily, and Stella. “She always wanted a career as a mother,” shares Patrick. Both parents love spending time with their girls and their secret is to make each child feel special.

The girls take great pleasure in seeing their parents hold hands and go on dates. During one particular anniversary, Patrick and Daphne decided to stay at home. But it was their eldest daughter Sophia who was disappointed and insisted her parents still go out. “We make an effort to be alone and the kids are okay with it just as long mommy and daddy are together,” explains Daphne.

“It’s the two of us first before the kids and the family. It sounds selfish but it works,” asserts Patrick. “If you’re okay with each other, everything else just falls into place.”

On Courtship

He said: She let me wait for a year, for a long time. She let me wait for so long until I couldn’t bear it anymore. I had to tell her how I really feel.

She said: I told him if we would get together, it would be a big risk because we work in the same office. We were hanging out and I like him, but he’s already disqualified. I can’t have an office romance and then have a fight and we’d break up. Lugi, kasi I’m a girl. I want so much out of the relationship and there was so much at stake. And I told myself: if I was going to go for him, then it would be for keeps.

On the Proposal

He said: She was expecting a “moment,” and you don’t ask that from a guy! It’s one of the things she won’t forget and won’t forgive me for. When I gave her the ring, she said, “This is it? My moment?”

She said: There was no “moment.” We were on the way to the airport. He was driving and he simply grabbed something from his pocket and handed it to me. He didn’t even know that there was an engagement ring in the first place! He was too busy buying G.I. Joes, and I was telling him, stop buying G.I. Joes. Calculate that and it would already amount to 2 karats or something!

On Marriage

He said: I know her already and it’s very easy to make her happy. A little lambing and that’s it. She doesn’t ask for much, just a little quality time is all she really asks for.

She said: We’ve had a few curve balls thrown at us. Life is not always happy and sunny but with our marriage, we’ve experienced work and career changes. Our personal relationship has remained solid. We pray together and we deal with our problems together.

On Parenting

He said: If you look at Daphne, you’d think she’d be a driven career woman. But the one career she really wants is motherhood. All the kids idolize her. You’d think one of them would become daddy’s girl. But no, they’re all mommy’s girls.

She said: I grew up with a really strong and amazing father. He had a strong presence in my life. And you know the saying — the father that you have can also determine the husband you will choose? Patrick resembles my dad in so many ways. The way he is with the girls, he really has stepped up. He’s very present in their lives and he’s very hands-on.