"Sometimes pagod na ako at nakahiga na lang, but knowing that he's there really makes a difference," says Lyn.

They couldn’t have been any more different, nor could they have come from more different worlds. Lyn Ching is a vivacious, spunky reporter whose face and voice continue to create waves in television. Jappy Pascual is the strong and silent type whose sharp mind was the toast of business school. She was busy talking to millions of Filipino viewers, while he was dominating boardrooms and laboratories.

But a blind date set up by friends brought them together, and Lyn and Jappy, who were so used to being on their own independent lives found themselves making a relationship of their own.

“At the time, I was taking my masters in business and my roommate asked me if I wanted to go on a date with a certain Lyn Ching,” Jappy recalls. For Lyn, it was more of an ambush. “My best friend Khiara and I were at the mall, and I was even dressed down in a grunge outfit,” she says. “And she told me, ‘Ay oo nga pala, may pupuntahan tayo; may blind date ka.’”

Sparks flew when they saw each other, and there was an instant attraction between the two. Though Jappy was shy, Lyn’s outgoing personality brought out the best in him and they had a friendly rapport. “At the end of the date, it was just him and me talking,” says Lyn.

It was important for Lyn to have her best friend along on their first couple of dates. “I respect my best friend’s opinion, and I needed her to say yes first before even thinking of going further in the love angle,” she explains. And because of Jappy’s smarts and charm, he got Khiara’s seal of approval.

Jappy thought Lyn was extremely pretty, but it was her confidence and independent nature which drew her to him. “From the very beginning, I think he saw that I was very independent. I think it’s one of the things he’s subconsciously looking for. His mom is a very independent lady, and in a way, I think he’s looking for someone who is like her,” says Lyn.

Jappy and Lyn liked each other so much that they went out on several more dates. But because of his studies, Jappy’s time was very limited. “Those two years were a struggle for him, kasi talagang pamatay ang pag-aaral sa AIM,” shares Lyn. “And when I say struggle, it’s because he would really take time to take me out.”

“Pinagparusa niya ako ng four months!” jokes Jappy. But his patience and dedication soon paid off, for Lyn finally said yes to him.

Lyn might have belonged to a Filipino-Chinese family with conservative beliefs, but she has always been used to her independence. “When I met him and I knew there was something there, I talked to my dad. I told him I am closer with Filipinos than I am with Chinoys. And also, I don’t get to meet a lot of Chinoys because of the world that I’m in – GMA, my best friends – they’re all Filipinos. It’s all circumstance. I’m just really meant to be with them, so they had no choice,” she says.

It was after two years of going steady when Jappy decided to pop the big question. “I just thought the time was right,” he muses. “We were getting along very well. We loved each other, and everything was going well in our lives.”

Jappy must have been bad at keeping surprises, for Lyn sort of knew that Jappy was planning to propose. “Call it women’s intuition, but I had a feeling he was going to propose that night,” she remembers. “So my best friend and I went shopping because I wanted to look good that night. And it’s a good thing I did look good, because he proposed.”

After eating, Jappy took Lyn’s hand and placed a box in her hand. And he told her, “Let’s get married.” Right after he placed the ring on Lyn’s finger, one of Jappy’s sisters suddenly called and asked, “Well? Did she say yes?”

“Sinabi na pala niya sa family niya!” laughs Lyn. They got married in January, and a year after, they had their first baby – a girl.

“We met at the right age, and we got married at the right age,” Lyn relates. “I just turned 29 when we got married, and I was 30 when we had our first baby. I try to plan a lot of things in my life, because I didn’t want to waste my youth. And so I worked, and when it’s time to get married, then it’s time to get married. It just so happened that God provided me with the right man, a good husband. And I knew he was the right man because he was the only one I never, ever broke up with.”

Marriage became an adventure for Jappy and Lyn, and so was parenthood. They moved in to a one-bedroom condo right after their marriage, and there they built their lives.

“It’s advisable when you’re newly married to have your own place,” says Lyn. “You’re getting to know each other better, and you’re trying to understand each other’s quirks, so it’s really an adjustment.”

Now, the adjustment period is over for Jappy and Lyn. They have two kids – Gabrielle Alyssa and Jaime Matteo. They have also moved out of their condo and are now living in their own house.

The family loves going to the mall and church, and hanging out at lolo and lola’s house. But their faces truly light up when the topic of travelling comes up, for the Pascual family loves to travel. Jappy and Lyn will never forget their Europe adventures, in particular. They have visited Norway, Holland, Russia, Rome, Florence, Venice, Athens, Monte Carlo, among many other countries and cities. And to remember their travels, Lyn creates special scrapbooks and photo albums for them to browse over in the future.

Jappy and Lyn’s marriage works because of mutual love, trust, and respect. “Basically, we run everything by each other,” Lyn explains.

Despite their differences, Jappy and Lyn have found happiness in marriage, and it is simply because these two independent souls have made it their choice to be together.

On First Impressions

He said: There was a definite attraction. I thought she was pretty, and she’s very easy to talk to. She presented herself very well. She had a lot of confidence in herself, and it wasn’t the yabang kind of confidence.

She said: He’s very personable, albeit very shy. Jappy’s really intelligent, and I get so impressed with intelligent people. He makes sense whenever he talks. Sometimes, I don’t make sense, and I like to be with people who do make sense. He’s very smart, aside from the fact that he’s cute and very kind.

On Dating

He said: I would visit her every chance I got, when I was not studying and in school.

She said: We eat – a lot. Our project before was to go to different restaurants every week and to rate them.

On Household Chores

He said: We didn’t divide the chores, like I didn’t ask her to cook for me, nor did she ask me to do anything. We just took it upon ourselves to do our household chores.

She said: After our wedding, we moved in to a one-bedroom condo. We just lived together, just the two of us. We went through everything together. I tried cooking for him, and he helped me with washing the dishes... and the clothes we would ship to his house, because I don’t know how (to wash them)!

On Travel and Vacations

He said: We have different notions of what a vacation is, and I think it’s very interesting. For me, a vacation is just time to lay back, rest, and recharge. For her, a vacation is time to shop. It’s also a time to go sightseeing.

She said: When I say sightseeing, it’s really, really, really walking around from morning until night. I make an itinerary and give it to him for approval, but he doesn’t want to read it because he knows in the end, pag pakikiusapan ko siya pumunta sa isang lugar, he’ll give in.

On Parenting

He said: We believe in educating our children, so we invested in educational DVDs. When she was pregnant, we even listened to classical music because we heard that it’s good for the baby.

She said: The good thing about us as parents is that right from the very beginning, we had an agreement that what one says goes. If pinagalitan ko anak ko about something that he doesn’t really believe in, he will not correct me in front of our kids. Once kasi sinira mo ang pagtingin ng bata sa magulang, hindi agad agad mababalik yun eh.

On Twilight

He said: The dude sucks! Actually, I was starting to like Twilight because of Bella. But then I saw a couple of her other movies, and hindi pala siya maganda.

She said: Who doesn’t love Twilight? I actually can’t wait for New Moon. Jappy doesn’t like it because he’s a typical male.