Martin Nievera

Although it’s been years since Concert King and Queen Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez parted ways, he still remembers a time when he thought their marriage could last forever.

“We were inside my red Corolla, stuck in traffic on the highway. We weren’t talking and nothing was on the radio.

“Suddenly, I began crying. Pops turned to me and asked, ‘Why, what’s wrong?’ And I told her, ‘Nothing’s wrong, everything’s right. It’s just that I’ve never been as happy in my life as now,” Martin recalled.

This was back in 1994 right after they became renewed Christians.

“Wala pang ‘ASAP’ noon and our family went to church three times a week. We were all about family that time...less about career and more about God.”

Nowadays, Martin and Pops continue the friendship they had before they got hitched. They talk more freely to each other even about their separate love lives.

“I have even advised her twice in the past to give her boyfriends a chance. When she asked me, ‘What’s wrong with me? Is it me who has the problem?’ I told her, ‘If it doesn’t hurt, it’s not love. Give him a chance,’” he said.

Martin revealed that their friendship has now reached the point when they could look back on their past sans bitterness. He considers last year a milestone because Pops greeted her first on June 28, the day they got married.

“It’s usually me who greets her first with this long text message recalling when I met her, how I fell in love, and all that. But last year, it was different---she beat me to it,” Martin told.

The ex-couple looks forward to their Valentine’s concert titled “One Amore Time” at the SMX Convention Center in SM Mall of Asia on Feb. 14. Apart from the show’s fresh repertoire and Latin soap opera concept, Martin said it will give them the chance to tell each other what’s inside their hearts.

“Pops and I are not really vocal about our feelings for each other even when we were married. We only get to say our stuff when we’re onstage or in front of the cameras. Somehow, we are more uninhibited kapag ganun.

“That is why what you see onstage---the chemistry, the banter, the spiels---it’s all genuine. People see through us if we give them something ‘manufactured.’ They’d know right away,” he said.

Produced by Mauve Management and Entertainment, and directed by Rowell Santiago, “One Amore Time” will also be staged in the U.S. by end of the year.

Asked if he still sees a reconciliation in the offiing with his ex-wife, Martin gave a non-commital answer.

“Basta, we’re actually more married than many married couples. We have both grown up. I know that for a fact because we saw each other grow up---and that will always be my edge over her boyfriends. The chemistry we have is genuine, one that’s tested over time and across situations.”