Karen and Mon Guinto: Communication
What is your “love formula?”
She said: “One of the keys to our happy and successful relationship is good communication. It is in knowing when to speak freely and honestly when sharing one’s dreams and aspirations. At the same time, it is in talking with some restraint when trying to resolve emotional situations. In the end, respect for one another as an individual should be present, so things would not end up messy. As a married couple, it is great for us to be one and share experiences together. However, you should not lose yourself as an individual. It is when you have your own experiences to share and achievements to be proud of that you become happy as a person. Ultimately, when you are whole as a person, you have better things to share, which makes the relationship interesting. In the same manner, make it a point to travel and do things together. For it is when you travel that you are placed out of your comfort zone. Lastly, take pride in your children’s achievements. It is a reminder of how as a couple you have raised them well.”
He said: “Formula? Communication + Trust + Humor + Respect + Space + Dance + Lugaw = Love. (Okay, and what Karen said.)”
Is it easy/moderate/hard to stay faithful to each other in this day and age?
She said: “Being faithful is not dependent on any particular time or era. It is a state of mind. It is when you feel loved, happy and content with what you have that you say I am more than satisfied where I am and would no longer need to look for anything else. For me I can say that it is very easy to stay faithful, for as long as you believe that you are getting what you deserve.”
He said: “Facebook has killed the art of fooling around. You are now forced to stay faithful. One wrong photo tag or status update and you’re dead! Seriously, temptations and distractions are everywhere. It is particularly harder to say no when the situation at home or with your partner is not okay. For me, giving in or staying faithful is a matter of choice hinged on several factors: a) your willpower and ability to stay true to your committed partner (i.e. Be Strong!); b) knowing what you stand to lose by fooling around (i.e. Be Smart!); c) figuring out root causes for dissatisfaction between you and your partner (i.e. Be Sensitive!)
“In my case, I’ve made a choice to stick it out no matter what. In the 16 years I’ve been with Karen, I now know that our life together has its ups and downs. I think I’ve figured out what makes me/us unhappy, and the trick is to work together to make sure issues are resolved quickly. Then again, no one but Karen pays attention to me, so I think that also helps!”
Chips and Fozzy Dayrit: Fun and laughter
What is your “love formula?”
Laugh at each other. Make each other laugh. Have fun together. And never forget to let each other have their own fun (Chips has his running, Fozzy has her pens and paper). And now that we have our first baby, it just puts love on a whole new level.
Do you find it hard to stay faithful this day and age?
This concept never really enters our minds until asked (like now). When you truly respect and love each other, staying together is as blissful as eating bacon.
Jose and Ver Cancio: Maturity
What is your“ love formula?”
½ part: confidence
½ part: maturity
1 part: understanding your true self (not what you “think” you should be or what others think you should be)
1 part: ability to fully open the heart, the mind and the soul
2 shots: LUCK! Add more as needed!
Mix in blender with crushed ice, a four-leaf clover, a rabbit’s foot, or any other lucky items you may have (ice optional).
Pour in tall glass and sprinkle a little destiny on top and enjoy!
Is it easy/moderate/hard to stay faithful in this day and age?
Life is all about self-growth. Love is all about growing with another. Finding harmony between life and love allows us to continually grow and evolve as individuals and in each other. I am no expert and I am very, very far from it. I still have much to learn but I am willing and eager to learn with the one I love. I feel this is the key to true love. Once you have true love, then staying faithful in this day and age is easy.
Erick and Xuchele Dogma: Yielding
What is your “love formula?”
Erick: Ilagay mo… Mapagbigay ako. Ako ang sumusuyo kahit hindi ako ang me kasalanan.
Xuchele: So ano ilalagay ko, our formula for a love that lasted 19 years by far is that, you always have the last say, “Yes, Loves!”
Erick: Hahaha!
Is it easy/moderate/hard to stay faithful in this day and age?
Erick: Too easy for me.
Xuchele: Why? Because I’m so sexy and irresistible?
Erick: Oo.
Xuchele: Easy for me, too, then! As to why, secret… baka lumaki ang ulo mo!
Gec and Anna Chia: Faith
What is your “love formula?” Is it easy, moderate, or hard to stay faithful these days?
Gec: We argue a lot, but I can’t stay mad at Anna for longer than 10 minutes. After fighting with her, I usually start laughing. In the few times that we actually had a long fight, I make sure that we talk about it before we sleep. As much as possible I don’t want to go to sleep fighting with my wife. Temptations will always be there, but it depends on how you handle it. I made a commitment to my wife and I plan on keeping it.
Anna: Gec is really the sweetest guy in the universe! I love making him smile, hugging him, and making him happy. Our love formula? I always thank God for blessing me with such a great husband. I think that prayers and great faith are our love formula. My husband and I are God-fearing, and we keep Him centered in our lives. It’s super-easy to keep faithful. With so much busyness going on, who has time for that sort of thing? I preoccupy myself with too much things to do to even consider temptations.
Willy and Trisha Cuason: Mutual appreciation and acceptance
Our love formula is appreciating each other’s strengths and accepting each other’s quirks. We try to highlight the things we love about each other. When one is not in a good mood, the other gives that person space to cool down. One of the best advice from a friend is to have a once-a-week date night. Date night is the perfect time to just relax and really talk intimately about our relationship, our plans, and just about anything under the sun! For us, it is easy to be faithful to one another because we have seen how broken relationships have affected families, especially the children. Our goal is to prioritize our marriage and our family. And because we have experienced and won over challenges together, our bond has become stronger!
Rafa and Amina Alunan: Mutual Respect
Our love formula? Mutual respect and adoration
, friendship, spirituality and God-centeredness, common values and beliefs, and lastly still “crushing” on each other after over a deca
de! Being faithful to each other is not even a question.
Francis and Patricia Rodriguez: Laughter
We laugh a lot—at and with each other. We are each other’s best friends, committed to always be sweet and better persons for each other. It’s easy to stay faithful because we choose to.
Al and Joy Magahis: Friendship and romance
We have been togethe
r since high school but the romance, believe it or not, is still very much there. Our so-called formula is treating each other as best friends and making sure that trust and respect are always present. Saying “I l
ove you” all the time may sound clichéd, but it helps us remember to be sweet to each other always. Staying faithful comes easy when the trust is intact and we keep no secrets from each other.
Pauline Prieto and Cliff Ho: Trust and respect
What is your “love formula?”
Trust and respect.
Is it hard, moderate or easy to keep faithful these days?
Pauline: I don’t think it’s hard to keep faithful these days, because no matter how far apart you are, there are tons of ways to feel like you’re not even apart! So cheating is unforgivable!
Cliff: I’m out of the country almost every month, so we use Skype and FaceTime to talk every night before going to bed, just to keep the relationship strong.
Lyca Puno and RG Roa: Shared adventures
Wh
at is your “love formula?”
We always make things “new” and share new experiences together—whether it’s eating at a new restaurant or traveling together, these shared adventures make our bond stronger.
Is it hard, moderate or easy to keep f
aithful these days?
It’s not hard to stay on a straight path if you know you’re with the best person for you.
Karl Santos and Kara Katigbak: Passion
What is your “love formula?”
Love is letting the other be. It’s also about contentment, companionship mad love, passion and respect.
Is it hard, moderate or easy to keep faithful these days?
Despite the many social media sites nowadays and the different circles we find ourselves in, it really depends on the relationship you’re in. But for us, being unfaithful is not an option.
Kate Paras and Mari Santiago: Friendship and acceptance
What is your “love formula?”
There is no certain formula for love. I guess ours is deeply rooted in friendship and we know each other well and accept each other, for both the good and the bad. You don’t get into a relationship with a person just for the good. It’s also important to grow together, to be each other’s best friend, and to know that each one of you is a complete person already, and the relationship just
creates something else more beautiful.
Is it hard, moderate or easy to keep faithful these days?
It’s really easy to be faithful to your partner if you know deep down inside that you trust your partner and that he/she trusts you the same way. This is the case, regardless of whatever generation you may be in. Everything else is an outside factor. What really matters is how you choose to get affected by such.
Happy Lopez and Pope Gumabao: Compromise
What is your “love formula?”
It’s the usual things we hear about making a relationship work, like trust, understanding and compromise, which we feel are our strongest relationship traits. Time is also important, together and apart. We try to spend as much time as we can together even if it’s only for an hour to have a meal together or work out together. We allow each other to spend time alone or allot time to enjoy other hobbies and interests or spend time with others so as not to get caught up in our own world. And we completely support each other in our endeavors.
We try to live in the present whilst having the future in mind, as well. It’s important that we are on the same page; having dreams and plans together nurtures our relationship a lot. We don’t pressure ourselves, and we know everything (like marriage) will happen when the timing is right.
Preparation and planning are important to us. We don’t just rush into things without thinking them through.
Is it hard, moderate or easy to keep faithful these days?
For us, it’s very easy. We entered into this relationship with the full understanding that this is a serious commitment, which entails being 100-percent faithful. The trust level we have is so high. We’ve always been open about the things we’re scared of when it comes to relationships, issues on infidelity, the non-negotiables, and the expectations we have of each other. We agree on these things and consid
er them sacred.
We feel that when you’re with the right person, at the right time, and ready mentally and emotionally, then staying faithful to your partner is one of the easiest things to do—you don’t even have to work at it or exert a lot of effort.
Esse and Joy Dejos: Fierce attraction
What is your “love formula?”
Endless adventure, fierce attraction, and hard work, even when you don’t really feel like it. True and unwavering acceptance, the best friendship, laughter, making time to be silly, trust, and admiration.
Is it hard, moderate or easy to keep faithful these days?
It’s not about the period in time, but the person in time. It’s easy to stay faithful, regardless of what decade it is, if you’re with the right person.
Dr. Bu and Lyka Buenazedacruz: Unconditional love
What is your “love formula?”
With all the formulas of love all around, we stick to what God, the author of love, suggests. It must always be demonstrated unconditionally despite imperfections and selfless. We practice love and respect.
We believe that women need love and men need respect. Men should always show love to their partners in happy and tough times, and women should always respect their man’s decisions and strategies in life even if they fail at times.
As we continue to work on humbling ourselves to show unconditional love and respect to each other, we realized that we’ve become better people in the process. We never imagined that in doing so, can really mature in our relationship and our character.
Is it easy, moderate or difficult to stay faithful these days?
We believe that being faithful has always been and will always be very hard. It is a heart issue. The first man who ever lived had an unfaithfulness issue, and so does every one of us today. It really doesn’t matter what the source of unfaithfulness may be, because it is a matter of the heart that cannot be solved by behavior modification. Left to ourselves, we can never succeed in this area; we surrender our lives fully to God everyday.
What causes us to be faithful to one another is our love for God. As we pursue Him everyday, He enables us to love Him more than we love each other, making us capable of being faithful and fully committed to each other.
Patrick Filart and Patty Laurel: Humor and laughter
What is your “love formula?”
Make it your mission in life to be each other’s steady supply of jokes. Instead of wasting it on heated arguments and superficial demands, use your time on earth to make that one person laugh out loud each and every single day for the rest of your lives. We dance like dorks, we invent silly songs, and we deliver knock-knock jokes with gusto.
Good looks fade, fame and fortune can soon be gone; it is only your shared sense of humor that will keep you kilig when you’re both old and gray.
Is it easy, moderate, or difficult to stay faithful these days?
When you are deeply in love with your partner and you are both madly in love with God, then staying faithful becomes natural and effortless. Temptation will always be there to taunt you, it’s only by God’s grace that you can fully enjoy the bliss of having an honest relationship with your partner. On some days, when conflicts arise and the fuzzy feelings are absent, it is our faith in God and in each other that keeps us together.
It’s important to wake up with gratefulness each morning. When you are appreciative of the life God blessed you with, you will work harder to keep that person dear to you happy. Also, when you value yourself as an individual and possess a healthy amount of self-respect, you’ll gain a better understanding of the person you will never allow yourself to become.
Jonathan Henson and Chrina Cuna: ‘Be yourself’
What is your “love formula?”
Jonathan: Be yourself. Don’t be afraid to show your partner who you really are. Revealing your imperfections and accepting your partner’s will allow you to understand each other better. You’ll be surprised that sometimes these little imperfections are what you will grow to love most.
Focus on what you can give rather than what you can get (or on what you’re not getting). Having this approach taught us both how to love each other in an unconditional way. I was surprised at how wonderful it was to take the focus off myself and to prioritize what was best for her.
Communication is key! More than anything, we both love to sit and talk over a nice cup of coffee. We’ve learned to share stories and to open up about certain things, which I believe will spare us from future misunderstandings. I also think that it’s better to communicate what’s on your mind rather than to assume that the other person always knows what you’re thinking.
Chrina: Praying for him and knowing that he’s praying for me has brought us both so much closer. Truth is, there are many things in life which are beyond our control as a couple–but definitely not beyond God’s. I love that I can fully trust this man because I know that his heart is committed to trusting God.
Is it easy, moderate, or difficult to stay faithful these days?
Jonathan: Easy. From the beginning, I decided that I was serious and that I wanted this relationship to last. Having made this decision as well as being assured that she is just as committed makes it pretty easy. It helps that we constantly communicate our support for each other and our dedication to the relationship, which I think is also the key.
Chrina: Easy! I entered into this relationship with the intention of taking things seriously and staying faithful. Even more so, after considering his beliefs and his character, I’ve realized that being faithful to him isn’t difficult at all.