From:
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/335521/its-not-movies
It's not like the movies
This couple proves that real life is better than reel
By JACKY LYNNE A. OIGA
September 25, 2011, 11:39am
(photo by Pinggot Zulueta)
MANILA, Philippines -- Bad boy falls for good girl, love at first sight, young love, whirlwind romance, a happy ending – Theo and Samantha Zaragoza’s love story has all the makings of the perfect chick flick.
But, while the chick flick genre is often criticized as senseless, sappy, and overly sensationalized fluff, theirs is an inspiring story of finding love, growing together, and working towards success that will put any Reese Witherspoon starrer to shame.
Boy meets girl
In a span of 24 hours, after one unofficial first (group) date, cups of coffee, bottles of beers, one flat tire, and zero hours of sleep, chef and food stylist Theo Zaragoza knew that Samantha or Sam Ramos is the girl he wants to marry.
“I first met her in the Bellevue Hotel back in 2005. She was an intern in the front desk and I was coming to meet with their marketing manager. We got each other’s attention right away. She toured me around, we talked a little, it was definitely love at first sight,” Theo recalled smiling.
“Everything stopped when I saw him. Parang sa movies lang,” Sam added laughing. “The next day, he texted me saying that he got my number from the marketing assistant. He asked me what I was doing and I told him I was having coffee with friends. Then he said, ‘Okay. I’ll be there.’ when I wasn’t even inviting him.”
After grabbing coffee, Theo invited Sam and her friends to join him and some of his friends for drinks. The "group" date was going well so Theo asked everyone to move the party to his house. They stayed at his place until dawn and when he was about to send Sam off to her car, they saw her tire slashed.
“I didn’t know how to change a tire, of course, so he was nice enough to help. But my car is so old the bolts were rusted. He couldn’t remove it, he even called his friends but it was hopeless. So I spent the (early) morning at his place until a garage opened,” Sam shared.
While waiting, they talked, got to know each other, and the next thing Sam knew, Theo was telling his friends, "Oh guys, eto na yung babaeng pakakasalan," over breakfast. “You really don’t know when you’re going to get struck eh. After spending a whole day with her, I already knew. I couldn’t explain why. I just knew it was her,” Theo said.
“It’s amazing how you can learn so much about a person in a short amount of time,” Sam agreed. “Pero siyempre naloka rin ako at first. I was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s going to marry me daw!’ I was just 19 at that time and we just met! After that day, I didn’t talk to him for a week. But deep down, alam ko rin naman na siya na.”
Whirlwind romance
On their first anniversary as a couple, Theo proposed, rather casually – she was 20 and he was 29.
“He asked me, ‘So, ano? You want to spend the rest of your life with me?’ and I answered, ‘Oo nga, di ba?’ Then he took out the ring and said, ‘Oh di isuot mo.’ I was screaming like a little girl inside my head,” Sam said in jest.
But not everyone was thrilled with the news of their engagement. A lot of people, especially her mom, were telling Sam that she was too young to get married and married life is not a fairytale. And while the first two years of their marriage were fun— they are self-confessed partyphiles who love to have a good time – the realities of marriage eventually caught up with them.
“I realized that love and marriage are not all butterflies and violins on our third year. We didn’t have a long engagement so we didn’t have time to adjust to each other’s quirks. We went through a lot of tensions because we were getting to know each other without the helmets on,” Sam said.
Sam had a lot of personal problems during that year. She was young, unsure of herself, and seeking her identity in a marriage where her husband is always on the spotlight. She was always the young wife of Theo Zaragoza, which she couldn’t take because of her pride and hunger for success. Their marriage was in shambles, and it was their faith that saved them both.
“We went to counseling, Bible studies, and prayed a lot. To be honest, without Jesus, without our faith baka wala na kami ngayon,” Sam confessed. “I’m a Christian and Theo’s Catholic but we never saw that as a problem. My parents brought me up thinking na walang maling religion, it’s just what fits you, what makes you closer to God.
Now, Theo and Sam have changed for the better without forcing each other to change. “We sought help noong kailangan, we worked on our differences, and now we’re going strong for five years. Running our own business, building our own house, but no kids yet,” Theo said smiling. “We’re still enjoying each other’s company.
A beautiful partnership
Before Theo met Sam, he was running a food styling and photography business called, Resultado, with his best friend Anton Feliciano. From their meager capital of P2,000.00 Theo and Anton went to different restaurants to show their portfolio. They got a major project for Dencio’s which earned for them P200,000.00, and the rest was history.
“Lumaki ng lumaki ang Resultado until my partner had to leave for Singapore. He left the business to me and became managing partner. When he left, I invited Sam to come in,” Theo shared. With Sam as partner, Resultado now includes recipe development, food consultation, production design, and soon they’ll launch a publishing arm.
“When I joined Resultado, I wrote press releases for the company. Food magazine editors took notice of my writing and invited me to write for them. So because of Theo, I realized I have a passion for food writing,” said Sam who also teaches Hotel and Restaurant Management in Saint Scholastica’s College.
Theo, on the other hand, said that marrying Sam helped put his life into perspective. “Before I met her, I was really lost. When we got married, I was able to focus on my career and it opened so many doors for us. She’s my biggest critic. If she doesn’t approve of my food, menu, and styling -- kahit marami na akong experience, I won’t do it,” Theo shared.
Theo and Sam are a career-driven couple who plays hard, works hard, and gives back. With so much blessings in their life, the couple does charity to bring blessings to others.
“During my birthday and every Christmas, we do feeding programs for 200 children, we also send five kids to school. It’s such a nice feeling that we have the means to support other people now. When we got married, we had so little money and we usually just spend it on gimmicks and drinking. Life has so much meaning because of our work,” Theo said.
He elaborated: “Like what my dad taught me, if you don’t think about money and you just concentrate on your work and love your work, money will come. Wag kang magtrabaho dahil gusto mo magkapera, magtrabaho ka kasi gusto mo mag trabaho.”
Ten years from now, Theo and Sam hopes they would have several food stylists in Resultado (“Boss na lang kami.”), open their own restaurant, and have two kids playing around their house. But for now, this young, dynamic couple is just enjoying each other’s company, building their own food empire, and proving to everyone that life is not like the movies – it’s even better.
Message for each other
He said: Thank you for being patient and understanding. Without you I wouldn’t see the road that we have right now. Thank you for bringing me closer to Jesus.
She said: Thank you for being there for me, supporting me, being a good friend, for understanding all my quirks and living with them and for helping me grow. Thank you for being a wonderful husband and business partner. I hope it will never end. More power to us.
On what makes them unique as a couple
He said: We don’t like drama. When we fight, we keep it to ourselves and to our marriage counselor.
She said: We work well together, we complement each other, and we don’t stop each other from doing what we want. I enjoy doing the things he likes to do and he enjoys what I like too.
On their business
He said: She’s the brains of the business. She’s the one who handles marketing, management, and consultations. When I have to do reports for our clients, she does the writing, I do the testing of the product. Without her, I can’t do my job.
She said: He’s a food stylist and a chef; he’s the talent of the business. Ako I can’t cook. Even if I studied cooking, I can’t.
