By Hermes Joy Tunac
Photography by Mark Chester Ang / Makeup and grooming by Ria Aquino / Hair by Patty Inojales / Shot on location at F1 Hotel Manila
They do everything together—from waking up on the same bed, having breakfast, going to the gym and taking their kids to school, up to working in the same company that they co-founded. And while some may say that too much familiarity could breed contempt, the pair wouldn’t change a thing.
Eric Dee claims that he first met his wife, then Bea Soriano, at the Ateneo de Manila University, where they both went for college. But for Bea, she knew of him way earlier than that.
“I saw him back in high school, during one of our interaction parties,” Bea recalls, while she gets comfortable in one of the bedrooms of F1 Hotel Manila in Bonifacio Global City. According to the former model, Eric used to be a super famous guy in Xavier School. “I was from Poveda back then. I kept trying to get his attention, flipping my hair and all that, but he just didn’t notice me!” Bea says with a laugh. An It girl herself, Bea forgot about Eric after a while.
When Eric met Bea
The two met again in Ateneo, where they were in the same Theology class. “We sat beside each other. At first, we were just copying each other’s notes, which later on grew to study dates,” shares Bea. “And from there, we just got to know each other and became friends,” Eric adds.
A few months passed, and Bea and Eric still thought that they were really “just friends.” That was until one of Bea’s closest friends pointed out that it was odd how Bea would literally jump off her seat to welcome Eric whenever he arrived. Of course, she vehemently denied it.
Ten minutes later, Eric arrived. “Eric came, and I jumped,” Bea says with the broadest grin on her face.
“Yeah, you ran to me, you jumped, and we both fell,” Eric says with a laugh while reminiscing. It was a leap of faith, so to speak. Soon after, they officially started dating. Bea eventually finished BS Psychology, while Eric got a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. By the end of college, he got himself a girlfriend, and she, a boyfriend.
Into the real world
In 2010, Bea started Charlie, a retail brand that carried apparel, bags, shoes and accessories. Meanwhile, Eric was still working with Foodee Global Concepts, his family’s business. “That was until we realized that since we were spending so much time together anyway, why not work together?” shares Bea. And so, they did.
In the same year, Forever21 came to the Philippines, followed by Uniqlo and H&M. The influx of these retail brands inspired them to streamline their products. “We found out that sunglasses were doing better in sales compared to other products in Charlie,” Bea relates. And that was how Sunnies Studios, previously known as Sunnies by Charlie, was born in 2013.
Currently, Bea works as the operations director of the Sunnies enterprise, alongside her husband, who is the finance director. Together, they work with creative director Martine Cajucom-Ho and brand director Georgina Wilson-Burnand.
“Oh, no!” Bea squeals. “Sorry, enough with work, this is about our love life!”
“But the thing is, even if it’s about work, our dynamics never change,” Eric answers.
“It’s so funny, though. Nobody ever asks me about my love life! We just keep on talking about how our business grew,” Bea tells PeopleAsia.
“I do.”
Before getting married in 2015, this lady boss knew she was ready to marry her then boyfriend of three years when they started traveling. The couple agrees that you’ll discover how the person deals with stress or how they react when problems arise.
“When there are so many stress factors like when you’re about to miss your flight, you left your luggage, you’re in the wrong location, etc.,” says Bea.
“Well, that’s you!” Eric chimes in, “For me, I think of the cleanliness of the hotel, packing of clothes, how you maintain the bathroom.” They both laugh at such memories. “So, when people ask me how you know if someone’s for you, I say, travel with him or her a lot, and you’ll know,” shares Bea.
The couple, according to Eric, work as a team when they travel. The man of the house is in charge of transportation and choosing restaurants, while Bea takes care of cultural trips, museums and attends to their kids Braeden and Billie’s needs. “And in traveling, you also realize how your interests jive. I’m just lucky that he likes everything I like, and it’s the same with him,” adds Bea.
“Dee’s” could be forever
If there’s one thing that people probably don’t know about the couple, who have been together for 10 years now, it is how much time they spend together. The answer: a lot.
“When I get questions like, ‘you’re with your husband the whole time?’ I answer, ‘yeah, that’s how we work. I mean, it’s not for everybody, but for us, it works. Our marriage is a companionship, and I’m happy that he’s just beside me all the time,” shares Bea. “Yes, literally, my office table is right beside hers,” Eric adds with a laugh.
Five years after Bea and Eric tied the knot, their lives seem to have taken a calmer turn, as opposed to when they were dating. “It’s calmer and more certain now, knowing that I’m going through life with my best companion. We’re going through everything together—having the same dreams, same goals and experiencing life unfold right in front of us, together,” shares Eric.
“Five years into our marriage, we also make sure to have dates and alone time away from our children still,” Bea adds. “But sometimes we miss them so much, so we’d rather bring them along,” confesses Eric.
A decade into building a life together, what have they learned about each other that totally surprised them? For Eric, its Bea’s transformation into a mother. “Four years and counting, I saw how Bea is as a mom. She is meticulous and detailed with how she handles our kids. She makes motherhood look so easy,” says Eric with so much admiration.
On the other hand, Bea saw how Eric’s interest in design has gotten bigger. “I didn’t like design before,” says Eric. “Bea influenced me and pushed me to go to these galleries. And before I knew it, I enjoy design already.”
Even though the married couple spend most of their waking hours together, they still have time to check in with themselves. “I do that in the morning,” Eric shares. “I wake up early to find my own space, even for just a small amount of time. For Bea, she gets her time at night. I sleep way earlier than she does. So, she gets that solemn time getting lost in her books or studying random things.”
By the time this writer reaches the end of the interview, she can’t help but ask, what is the couple’s secret in keeping their marriage healthy? Bea answers, “I think it’s understanding that we’re both different individuals who are sharing the same life. Also, mutual respect and a lot of trust in everything that we do.” Eric agrees that understanding is a primary key in their relationship.
Bea concludes that knowing both of them can always depend on each other in time of need is also vital in their marriage. Hearing this, Eric looks at Bea and says with the sweetest smile, “I got your back. Always.”
