Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Heart Evangelista’s union continues to be a fascinating, intriguing blend of power and glamour. They’ve put a lot of work into it, but it remains a work in progress even to this day. From the looks of it though, Heart and Chiz wouldn’t have it any other way.
By IVY LISA F. MENDOZA
It’s palpable, quite noticeable. People, especially those who have been around them for quite some time now, recognize the changes. They smile more often. Tease each other more. Finish each other’s sentences more. Put simply, there’s an unmistakable aura of affection and energy that radiates between them that most probably comes from contentment and the assurance that things can only get better in this marriage from hereon in.
After two lavish weddings, four heartbreaking miscarriages, hundreds of visual stories depicting the different lives they lead to millions of loyal social media followers, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero and actress-influencer Heart Evangelista couldn’t be in a better place in their nine-year marriage.
It took a lot of work, recalibration, adjustments and earnest conversations, Heart admits. She is vocal about how Chiz has been a stabilizing force in her life, helping her navigate the often-turbulent waters of entertainment and social media. Chiz, in turn, credits Heart for bringing a new perspective to his life, enriching his understanding of art and creativity, and the crazy but real life outside politics.
“He’d always tell me that since he’s older than me, he’s training me to be independent of him in case he goes first. He knows my heart. He knows that I’m very childlike, that I’m too loving. But the thing is, if we knew that I might be growing old alone, habang nandito tayo, huwag mo naman iparamdam na mag-isa ako. Kaya doon niya naisip. (While we’re at it, don’t make me feel like I’m all alone. That was when it struck him.) At the end of the day, I still need someone, a partner. So, habang nandito tayo, hayaan mo na lang din na sulitin ko,’’ (While we’re together, let me make the most out of it.) Heart opens up.
Before he met Heart, Chiz was already set in his ways after years of work in law and politics. But what Heart asked of him made Chiz realize that he, too, had to adopt an updated perspective on marriage.
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“I have learned to stop and smell the flowers. I haven’t really been doing that because I have been working non-stop. But Heart has taught me that it’s okay to relax and enjoy life as it should be enjoyed.” — Sen. Chiz Escudero
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“I have learned to stop and smell the flowers. I haven’t really been doing that because I have been working non-stop. But Heart has taught me that it’s okay to relax and enjoy life as it should be enjoyed,” Chiz says.
Thus, the better versions of themselves, versions which they declare they both like.
“He is giddier now. And I so love it!” Heart gushes. “He supports my work a lot more. He goes to Fashion Week with me, takes my photos and sees how I work. The eyebrows, the earring, the dressing up, all those are efforts he makes, and I make an effort, too. And, unlike before, he would say it now that he’s proud of me.’’
But little did they know that Chiz’s willful effort to set foot into Heart’s world would be a preparation for Heart to do the same. In the past, Heart’s presence in the Senate would only be felt during openings of Senate regular sessions when she would, hands down, be the top head-turner in whatever outfits she chose to sashay in. Or when she would occasionally pop up at his office to surprise him and say hello.
But last May, Chiz was elected Senate President by a majority of his peers, and, consequently, Heart has become president of the Senate Spouses Foundation Inc,. anon-stock, non-profit organization composed of the spouses of senators, engaged in socio-civic activities such as building homes for the elderly, conducting medical and dental missions, gift-giving and feeding programs for street children and the needy in marginalized communities and carrying out of relief operations during disasters.
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“I don’t like that I must change the way I look. I believe in expressing one’s individuality. I don’t want anybody to change who I am just because my husband is now the Senate President… my heart is my heart.” — Heart Evangelista
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New roles
“I cried,’’ admits Heart of her reaction the minute she was told that she would lead the foundation. “I mean, I thought that I would just be the wife of the Senate President, but I did not expect that with that comes this responsibility. I cried because as it is now, my plate is full, I hardly sleep because of my work.’’
Chiz plays the reassuring husband here. “I told her not to worry and compare herself with anyone, and that there is no need for her to be pressured to up the ante. ’Yung kaya mo lang (do whatever you can), I reminded her,’’ he says.
Heart has always been an independent worker. She does her own storyboards, edits and voices her videos and does marketing for her work, basically a one-woman powerhouse aided by a motley crew. This new responsibility naturally fazes her, but also excites her to no end. There is only one thing that guides her here: she wants to work from the heart.
“I really do believe in continuity, and I respect what all the wonderful ladies in the past have done and contributed. But I also want to make sure that everything we do will have an impact on other people’s lives. The medical missions and gift-giving will not be the end project, but will be made into little opportunities to connect, to ask people what they need to improve their lives and to link with other groups that can help us facilitate getting into bigger projects,” Heart explains.
He may not show it, but Senator Chiz is just as excited for his wife’s new position of leadership.
“Hopefully, this will have a wider footprint because the Senate has funds to help people. So we can collaborate in that sense. I told her, go beyond giving out grocery packs kapag may bagyo (whenever there’s a typhoon). Kasi tititigan mo lang ‘yung limang kilong bigas (you’d just end up staring at five kilos of rice). You need to set up soup kitchens, food that can instantly be consumed,’’ Chiz says.
“Seriously, inanod ’yung bahay mo, sunog ’yung bahay mo (your house was swept away, gutted to the ground by fire). By tradition, ang binibigay ng politiko, artista o celebrities, food packs, limang kilong bigas, tatlong lata ng sardinas, tatlong lata ng cornedbeef, kape, gatas. Eh, nawala nga lahat ng gamit mo. Paano mo lulutuin yung bigas? Binibigay lang ’yung relief pag babalik na sa bahay mula sa evacuation center.” (Politicians and celebrities traditionally give food packs, five kilos of rice, three cans of sardines, three cans of corned beef, coffee, milk. But all your stuff has been wiped out. How are you going to cook them? Just give the relief when recipients are going home from the evacuation center.)
She may not say it, but Heart is seriously taking down notes in her head. She says one thing she also learned from Chiz is the science of delegating tasks. And then there are her non-negotiables.
“I don’t like to conform to an image. I don’t like that I must change the way I look. I believe in expressing one’s individuality. I don’t want anybody to change who I am just because my husband is now the Senate President, because my heart is my heart,” she says.
The actress also says with finality that you will not see her name printed on the ballot now, or anytime in the future. Politics is just not for her.
“It’s not me. But use me, abuse me for whatever you need me to do to give back. But I really can’t (run myself). I’m already blessed with what I’m doing. I’m in an influential position to really make a difference in my own simple way. I will just continue doing that,’’ Heart adds.
Chiz has a short reaction to this. “Whatever makes her happy,’’ he replies in his signature monotone, but spoken like a true dutiful, adoring husband.
Wonderful life ahead
It was no less than the late Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago who orchestrated the meeting between the popular actress and the young lawmaker. Heart looked up to the late senator like a second mother.
“Tita Miriam said she didn’t want me to date anybody in showbiz anymore, no more models. [She said,] ‘You should be with somebody who’s serious with life’ and then gave me a list. The first name on that list was Chiz,” Heart recalls, smiling at the thought of those lovely, heady days of courtship.
What Miriam did not know was that Heart had always had a crush on Chiz. She admits now that she was a fan! After they met, Heart says she never got to the second name on the list, nor entertained other suitors. “Tita Miriam was like, ‘But you haven’t even gotten to the second name’!’’ Heart shares with a laugh.
Chiz, on the other hand, is 16 years Heart’s senior. With two children from his first marriage, he was not really looking for a new relationship until Heart came along. But he made her see the world from a different perspective, a GenXer perhaps sharing his worldview with a millennial, and vice versa. They learned from each other, amid surprises that spiced up the courtship.
“One time, he took me out on a date by hiring a jeepney, which I had never taken in my entire life!” Heart shares.
“We rode from Welcome (Quezon City) all the way to UP campus, and I just showed her the places where I had fond memories growing up. And then we had dimsum and siopao at Aberdeen Court,’’ Chiz finishes the story.
Today, Heart is the cool stepmom to Chiz’s teenaged twins. “They’re close to Heart because of the smaller age gap. They’re both interested in K-pop. Kapag may alam na foreign artists and foreign singers sila, si Heart alam niya ’yan, ako hindi (Heart knows, while I don’t),” Chiz shares.
Yet, a few months ago, Heart put her soul out there when she posted on Instagram her love letter to her unborn child whom she named FrancisKo, which means My Francis. It was one of Heart’s most poignant and intimate posts, unmindful of being vulnerable in the judgmental world of social media. But she didn’t care. It was her way of coping with their fourth loss.
“He deserved it because he had a heartbeat. He needed to be known, and I needed to introduce him with the name I gave him, FrancisKo. But we have to also accept that social media cannot always be perfect. We all have our struggles, and we should normalize being true to ourselves,’’ she says.
Nevertheless, the Escuderos have not lost hope in having their own kids. But if it does not happen, they say they’re fine.
“Then, he can treat me like the same forever,’’ she giddily shares. “My husband is very precise with his responsibilities, even strict. But I don’t want his soft side to disappear. I have adulted but he can continue being just the way he is now to me. Now, it’s still fun.”
In the glitzy world of Philippine showbiz and the intense arena of politics, few couples capture the public’s imagination quite like Chiz and Heart. Their union continues to be a fascinating, intriguing blend of celebrity glamour and power. They worked hard on it, and it is still a work in progress every day. But from the looks of it, Chiz and Heart wouldn’t have it any other way.
Photography by ANDREI SULEIK/ Creative direction by DEXTER FRANCIS DE VERA/ Styling by IZABEL SIM / Makeup by ALBERT KURNIAWAN/Hair by BLES GALVAN and GHIL SAYO
Shot on location at HOTEL OKURA MANILA, Newport City
