To be honest, I still believe that there is hope to save the six-year relationship of Paolo Contis and LJ Reyes. Paolo is the key.
From LJ’s interview, she has the capacity to forgive. She is just hurting right now. All wounds need time to heal.
Paolo, if you are reading this, please listen to your Ate Giselle. We have worked together ever since you were a kid. I saw you grow up from "Ang TV" to Okatokat. I saw you grow to be a good boy to a good father and husband. Please don’t throw this family away who love you dearly.
When I watched LJ in her interview with Tito Boy Abunda on YouTube, my heart went out to LJ. “When people ask me if I’m OK I always answer I am in God’s loving hands kasi para ako lumulutang.. para ako naka autopilot kasi may mga anak ako hindi ako puede tumigil, hindi ako puede magmukmok. I cannot tell myself 'hey you’re hurting right now so it’s OK not to move….All throughout this time, I have been clinging to God. Sinubukan kong saluhin lahat but it came to a point that I started to surrender to the Lord because I cannot any more bear the pain, and it hurts so much. I am so thankful that the Lord gave me peace in my heart. We’ve been together for six years, it’s not easy to forget a relationship that you built for six years with the children. This is not just companionship. Our relationship was deep," LJ said with tears rolling down her face.
I really admire LJ for her strength and for her zeal to be committed to the relationship. In relationships, there may be times that you may have a good reason to get out. They did things to hurt you, and they let you down.
You could justify walking away. Nobody would fault you, but when you're committed, you show mercy, you give second chances, you make allowances for mistakes. They may not deserve it, they may be guilty, but only the guilty need mercy.
LJ tried her best to stay committed to Paolo. But it’s different when the other person does not want you anymore. “The past several months, I have been trying to save the relationship. There was a point when we called it quits, but after a few days I realized that we needed to save the relationship because we have children. So I put down my pride, even if I know I’m the one being hurt. I will sacrifice myself for my children. I was thinking that maybe my children wanted to have a complete family, so I asked Paolo if he wanted to take us back, but Paolo said no," LJ continued with occasional sobs in the middle of her sentences.
LJ kept on praying to God if her sacrifice to stay committed was right. “For the past several months, grabe yung kapit ko I asked wisdom from the Lord to find out if what I’m doing was correct that I’m holding everything together to save my family. I was so stressed, my eyebrow hair would fall off. My siblings don’t know anything, and suddenly I just broke down to them because I couldn’t handle the pain in my chest, but I really tried my best for the past months to save the family because of the children. If there were no children, I will not even force myself to Paolo.”
It seems that God answered LJ’s prayers through her son Aki as LJ recounts. “Aki is 11. He goes to school. He talks to his friends. He goes to the Internet. One time he asked me what was the real reason for the break-up because he felt that there was more to the issue and that question was really painful for me. I needed time. I couldn’t answer the question on the spot, I told him to wait. I told him that I will never lie to him and I will tell him the truth. I explained to him and told him I am sorry for everything. I wanted to a complete family for you, and he said - it’s ok, because you complete us, mom.”
Last week, LJ flew to New York together with her kids Aki and Summer. During the interview, she never answered the question of Tito Boy Abunda if there was third party on Paolo’s side.