Tomorrow, April 29, Zion, the eldest child of celebrity couple Sarah Lahbati and Richard Gutierrez, will turn eight.
Sarah can't help but turn emotional about it, expressing her thoughts via social media.
https://www.instagram.com/p/COMaf81FpN6/
According to her, Zion "changed" their lives and made it magical.
"I thank God every day for giving us such a precious, kind, thoughtful, and sweet boy. (heart emoji)," she said. "So lucky to be your momma."
Sarah and Richard also have another son, Kai.
The two tied the knot last year via an intimate ceremony after postponing their grand wedding due to COVID-19.
A timeline
Here’s a brief look on Richard and Sarah's love story.
May 2012: ‘Something’
Sarah, 18, was fresh from her stint on “StarStruck” when Richard, 28, “requested” her to be part of the series “Makapilang Muli.”
Both of them admitted they felt “something” the first time they laid eyes upon each other.
“Nagwapuhan ako sa kanya. Nagka-crush talaga ako,” she said.
In an interview on “ASAP natin ‘to,” Richard admitted he courted Sarah while they were working on the show. They were already together when it ended but they kept their relationship away from the public eye.
September 2012: Travels
Rumors about their relationship became part of gossip, especially when they traveled to Switzerland together.
Note, Sarah was born and raised there.
In an interview on “Tonight With Arnold Clavio,” Sarah finally confirmed that they were indeed in a relationship.
January 2013: Pregnancy rumors and breach of contract case
Not even a year after they made their relationship known to public, Richard and Sarah already faced pregnancy rumor.
The rumors coincided with Sarah’s breach of contract case with her former network GMA.
Recall that in late 2012, Sarah used her Twitter account to express her dissatisfaction with the network.
She also expressed her desire to be released from her contract.
In January 2013, GMA counter-sued, filing a formal complaint against the actress for breach of contract.
A few days later, Sarah left the Philippines for Switzerland “to study.”
April 2013: Rumors were true
When she returned to the country to face the charges against her, reports have it that Sarah actually left for Switzerland to give birth to her son with Richard at the age of 20.
It was only over a year before the couple addressed the issue and confirmed that they indeed have a baby named Zion.
June 2014: Proud father
For the first time, Richard spoke about being a “proud father” to Zion during the first episode of the Gutierrez’s reality show “It takes Gutz To Be A Gutierrez.”
He also revealed why he and Sarah decided to keep the pregnancy private.
“We didn’t want to make Sarah’s pregnancy a tabloid circus,” he was quoted to have said.
March 2017: Proposal
Richard and Sarah have become more open about their family life, posting updates and snaps of their trips abroad on social media.
In 2017, the couple got engaged. Richard proposed to Sarah while they were in Zermatt, Switzerland.
They revealed their engagement soon after at the premiere of the fifth season of “It Takes Gutz To Be a Gutierrez.”
“We’ve been living our lives as a married couple and this really formalizes that. We're considering it a new chapter, a fresh start, it's always exciting,” Richard said.
September 2017: Baby no. 2
Some six months after the engagement, Richard and Sarah dropped another announcement that got their fans excited.
Sharing a photo of her, Richard, Zion, and an ultrasound, Sarah revealed that their family was expecting a new addition to their family.
March 2018: Welcome Baby Kai
According to Sarah, “Kai” has several meanings including “ocean.” It’s special to them as she and Richard are scuba divers and they love to visit beautiful islands.
“Chard and I really love the ocean. We always love travelling in the water so we decided to give him a nickname like that,” she said.
October 2019: Finally
After several delays, Richard and Sarah have finally set a date for their wedding: March 14, 2020.