ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Celebrities devider Melai Cantiveros opens up on secret 6-Month split with Jason Francisco

Melai Cantiveros opens up on secret 6-Month split with Jason Francisco

Published Jul 31, 2026 12:18 pm  |  Updated Jul 31, 2026 01:44 pm
Melai Cantiveros and Jason Francisco
Melai Cantiveros and Jason Francisco
Actress and host Melai Cantiveros got candid about her marriage to Jason Francisco, recently.
In the first episode of "Hello Outside World," the former "Pinoy Big Brother" grand winner revealed that she and Jason actually went their separate ways for a while.
"Ito, dito ko lang i-o-open talaga. Para ma-realize niyo lang na ang relationship talaga ay hindi 'yung kapag mag-away lang kayo ay breakup na agad, kapag may away kayo ay suko na agad. So kami, umabot talaga sa time na naghiwalay talaga kami, pero walang nakakaalam," Melai said. 
Making their kids their top priority, the couple decided to live separately for 6 months.
"Because nire-respect namin ang isa't isa. Tatay ni Mela, nanay ni Mela, so hindi kami pwedeng magsiraan kasi we share love for each other. So 'yun ang aming usapan. Naghiwalay kami. Six months talaga, hindi kami nagsama sa isang bahay. Dito ko lang talaga ito sinabi. Six months talaga," she added.

Melai went on to share how they patched things up.
"Nag-usap kami niyan sa sinehan kasi kasama namin 'yung anak namin na nanood ng sine. So sabi niya i-try natin natin na i-work out kasi kailangan tayo ng anak natin," she said.
She added: "So nagsama kami ulit. So nakita namin ang rapport, na in love ulit kami sa isa't isa. Hanggang mas naging more kaming na in love sa isa't isa dahil doon sa pinagdaanan namin at walang nakakaalam noon."
Seeing Jason's devotion and love for their kids made Melai reconsider.
"Kung hindi niya mahal anak ko, goodbye na kami. Ganoon din si Jason. Mahal niya ako na nakikita niya na sobrang [mahal ko ang mga anak namin]," Melai said.
After more than 10 years together, Melai believes a real relationship isn't always sweet, but says respect should always remain.
"Kapag dumaan ka sa butas (ng karayom) at nalagpasan niyo 'yan, 'yan ang totoo. At si Lord lahat 'yan. We owe it all to God," she said.
"Ang love nandiyan, pwedeng matutunan. Pero ang respect to each other ay nanatili -- six months walang nakakaalam na naghiwalay kami," Melai added.
The couple first met inside the "Pinoy Big Brother" house in 2009.
Melai and Jason tied the knot on December 9, 2013, at Holy Cross Parish in General Santos City, three months after the actress-comedienne announced she was expecting their first child.

Related Tags

Melai Cantiveros Jason Francisco Separated
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.