of hubbies and harlots

I am as caught up in the telenovela "My Husband's Lover" as most of the bekis I know. When c3 and I first heard about the upcoming telenovela, and viewed the trailer, his first reaction was "how desperate!" c3 is more kapamilya than kapuso, obviously. And that reaction was in character.

I found it brave. It was another brave move by GMA to get into pink programming. I still remember quite a few years back when the station launched "Out", the telemagazine that also catered to the LGBT community. That was totally groundbreaking.

This new telenovela was another such move. We've had LGBT characters as sidekicks and subplots, but never as the lead character, as the main theme, and on primetime TV! And with one of its bankable lead stars playing the gay role, wow. I knew I wanted to watch it. But I was hoping that there would be some torrent file out there. I have never watched a telenovela before. Never had the patience or disposition. And even as I follow some US primetime dramas, I would do this at my convenience, and I could only thank pirated DVD's and torrents for that.

I didn't watch the pilot episode when it aired. I forgot. But the twitterverse was alive with it. And it was crossing channel lines. Diehard kapamilyas were tuning in. And lo and behold, even c3! LOL

So this has become our 935pm ritual weekdays (they never start on time). Sometimes together, sometimes apart. But we annotate with SMS as we watch. It is just so much fun.

I'm tempted to review but I won't. It wouldn't be fair. I would like to compare it with kapamilya telenovelas. But I can't. c3 does that a lot in his comments. I can only listen and not even agree. I have no idea.

This is not a review. This is a reflection.

I have alwasy been more Vince than Eric. And a Lally once.

I remember dating attached guys twice. One eventually became my partner. One just fizzled after a few dates. So I never got into the mistress role much.

But I've been a Vince lots of times. In almost all my relationships. Sigh. One of which was chronicled extensively in the blog, Enigma. I remember the hiding, the trysts, the messages over different online accounts (but not YM!) It was so difficult, yet so compelling I coulndn't stop. I actually loved the thrill, the excitement, the ego-boost. And I loved them even as I continued to love my primary relationship.

And I would watch my favorite Meryl Streep films cathartically - Bridges of Madison County and Falling In Love. I would bemoan my sorry, confused state.

And as for the Erics of my life then, I remember how pc would label them as 'harlots of Babylon'. We would talk about these guys who don't seem to respect boundaries of relationships. And they would just insert themselves, flirt and seduce guys who are very much committed. All of them were simply harlots for him. I begged to disagree, of course, always. It's not always the harlot's, ooops, the third party's fault. Sometimes, even as lines have been drawn, the hubby still insists. I argue in their defense, and based on my experience.

Then I also got to be Lally, the victim. Then-boyfriend was already carrying out an affair, for the past two years before I discovered. My ex was good when it came to covering his tracks. I totally did not suspect. The only thing that led to the unraveling was the cellphone billing statements. And that one recurring number in the past two years. Thousands of pesos of calls made to that one number. Much more than made to me.

It was very painful. But my decision was swift. It was over right at the moment of
confrontation. I am impulsive like that.

Having been a Lally made me realize the hurt and pain. And I wouldnt wish it to happen again to me, or to anybody else.

I wonder how MHL would develop. Only on episode 20, it seemed to be unraveling fast. I guess Lally would still win in the end. GMA would still have to 'uphold' moral values in the end.

But sometimes I wonder, what if Vince would end up with Eric? The 'harlot' wins the hubby over. Is that relationship doomed from the start, because of the circumstances that gave birth to it? Or could it actually flourish and last? Because ultimately, they were fated to be together. Could there actually be a happy ending?


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