On the 25th anniversary of Michael V (real name: Beethoven del Valle Bunagan) and his wife Carolina Bunagan's church wedding, the actor/TV host/artist made a sweet Instagram post.
He shared, on February 7, 2023, a photo of them holding hands while walking with the text, "25: ALWAYS HAVE, ALWAYS WILL."
He then captioned it this way: "25 blessed years and counting. Happy Anniversary @ayoito. Can’t wait to marry you again. I love you." (Ayoi is Carolina or Carol's nickname.)
Michael V's declaration to walk down the aisle again with Ayoi turned out to be a done deal, as they later on renewed their vows in church. He then posted a photo of Ayoi in her wedding dress and said in the caption, "My definition of a 'stunning bride.'"
The secret to a lasting marriage
It wasn't a case of love at first sight for Michael V, also known by his childhood nickname Bitoy, and Ayoi when they first met through college friends at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM).
A few years later, Bitoy said in an interview with Bianca Gonzalez, he got a call from Ayoi asking about a certain classmate. At that time, he had already broke into showbiz using his stage/screen name Michael V, first as a rapper and then as a comedy actor and TV show. On the other hand, Ayoi was working as a flight attendant.
During the course of Michael V and Ayoi's conversation, they realized they got along pretty well. They then started dating, and eventually, at age 25, they got married in April 1994 in a civil wedding ceremony.
Four years later, in February 1998, they had their church wedding. They renewed their wedding vows in 2008, in celebration of their church wedding's 10th anniversary. In 2019, the couple once again renewed their martial vows in time for the 25th anniversary of their civil wedding ceremony.
So that makes their 2023 renewal of vows, in effect, as their fifth time to get married!
Their secret to staying happily married?
“Dapat meron kayong couple goals. Iba 'yung individual goals, iba rin 'yung couple goals,” he said in a 2019 interview on GMA 7’s morning news and lifestyle show Unang Hirit. “'Yung couple goals dapat hindi mawala, dapat nga madagdagan pa,” he added.
Michael V talked lengthily about couple goals on his vlog, also in 2019. He explained that couples generally plot goals during the boyfriend-girlfriend stage. These include eventually getting married, building a house, traveling together, and having kids.
Unfortunately, once the kids arrive, many couples seem to stop planning for themselves or setting aside time for the little things they used to do together.
“Nangyari din sa aming mag-asawa ito," he admitted. "There was a point in time na ang mundo namin parang umiikot na lang sa mga anak namin. Nawala 'yung maliliit na bagay—workout, 'yung pagde-date.”
Good thing they learned about having couple goals, thus their relationship improved and their marriage strengthened.
“Ang couple goals pwedeng madagdagan," Michael V pointed out, "pero hindi dapat nababawasan. Ituring niyo na ring anak ninyo 'yung couple goals niyo. Dapat mahalin niyo 'yung relationship niyo kagaya ng pagmamahal niyo sa anak niyo.”
“Hindi naman kailangan bongga agad e,” he added, suggesting taking walks after meals can be date nights. "Hindi kailangang mabura 'yung couple goals dahil lang nagkaanak kayo.”
Here are more snaps from their silver church wedding anniversary:
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