Cherry Pie Says Her Rekindled Relationship With Edu After 20 Years Is An 'Answered Prayer'

Cherry Pie Picache rang in the New Year with her beloved son Nio Tria and her new love, Edu Manzano. She then shared a few snaps of her with either of the two men and all three of them, plus the "Prayer for the New Year: Strengthen My Faith."

The acclaimed actress said in the caption, "2021, maraming pinagtulungan, pinagtrabahuhan, inasikaso at higit sa lahat pinagpasalamatan. Tuloy tuloy lang 2022!!! Love, empathy, compassion, conviction, hard work and gratefulness.

"For our circles, community and country!!! May God have mercy on us and abundantly bless our 2022!!! Let’s rock’en roll!!!! #amdg #mamamaryprayforus."

One of the blessings Cherry Pie got in 2021 that she hopes to keep in 2022 is her relationship with Edu. "An answered prayer," as she put it in an interview with Edu's son, TV host Luis Manzano. Luis had the couple, whom he teased as the newest love team in town, as guests in his vlog.

Cherry Pie, 51, and Edu, 66, disclosed in the interview that their relationship started some 20 years ago and lasted for a year. But they kept their friendship over the intervening years.

"We remained friends, and we would always see each other," she said, referring to the events and functions in showbiz. "And then, every time we see each other, you know that there’s something different.

"Pero me, I always tell him nga, like [in an event], maghihiwalay na kayo and you’d feel na parang iba… Di ba, may ganoon? Pero I would always dismiss it because your dad has always been a charmer. 'Yung charisma niya, iba talaga."

But as fate would have it, Cherry Pie and Edu were cast together in ABS-CBN's drama series Marry Me, Marry You. They play an estranged couple, whose son is the show's male lead character (Paulo Avelino).

Working closely together in what the industry calls "lock-in" taping for a month or so paved the way for them to reconnect and give their relationship another go. Soon, they had people wondering about their closeness and sweetness in photos.

On November 19, 2021, Edu confirmed dating Cherry Pie in a text conversation with broadcaster Cheryl Cosim, who then shared it on the newscast One Balita Pilipinas.

The couple enjoy the support of their respective children. Luis, whose mother is Edu's first wife Vilma Santos, told Cherry Pie in his vlog, "Continue making my dad happy."

Cherry Pie also seems to get along well with Edu's other children, Addie Manzano and Enzo Manzano, whose mother is his former partner Rina Samson. She joined them for Thanksgiving while they were visiting the United States in November.

Cherry Pie's only child Nio, whose father is her ex-partner Gary Tria, likewise supports the couple's relationship.

“I’m just really happy for my mom, kasi nakikita ko naman na masaya siya ngayon. She deserves to be happy,” Nio said in a virtual presser for his first acting gig, the miniseries Saying Goodbye. Aside from a newbie actor, he's a longtime tennis player.

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