Top of the Morning: Is Donita Rose and Eric Villarama's Marriage Woes Over Money?

1. Is Donita Rose and Eric Villarama's marriage woes over money?

This was what DJ Mo Twister seemed to be implying when Donita guested on his radio show and confirmed she and husband Eric separated ways. Mo, who counts Donita as one of his best friends, wondered out loud whether Eric's commitment waned when Donita's celebrity status declined. Donita's reply: "I have thought about that possibility." Mo also brought up how Donita spent millions for their wedding, and how she provided for the family financially for "decades." Mo added that Donita's split with her husband of 12 years was "heartbreaking." "I know you did your part... And then you were also a good Christian wife," Mo told Donita. "Your son's hero is his father. I saw how close they are. I think it's really awful [for your son] to have to witness this... But in reality you have your son. You've got something good out of it." (pep.ph)


2. Angelina Mead King makes her first public appearance since coming out

Angelina Mead King, formerly Ian King, attended the press launch of the Star Wars-inspired motel room of Victoria Court in Pasig City. This was her first public engagement after coming out as a transwoman. As the managing director of Victoria Court group of companies, she discussed the latest Victoria Court attraction, which resembles that cockpit of Han Solo's space craft, the Millennium Falcon. She declined to answer personal questions fielded by the reporters present at the event, but expressed her excitement about what lies ahead for her and wife, Joey Mead King. The couple was seen enjoying the launch, which was also attended by Victoria Court celebrity ambassadors Aubrey Miles and Troy Montero. (cosmo.ph)


3. Look! Baby Zia is learning how to walk!

Kapuso star Dingdong Dantes posted a family photo on his Instagram account that shows his 8-month-old daughter, Zia, learning how to walk with her dad and mom and Marian Rivera. Dingdong captioned the photo, "Yesterday's third wheel." We also noticed that Baby Zia was twinning with her mom. Zia wore a denim jumpsuit, while Marian donned a denim shirt dress--so cute! Good luck with learning how to walk, Zia! 


4. Michelle Van Eimeren and family attends Regine Velasquez's book launch

IMAGE Rachel Perez

IMAGE Rachel Perez

Except for Regine and Ogie's son, Nate, it was an almost complete family attendance for the Asia's Songbird cook book launch at the Eastwood Mall. While Ogie was doubling as family photographer, watching from the audience was his former wife Michelle Van Eimeren with her husband; Ogie and Michelle's two daughters Leila and Sarah; and Ogie's parents. Michelle and family were in the country for a vacation, and Regine thanked them for supporting her. In fact, one of the recipes featured in Bongga Sa Kusina was Michelle's own take on the Hainanese Chicken. Bongga sa Kusina, a collection of recipes from her lifetyle show Sarap Diva, which has been going strong for four years now. Bongga sa Kusina, P395, available at bookstores now.


5. Pinoy teens win gold at prestigious math competition

For the first time in 30 years, Filipino teen math geniuses brought home two gold medals from the prestigious International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in Hong Kong form July 6 to July 16. Gold medal winners Farrell Eldrian Wu, of Makati Gospel Church-New Life Christian Academy, and Kyle Patrick Dulay, of Philippine Science High School, beat out around 600 other participants from more than 109 countries. The Philippines team also bagged two silver medals and two honorable mention awards. Overall, the country ranked 17th, a big leap from being number 34 out of 104 countries last year. "This brought us closer to Southeast Asian powerhouses like Thailand (#12) and Vietnam (#11), and ranked us higher than usually strong countries like Bulgaria (#18), Germany (#19) and Romania (#20). This is the best finish of the country since it first participated in 1988,” the team heads said in a Facebook post. Congratulations! (rappler.com)