Melai Cantiveros-Francisco
True love can sometimes be found at the most unexpected time and place. Melai Cantiveros proved so when she met her ‘the one’ inside the Pinoy Big Brother house in 2009.
Fans witnessed the love story of Melai and husband Jason Francisco inside Bahay Ni Kuya. The former housemates were bonded by a mutual understanding. They would get each other’s thoughts just by a simple glance or smile. They would laugh at each other’s jokes. They were like soulmates who clicked right away. By that time, Melai already knew she found the one.
After more than a decade since their first encounter, and now with two beautiful kids, Melai could still remember why she fell for Jason. “Sa PBB pa lang, medyo naramdaman ko na kasi nga nagtatawanan kami noon. Magtinginan lang kami, nagtatawanan na kami. Siguro kahit ma-lockdown kami ng three years walang labas-labas, kaya pa rin namin magtawanan.”
More than anything, she knows Jason is not like any other guy who’s into games. She saw the willingness and commitment in him. Melai felt Jason would do everything to keep her. “Ito, alam ko na magpapakamatay ‘to para sa akin. Kahit mag-away kami nito, hahabol pa rin ‘to sa akin,” she jestingly says.
But their love story is also peppered with challenges. Melai calls their married life “under construction.” It requires never-ending effort. They are often confronted by challenges and fights but what matters is they keep choosing each other every day, especially Melai whose main priority is to give her daughters a two-parent home.
“Hindi na sarili lang iisipin mo. Ngayon, lagi mong iisipin ang mga bata kasi kapag nag-away kayo, maghahanap sa Papa nila. Ito pa namang dalawa, Papa’s girl, so talo ako. Ngayon, getting stronger na ulit.”
Melai would admit that they still fight a lot. The last intense quarrel happened during the first weeks of the lockdown period. What started as just a small discussion about grocery shopping turned into a major dispute about trust issues. A sequel happened when Melai told Jason not to bring his PA (Personal Assistant) when going to work, so to limit physical interaction. But Jason misunderstood his wife’s concern and felt he couldn’t decide for himself.
It was a major quarrel, so intense Melai’s mom had to meddle after hearing them yell. Melai says even the neighbors could hear them. They didn’t talk to each other for two weeks after the incident. The tampuhan eventually cooled down since they would inevitably need each other.
As they grow together over the years, Melai and Jason already learned how to survive marital challenges. To know when to apologize is one. Melai even gets kilig when Jason breaks his ego to say ‘sorry.’ She recalls another incident wherein Jason raised his voice at her while looking for travel documents. Melai says she was hurt and gave Jason the cold shoulder. That was how he knew she was upset.
Jason is currently in his province in Mindoro while Melai is accompanied by her kids, mother, and cousins. While the setup is perfectly fine, Melai reveals she felt bad when Jason forgot to tell her ‘I miss you.’
Melai is utterly happy with her family life. She couldn’t ask for more and is content with her two beautiful daughters. With the crisis the world is going through right now, Melai adds that she doesn’t have any plan of raising more kids in the future.