Before marrying her husband, Ardy Roberto, Miriam Quiambao experienced betrayal caused by her ex-husband from her first marriage.
On Friday’s “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda,” the Miss Universe 1999 first runner-up said that her first husband was her dream man, so when he proposed to her, she said yes.
They got married in Boracay in 2004, and Miriam left everything and moved to Hong Kong with him.
“But after two and a half years, I found myself heartbroken. He fell in love with a much younger Brazilian model,” she told Tito Boy.
The host recalled that she was really angry and thought to herself, “Teka, iniwan ko ang lahat para sa ‘yo, tapos ipagpapalit mo ako sa mas bata? Anong mabibigay niya sa ‘yo?”
He told her he wanted a divorce and admitted that there was someone else.
According to Miriam, she agreed for them to part ways because she felt like he didn’t understand that time that she was in search of meaning.
“I was in search of fulfillment in life, meaning that I couldn’t even see in our marriage. And I felt like if I kept on, if I stayed within that marriage, I was gonna get sick and I was gonna die,” she said.
“So when he sent me home, sabi ko ayokong iwan ang relationship na ito kasi ako ang legal wife at gusto kong ipaglaban, pero dahil sobrang sakit nito, kailangan ko ng support ng parents ko kaya ako umuwi. Pero ayaw na niya akong pabalikin.”
Years later, Miriam found a relationship with God, saying He restored every aspect of her life.
“Inayos Niya ‘yung takbo ng isip ko, hineal Niya ako dun sa depression ko, sa suicidal thoughts ko, binalik Niya ‘yung trabaho, nakabayad ako ng utang. Na-scam ako ng life savings ko pero na-recover ‘yon,” she said.
Miriam eventually gave love another chance and married Ardy.
She recalled that they were first introduced to each other by Anthony Pangilinan in a “chance encounter.”
Back then, Ardy was still married to someone else.
Miriam and Ardy met again when she attended a seminar from his company. He was her mentor while she was writing her book.
“A year later, nabalitaan na lang namin, namatay ‘yung wife niya, nagpunta kami ng classmates ko doon sa wake at nakita ko how he loved his wife. Sabi ko kay God, ‘God, I want a love like that.’ ‘Di naman si Ardy hiningi ko. ‘Yung ganoong pagmamahal,” Miriam said.
She also thought that her crush, a different man, would finally pursue her.
“Pero na-intercept na naman siya ng ibang babae. Ay nako, inis na inis na ako sa guy na ‘to. God, sino ba talaga ‘yung God’s best na prinepare mo sa ‘kin? Ang impression ni God sa heart ko, mami-meet mo siya on my birthday,” she said.
Three weeks before her birthday, Miriam was given a birthday cake. For her wish, she asked God for a love life on her birthday.
“Tapos pagbukas ng mata ko, may binulong si God sa puso ko. Ang bulong na iyon ay isang pangalan. Ang pangalan ay Ardy,” she said.
On the night of her birthday, Ardy showed up. A week later, he started to pursue her, and after 10 months of courtship, on March 25, 2014, they got married.
Miriam and Ardy have two children, Elijah and Ezekiel Isaiah. She also has a stepson, Joshua, who is the son of Ardy and his late wife Tingting.
In 2022, their family moved to Boracay.
— Carby Rose Basina/CDC, GMA Integrated News
