Aminado si Miss Universe 2010 4th runner-up Venus Raj na isang whirlwind romance ang nangyari sa kanila ng non-showbiz husband na si North Orillan.
Ikinasal sina Venus at North noong December 12, 2023, o isang buwan pa lamang ang nakalilipas.
Read: Venus Raj to tie the knot with non-showbiz boyfriend
Bagamat kilala na nila ang isa’t isa mula pa noong 2018, nang pumasok sila sa relasyon ay nag-propose na si North kay Venus makalipas lamang ang ilang buwan at pagkatapos ay ikinasal within the same year.
“North and I were friends since 2018. Acquaintances po kami sa church,” sabi ni Venus sa kanyang YouTube video nitong January 12, 2024.
Ang lalaki ay mula sa Mindanao.
Si Venus naman, bagamat tubong-Bicol, ay sa Maynila nanirahan dahil sa trabaho.
Batay sa LinkedIn ni North, siya ay nagtapos ng kursong Business Administration sa Silliman University, isang culinary student at human resource officer ngayon.
NORTH FROM THE SOUTH
“When I became a Christian, I really served in the ministry, and one of the ministries that I served into is the youth ministry,” lahad ni Venus.
Bumibisita raw siya sa iba’t ibang satellites ng kanilang church. Taong 2018, na-assign siya sa church satellite nila sa Mindanao, kung saan nagsisilbi si North.
“Pumupunta kami sa iba't ibang satellites ng church, and North is from the south. He’s from Mindanao,” banggit ni Venus.
Nagkakilala sila ni North pero hindi pa roon nagsimula ang kanilang kuwento ng pag-iibigan.
“We were just acquaintances, and he was in a relationship that time,” dagdag ng beauty queen-turned-TV host.
“I was serving and just devoted my life serving the Lord. And then, so, wala. Ganon lang kami. Magkakilala lang.”
FROM ACQUAINTANCES TO LOVERS
Makalipas ang apat na taon, muling nagkrus ang landas nilang dalawa noong October 2022.
Kuwento ni Venus, “And then, 2022, North’s brother got married and then they got to me to be the host of the wedding. And then si North was the best man.
"And doon, parang we just reconnected.”
Bilang best man, si North daw ang umeestima kay Venus na siyang host ng wedding.
Doon na raw nagsimula ang lahat.
“I think it was during that time when we started having conversations, and deeper conversation…” ani Venus.
Nagtuluy-tuloy ang komunikasyon ng dalawa matapos ang kasal.
November 2022, nagpunta ng Manila si North.
December 2022, o after two months since they saw each other at the wedding, naging magkarelasyon sila.
Makalipas ang pitong buwan, nag-propose na si North kay Venus.
“December 12, we got married. Kung titingnan natin mabilis yung timeline,” sabi ni Venus, na sinang-ayunan ni North.
Ngayong kasal na sila, plano na ng dalawa na magkaroon na ng baby ngayong 2024.
Sabi ni North, “I wanna start and have a baby. We’ve been praying about this even until now.
"That’s definitely something I look forward to and I wait expectantly for that."