Isang businesswoman ang karelasyon ngayon ng aktor na si Justin Cuyugan, 43.
Si Anna Margarita Gonzales, 37, ang current operations manager ng bakery-café business na Edna’s Cakeland. Siya rin ang CEO ng skincare brand at owner ng isang advertising company.
Si Justin naman ay may pagmamay-aring construction business.
“We are gonna be on our third year this November,” pagbabahagi ni Anna sa exclusive interview ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal).
Single mom si Anna na may dalawang anak. Si Justin naman ay single dad with three kids.
Bukod sa magkarelasyon, business partners din sina Anna at Justin.
Nagkakila ang dalawa noong panahon ng pandemic, at na-develop sa isa’t isa nang sabay silang magkaroon ng COVID-19 virus.
HOW ANNA AND JUSTIN MET
“Someone introduced us together. We started talking, getting to know each other…” bungad ni Anna nang matanong tungkol sa love story nila ni Justin.
“I grew very fond of him. He’s very intelligent. He’s very kind kaya yon.”
Mas lumalim daw ang relasyon nila nang sabay silang magka-COVID.
“We actually had COVID together, so we actually stayed in one place and isolate… parang doon mas nag-start.
“Kasi when you’re with the person, like 24/7, di ba, so I guess that’s when we started realizing na, ‘Oh, you know, magkasundo pala tayo in so many ways.’
“So, that’s how everything moved after.”
Hindi naman daw bago kay Anna na may makarelasyong isang public figure. Isa rin kasing public figure ang kanyang ex-boyfriend.
Sabi niya, “My ex kasi is also a politician, so I’m kinda used naman doon sa life na medyo madaming nakakaalam. Okay naman.
“Ako naman, I’m a very straightforward person. I’m very out there, and public din naman kasi with the business, I have to promote a lot.”
Read: Atty. Ralph Calinisan proudly calls girlfriend Dawn Chang “huwarang kabiyak”
ANNA ON THREE-YEAR RELATIONSHIP WITH JUSTIN
Sa halos three-year relationship nila, wala na raw hahanapin pang iba si Anna kay Justin.
“We actually get to discover about each other every day,” sabi ng entrepreneur.
“We do actually work together because Justin is into construction now. He’s always partnered with my advertising, so we work together a lot of times.
“He’s actually the one who’s been building our stores here in Pampanga, so we often work together. We collaborate with a lot of projects that he has also.”
Suwerte raw siyang hindi sila madalas magkaroon ng away ng aktor.
Saad ni Anna, “When it comes to conflicts, to be honest, hindi kami masyadong nag-aaway.
“I think [because] we both came from long-term relationships already. So, parang we come from a more matured state.
“We know how to handle conflicts together. We talk about it maturely. We don’t let it pass overnight.
"So it’s very easy, it’s very positive. No stress.”
JUSTIN HAS PUT UP HIS OWN CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS
Ikinuwento rin ni Anna ang negosyong pinagkakaabalahan ni Justin ngayong hindi ito aktibo sa showbiz.
“It’s his own construction business. He started it two years ago, and he actually does store renovations, small businesses, and he’s doing real estate soon, like building houses and apartments,” banggit niya.
Hindi naman daw ito nakapagtataka dahil may interes si Justin sa furniture noon pa man.
Naging supportive girlfriend daw siya nang magsabi si Justin na nais nitong magtayo ng construction business.
“He found a lot of good clients. Na-busy na siya. He has not ventured into furniture, but gumaganda na kasi yung construction profile niya. That’s why he’s going into real estate.”
Paglilinaw ni Anna, hindi iniiwan ni Justin ang kanyang showbiz career. Natataon lang daw na marami silang travels abroad.
“He cannot accept because we go out of the country a lot because my other son lives in Canada, so we go to him four times a year,” sabi ni Anna.
“And then sometimes we go to mga seminars abroad. Siguro di lang natataon sa projects he’s available.”
ANNA SEES HER FUTURE IN JUSTIN
Madali naman daw nagkasundo ang kani-kanilang mga anak dahil magkakalapit ang kanilang mga edad.
Ang panganay na anak na lalaki ni Anna ay 19, habang ang panganay na anak na babae ni Justin ay 18. Ang kanilang mga bunso naman ay pareho ring teens.
Bukod sa boyfriend at business partner, itinuturing ding best friend ni Anna si Justin.
Saad niya: “He’s someone I could really talk to, start of the day, end of the day. We like spending time with each other. Siya yung best friend ko.
“I really enjoy how he is as a father, how he leads our family. So, parang nakakatuwa lang na sobrang family man niya [and] that’s one thing I love about him.
“So siguro, sabi ko, at our age, finding the right person to be with, it should be who you can spend the rest of your life, not as a lover but also as a best friend.
“Kasi pagtanda ninyo, syempre, that’s the person you’re gonna be with, e. So parang it’s really good to have someone who you really can depend on and talk to as well.”
Bago ito, ang huling napaulat na karelasyon ni Justin ay ang ex-Pinoy Big Brother housemate at dancer na si Dawn Chang.
Nabalita ang kanilang breakup noong 2021 matapos ang three-year relationship.
Read: Justin Cuyugan on breakup with Dawn Chang: "It was very traumatic."
In a relationship naman ngayon si Dawn sa isang abogado, si Attorney Ralph Calinisan.
Read: Dawn Chang flexes new lawyer-boyfriend Ralph Calinisan; says, “Mahal kita.”
CEO OF FAMILY BUSINESS
Bagamat taga-Nueva Ecijia, si Anna ay nakatira na ngayon sa Angeles City, Pampanga, kung saan nagpapatakbo siya ng apat na branches ng Edna’s Cakeland, ang kanilang family business.
Ang negosyo ay nagsimula bilang isang bakery na itinayo ng kanyang inang si Edna Gonzales sa Cabanatuan City noong 1996.
Makalipas ang halos tatlong dekada, umasenso ang bakery at eventually ay naging bakery/café/restaurant.
Bukod sa apat na branches sa Angeles City, mayroon namang anim na store branches sa Nueva Ecija.
Dating bank manager ang ina ni Anna na si Edna, na passionate din sa baking kaya pinag-aralan niya ito.
Nagsimula siyang mag-bake at ipinatikim sa kanyang mga kaibigan. Dahil sa magandang feedback, nagbitiw bilang bank manager ang si Edna at itinuon ang sarili sa baking.
Lahad ni Anna, “When she started it was just our own kitchen. Some of the customers would go to our kitchen. And she would display small boxes there.
“Until dumami nang dumami ang mga nagpupunta. So she had to put up a small store.
“But the start talaga our kitchen lang. We had a long table there she would display the breads there and then nung dumami ng mga customers.
Only child lamang si Anna at naging parte na siya ng family business sa pagpapatakbo.
Justin Cuyugan (far left) with girlfriend Anna Gonzales (far right) and her parents.
Bagamat aktibo pa rin ang kanyang inang si Edna at amang si Herminio sa pagma-manage ng branches nila sa Nueva Ecija, ginagawa na ni Anna ang kanyang parte sa pagma-manage ng family business.
“My mom is a very passionate person. She’s very creative and sa kanya ko talaga natutunan yung passion and work, loving the work that I’m doing right now.”
Bukod sa naturuan, nasaksihan daw ni Anna ang importansiya ng hard work at pagmamahal sa trabaho.
“Kasi when you love it, it’s really not hard, hard work. You’re just enjoying everything that you’re doing, and everything comes out more creatively, easily, nicer when you love what you’re doing.