Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez dated for 6 years before getting engaged: Here's how they survived the lockdown test
Congratulations are in order for Carla Abellana and her beau Tom Rodriguez! The Filipina actress shared a photo of herself with Rodriguez on Instagram, where the couple were out of focus, but the dazzling ring on her finger with their hands entwined drew focus. "A million times, YES," wrote the actress, alongside the post as a caption. Her beau, too, marked the joyous milestone with another photo on his Instagram account, with the couple more in focus and within the frame, laughing blissfully as their hands and the rock gained limelight once again.
Rodriguez's caption "I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this…" he wrote. This comes after he recently teased to GTalk TV Show that Abellana was 'definitely the one' when they asked about his proposal plans. The timing of it all does make one curious though, since back in January this year, Abellana had told Entertainment Inquirer how much of a "relationship-building" quarantining together was. After six years of togetherness, was it spending time in quarantine that sold the deal?
RELATED ARTICLES
Tom's proposal plans
Rodriguez revealed his plans of making Abellana his wife when he told GTalk TV Show "We never know", about when the big proposal might be coming, explaining: "Like I said, when we’re ready, people might know and you never know if it’s already happened or not." Although he had assured, "We’re ready, we’re at that stage, we’ve talked about it a lot. She is definitely the one, so let’s see."
Bellana, too, was sure Rodriguez was the one when she expressed the huge significance spending most of their time together had on their relationship. “We were used to not seeing each other all the time when we have work. When Tom is shooting a soap, he’s always out and vice versa. But this 2020, Tom and I spent most of our time together,” she said at a recent virtual conference for her GMA 7 drama series 'Love of My Life'.
In photos taken by renowned wedding photographer Pat Dy, their engagement looked quite intimate; Rodriguez dressed up in a plain shirt and denim, while Abellana was in classic white with denim blue hues. Rodriguez went down on one knee and proposed in front of a giant balloon arch, and the couple shared a few tears too. Their closest family were also present on a special day, huddling around for a group photo, all of which Dy shared on his Instagram account.
Love in the time of quarantine
Juggling household chores and balancing the unpredictable work set-ups and changing production protocols during the pandemic was quite something, she alluded. “Work from home was difficult at first because we had no cameramen, lighting director, etc. We had to do everything ourselves. We had to acquire or upgrade our equipment,” she said. “Of course, we have to do housework. But eventually, we figured out a system that works.”
There were personal misunderstandings between the two of them too, which only proved to be a positive thing for their relationship, she reflected. “The pandemic tested us. We learned a lot from each other. I would say that our relationship became even stronger,” she said.
No blame-game
When it came to disagreements, she told the audience, "We give each other time. That’s how it has always been for us, even before the pandemic. We’re quick to reflect and apologize. We don’t let such things go unresolved. We talk about them because we don’t want to end the day on a negative note.”
The couple also believe in a no blame game policy. “We have to keep in mind that all these things are new to us and that we have different ways of dealing with them,” she told the outlet.
When Carla made Tom cry...
"It was just October 18, it’s like a look that she gave me that my heart swell," Rodriguez shared with GTalk TV Show in the same interview. "It’s just seeing her with our dogs and with her family, it just felt so overwhelming and I couldn't even understand why it was happening since we’ve been together for over 6 years." He also explained, "But I just looked at her and there was a light, ray, just right at her framing her with her just interacting with her family and her dogs filled with my heart with so much love for her."
This comes after Abellana had already indicated she wanted Rodriguez to pop the question. All the way back a year ago in March 2020, when Lhar Santiago asked the couple when their wedding would be, Abellana casually pointed to her beau and said, "ito tanungin niyo," which roughly translates to "ask this one."