'I married my first love': Jennylyn Mercado, Dennis Trillo get candid on second-chance love

MANILA, Philippines — Jennylyn Mercado shed tears when she said to broadcast journalist Karen Davila that she married her first love, Dennis Trillo. 

In the same way, Dennis shared that he did not believe in marriage, but because he loves Jennylyn so much, he decided to give it a shot. 

Dennis and Jennylyn are among the power couples of Philippine showbiz today, and their storied love story is like a story line of romantic shows and films. 

Sitting down with the seasoned journalist, they talked about how they've grown more mature over the years as they tried love the second time around and what made their second chance at love work. 

After dating for a decade, they decided to get married in November 2021. Putting in 12 years together again, the couple agreed that nothing much have changed in their arrangement, save that they just formalized their union. 

"Parang wala naman pong masyadong pinagkaiba nu'ng naging kami tapos nu'ng nagpakasal kami dahil din siguro mature na kami pareho nu'ng nag-decide kaming magpakasal," said Dennis. 

They were entertaining Karen who visited them in their popular rest house in Tanay, Rizal. The couple's Rizal house has been a subject of curiosity since instead of the typical log cabin or built structure, Jennylyn and Dennis decided to use shipping containers and converted them into their rest house atop a hill with a spectacular view of Manila's skyline. 

Jennylyn agreed that it took them time before they considered tying the knot. 

Karen, in turn, asked if she thought they would still end up with each other. 

At this point, Jennylyn bared her heart's deepest secret. 

"Si Dennis kasi 'yung first love ko, Ms. Karen. Siyempre 'yun 'yung nilo-look forward ko e. 'Yun 'yung gusto ko, 'yun 'yung dream ko na makasama siya," Jennylyn said. 

Karen remarked that Jennylyn's love for Dennis is palpable, eliciting a reaction from the latter who said "sobra, sobra." 

"Ang bait kasi nitong taong ito," said the actress while wiping away her tears. Dennis, who was sitting beside her, comforted the actress. "Talagang ano siya. Hindi kasi, ibang klase si Dennis. Siya 'yung isa sa mga o pinaka-generous, pinaka-totoo, pinakamapamahal na tao na kakilala