Richard Gomez confirms that Lucy Torres had cut-out pictures of him in her old bedroom

It’s no secret that Lucy Torres has had a crush on her now-husband Richard Gomez ever since she was 12 years old.

The couple first met in Lake Caliraya during a TV commercial shoot for Lux Shampoo in 1993 and then got married in 1998. It was love at first sight, with their love story going strong to this day.

With Lucy’s crush on one of the top actors and models of that time, rumors across the local showbiz scene had spread that she had cut-out pictures of Richard in her old bedroom in Ormoc, Leyte.

And on last Thursday’s episode of GMA News and Public Affairs’ showbiz podcast “Updated with Nelson Canlas,” the actor and congressman confirmed this urban legend.

“Totoo. Totoo talaga,” he said.

Back in 1991, when a typhoon devastated Ormoc and the Torres family home, Lucy showed Richard her old bedroom.

“Binaha 'yong bahay nila so they decided to move do'n sa subdivision dito sa Ormoc City na ginawa ng lolo niya. And then 'yong bahay na 'yon, minaintain pa rin nila. Pero alam mo 'yong inabandon nila, hindi talaga pininturahan, iniwan lang siya,” Richard explained.

“So no'ng dumaan kami, sabi niya, ‘this is where we used to live.’ Sabi niya ‘halika, pakita ko sayo,'" he added.

But then Lucy suddenly got shy when they were about to enter the room.

“Alam mo 'yong napahinto siya na gano'n. ‘This is my room,’ tapos nakagano'n siya. And then na-realize niya siguro na ‘hindi ko pa natatanggal 'yong mga cutouts na pinaste ko sa cabinet.'"

Richard then asked what was happening, and so Lucy went ahead to open the cabinet.

“Pagbukas tawa siya nang tawa kasi no'ng nakita ko talaga, nando'n 'yong GMA pictures ko, nakadikit do'n sa cabinet. Iba-ibang mga photos ko from different movies, from different TV shows.”

He further explained that Lucy had always prayed for a husband, a fact that she would share to others.

“Sabi niya, ‘Lord kung mag-aasawa ko, give me a good husband. Yon ang number 1, give me a good husband. Pero kung pwede bigyan mo ko ng kamukha ni Richard Gomez. Tapos kung talagang papalarin Lord, si Richard Gomez na talaga 'yong ibigay mo sakin.’ Talagang ipinagdasal niya,” he said.

Richard expressed that the reasons why they were brought together were because of Lucy’s prayers.

“Pinagdasal niya talaga ko sa Panginoon. Siguro that was what brought me here to Ormoc City, that was what brought me to Lucy, 'yong mga dasal niya.”

Richard and Lucy tied the knot in 1998. They have one daughter together named Juliana. —Nika Roque/JCB, GMA News