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Richard Yap recalls struggles of dating in a traditional Chinese family and why he fought for his wife
Richard Yap is happily married, but there used to be a time when dating was a struggle for him because of his family.
Although he's Chinese by blood, the actor grew up "as a Filipino" in Cebu.
"I never really identified myself as a Chinese or you know, I grew up as a Filipino, with Chinese blood and all that," he said in an interview on "Surprise Guest with Pia Arcangel."
More than that, he said his taste in ladies was not primarily Chinese.
"Siguro ganun talaga tayo no, if you're Chinese you look for someone who's not, and 'yung iba naman Filipino, you look for someone who's a foreigner," he said.
This clashes with the preferences of his father, who he described as "mapili." Although he's not "all-out traditional," he wanted Richard to marry a Chinese woman.
"Ayaw din ng dad ko because sabi niya she's too short for you. Mapili talaga," he said.
"When I was in college I had a medyo matagal na girlfriend, pero because of that, parang pinaghiwalay rin kami," he added.
Things changed when Richard graduated and began to work.
Around this time, he met the Filipina woman he would eventually marry: Melody.
"Sabi ko kaya ko na to," he said. "So nung I found my wife now, when I met her, ayun naipaglaban ko na ito, kasi ito talaga ang ano ko e, 'yung gusto ko e."
"Kahit na may mga nirereto siya sa akin, hindi ko naman ano e, I said I can't, you know I can't compromise and just do what you want because I will be living with her for the rest of my life. So pinaglaban ko na rin talaga even though at the expense of not being in the family business or wala na yung support or whatever. So ayun matigas na talaga ang ulo natin."
Luckily, things were all good on Melody's side of the family — her mother was even rooting for him.
Richard and Melody tied the knot in 1993, and they have two children together, Ashley and Dylan.
Meanwhile, Richard's father passed away in 2010. —JCB, GMA News
