Showbiz News

Whatever happened to Donita Rose?

May 11, 2014 Showbiz News

Former video jock and TV host/actress Donita Rose has reinvented herself anew. Apart from being a loving wife to husband Eric Villarama and a mother to nine-year-old son Joshua Paul, she is now an accomplished chef.

“I kind of felt like I wanted to reinvent myself and because I have so much passion for food, nag-aral ako ng Culinary (Arts),” Donita announced during the press conference of her comeback project, GMA’s “Basta Every Day Happy.”

“It’s a privilege for me (to come back to showbiz). Mayabang na ako ngayon. Magaling na po ako, sing-galing niya,” she added, referring to Chef Boy Logro, one of her co-hosts (along with Gladys Reyes and Alessandra de Rossi) in the upcoming morning talk-variety program, which premieres Monday, May 12, at 11 a.m.

Asked if she plans to have another child, Donita shared that she and her husband have agreed that work be a priority for now as she wants to put into practice what she has learned in school.

She has worked at a number of well-known restaurants, most notably Chef Akira Back’s Kumi Japanese restaurant in Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas. “Andami kong natutunan. Mula ibaba nagsimula ako. I worked my way up,” Donita said.

As for giving her local career another shot, she noted, “I want something that has culinary in it at dumating nga itong offer (to host ‘Basta Every Day Happy’). Its focus is not just culinary, but variety and talk with some cooking in it,” she explained.

“Then I realized kinuha lang pala ako dahil sa aking ganda,” Donita said in jest. “’Yan ang isa sa previous frustrations ko sa buhay na ‘puro ganda na lang?'”

Turning serious, she said, “This is really a blessing for me because I didn’t know what the full concept of the show is. ‘Basta Every Day Happy?’ – I don’t really get it. Then we started taping and I’m blown away.”

Donita knows that she has a lot more to learn in terms of hosting a variety-talk show. “I really wanted the experience of starting from the bottom para gumaling. I’ve been away from the limelight. Gusto kong maipagmalaki na nagawa ko lahat.”

Staying for good?

Leaving the Philippines for the US some years ago was a necessity, Donita noted.

“’Yung asawa ko, nag-struggle siya noon dito sa Philippines. He was a little bit frustrated and part of the reason why we moved to the States was we both knew that he would flourish there more than here,” she said of Villarama, a motivational speaker who is now working for a group of famous landscape photographers in the US.

Dividing time between family and work requires her to go back and forth between the US and the Philippines. Even so, Donita is confident that her new career trajectory will not affect her marriage.

“Never kaming maghihiwalay ng asawa ko for the rest of my life. We will be together regardless of whatever issues we may have,” she said.

Donita went on to commend her husband for being “totally supportive” of her career.

“Ang original plan was huwag kaming maghiwalay for more than a month. My plan is, before school starts for my son, I’ll go home for a bit. I hope na pangmatagalan ito (show). Malay natin, eventually, bumalik kami dito. We don’t know yet, it depends.”

Related Posts

All About Juan