TRENDING: Mariel Padilla believes 'the girl should be submissive to her husband'
Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla gave her two cents on her ideal marriage dynamic, sharing that she believes that the wife should be "submissive" to her husband.
In an interview on Fast Talk with Boy Abunda back in October that has received renewed attention online, the wife of actor-turned-senator Robin Padilla was asked to weigh in on whether equality can be achieved between men and women.
Relating the question to her relationship with her husband, Mariel said, "'Yung respect sa isa't isa is pantay, pero I still believe—call me old-fashioned—the girl should be submissive to the husband. I really, really believe in that."
However, she asserted that women are the ones who "carry" the relationship.
"I also believe na babae ang nagdadala ng marriage, babae ang nagdadala ng relationship. So I feel it can never really be pantay," she told Boy.
"I want people to know that women have the right to give the go signals. Tayo 'yung magsasabi na eto ang magaganap," she added.
The actress and television host then touched on an issue she experienced in the past when Robin sparked controversy for asking about what husbands can do to demand sex from their wives "legally," which raised conversations on consent and marital rape.
"Mayroong issue that came out and then so many people were saying, ‘Oh my gosh, kawawa naman si Mariel.’ ‘Oh my gosh, you’re married to that…,’ ganyan. I wanted them to know that women are so empowered. We say when, tayo ang nasusunod. May mga bagay na tayo ang nasusunod," Mariel said.
Boy then pointed out how this makes women equal to men, to which the 40-year-old star agreed.
"I feel even more. That’s why hindi ko masabi na pantay na pantay kasi for me, mas nakakaangat ang babae. Lalo na in Robin’s religion, mas binibigyan ng pagpapahalaga ang mga babae," she said, referring to Islam.
As Islam allows men to have up to four wives, Mariel said that she and Robin have an agreement that he can only be faithful to her.
"They really are allowed to marry four, but ako may condition. Robin was very clear, kumbaga 'yung untouchables sa kanya is Mindanao and his children, so never ko 'yun ginagalaw. I get that, so ako, sabi ko isa lang ang condition ko. It can only be me," she said.
"To this day, he's working very, very hard to keep that promise," she continued. "I'm very happy, I don't think I've ever been more content. This is probably one of the best times of my life."
Robin and Mariel tied the knot in India in 2010 after meeting on the set of Willie Revillame's show Wowowee where Mariel was a host. They share two children, Gabriela and Isabella, after suffering two miscarriages.
Robin has four more children with his former wife Liezl Sicangco, namely, Zhireleen, Ali, Kylie, and Queenie.
