Heart Evangelista explains father's absence at vow renewal ceremony with Chiz Escudero
Heart Evangelista revealed why her father, Rey Ongpauco, did not make it to her renewal of vows with Chiz Escudero.
When the local star shared a recap video of her wedding on Instagram, where she can be seen sharing some heartwarming moments with her mother, Cecilia Ongpauco, some social media users got curious as to why her father missed the ceremony anew.
"Congratulations po. Sorry to ask po—bakit wala po si daddy?" one of her followers wrote in the comments section of her post.
To which, Heart replied with a smiley: "He's recovering." She did not get into much detail about Rey's condition.
In 2019, the actress shared in an Instagram post that her dad underwent radiation therapy, which is "a cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors," according to the National Cancer Institute. She later told GMA News that he was staying in the United States at the time.
Heart and Chiz renewed their vows on Thursday, Feb. 15 at Balesin Island, which also served as their wedding venue in February 2015. It came almost two years after breakup speculations between them spread on social media for months. She indirectly shut down the rumors in December 2022 by simply tagging Chiz in an IG post. The couple welcomed 2023 as a couple and have since been spotted in several locations together.
Heart previously revealed that her parents skipped their first wedding as they did not want her to be in a relationship with the politician. In a 2021 vlog, however, Cecilia expressed her support for their love, saying that what she likes about their marriage is he “allows [Heart] to grow, mature on her own.” Rey also said he regrets missing it then. "Sayang. Naging bati na sana kami nun."
Cecilia walked her daughter down the aisle at the recently concluded vow renewal ceremony. "Finally, I arrived," she can be seen telling Heart before the affair. "Nine years too late, but made it still."