Paul Christian Ocampo

Miriam Quiambao looks back on her first marriage: ‘It wasn’t the bed of roses I expected it to be’

Article (news)

Rhea Manila Santos

Push Team

<p>It’s been more than 25 years since Miriam Quiambao first brought pride to the country as the first runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant held in Trinidad and Tobago in 1999. The now 50-year-old former beauty queen recently sat down with Karen Davila in her vlog for an exclusive interview where Miriam talked about just how much her life has changed since then.</p><p>After the pageant, Miriam returned to the country and started a busy career in showbiz. “Of course I remember that life pero it seems like a totally different person. I had a different headspace, I had a different spiritual space. I was very prideful and young and ambitious.</p><p>&quot;Kasi back then, I was such an ambitious young girl, I had dreams of taking advantage of the wave of the Miss Universe so pasikat ng pasikat, ang daming mga shows. Pero at some point, you know, maaaring malaki yung mga kita ko, maaaring my shows were beating the competition, pero kahit sikat na sikat ako at madami akong pera sa showbiz, it seemed dark in the limelight. Parang it seems so empty. And I was needing for something more meaningful than show business.</p><p>&quot;During that time, I didn’t have the Lord. So my life was empty even though it was shining, shimmering, splendid because I was becoming famous in show business. Life was empty. And I knew in my heart there was so much more than what life has to offer. So much more than fame and fortune,” she told Karen during their interview.</p><p>Despite becoming one of the country’s most popular beauty queens during that time, Miriam admitted something was missing in her life. After five years in the industry, Miriam thought she was saying goodbye to the limelight after getting married to her first husband, Italian businessman Claudio Rondinelli.</p><p>“It was a beautiful change in a sense that when we first met, bagong panalo ako nun sa Miss Universe. I thought it was the dream that I wanted. And then when I finally got it, I discovered that it wasn’t what I thought it was. It wasn’t the bed of roses I expected it to be. So it was a lot of expectation that was unmet.</p><p>&quot;I had everything. I had money. I had a beautiful, expensive house, beautiful, expensive things. I was traveling the world, the Italian princess that I had dreamed to be. But it was lonely in the castle. We didn’t have God in the relationship so mababaw yung level of relating namin. Puro shopping dito, travel dito, mga ganun lang, business, pinag-uusapan. Pero yung purpose, wala. It seems all dreamy, Cinderella style or Snow White. Dun tayo lumaki di ba? Sa mga fairytale stories. Pero the problem with that is little girls are conditioned by these fairytale stories to think na this is what they need to dream about, that this is what will make you happy. Pero in reality, pag nag-asawa ka, may mga problema.&quot;</p><p>Miriam admitted that her life as an “Italian princess” was not as perfect as it sounded.</p><p>“Nagdaan ako doon kasi ang pangarap ko, to go to New York, be a model, be a Hollywood actress. Pero nung nakapangasawa ako ng italiano, naging ako Italian princess pero hindi naman din nagpasaya sa akin yun. Kinailangan ko mag-aral ng Italian. Pero since we were based in Hong Kong a lot more, iba din ang energy ng Hong Kong eh, di ba? Puro pera, puro business. Wala masyadong meaningful relationships. Everything is shallow. So nahirapan ako dun.</p><p>&quot;And yung husband ko at that time, hindi niya naiintindihan kung ano yung pinagdadaanan ko. So he was very resentful of me having to go to yoga, having to seek peace. Feeling niya wuwu na ako, feeling niya naloloka na ako. Hindi na ako sumasama sa kanya to travel to Italy. So I guess that also affected our marriage. And then finally, nung third year namin, mukhang okay na ulit kami, everything is more settled,” she recalled.</p><div><strong>FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW, WATCH KAREN DAVILA’S VLOG HERE;</strong></div><div><iframe width="1089" height="612" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GH7PBxu3_6Q" title="BORACAY HOME! How MIRIAM QUIAMBAO Found Her Happy Ending! | Karen Davila Ep244" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br/></div><p>Miriam’s first marriage ended in divorce in 2004. She found love again with Eduardo &quot;Ardy&quot; Roberto Jr., whom she married in 2014. The couple now have two sons together plus a child from Ardy’s previous marriage. </p>

<p>Miriam Quiambo tells Karen Davila how she battled depression after competing in Miss Universe 1999 and what happened after she turned her back on showbiz for love in 2004.</p>

Miriam Quiambo tells Karen Davila how she battled depression after competing in Miss Universe 1999 and what happened after she turned her back on showbiz for love in 2004.