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Kim Atienza reveals his wife supported their family in early years and bought their first home

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Kim Atienza has never hesitated to give his wife the credit she deserves, and in a recent interview, he made it clear that much of what they built together began with her.The television host opened up about his life with Felicia Hung Atienza during an appearance on KC After Hours with Karmina Constantino, sharing how their relationship shaped not just his personal life but the direction of his entire career. With the couple approaching their 25th wedding anniversary this March, Kuya Kim reflected on the woman he credits for giving him the courage to walk away from politics and pursue television full-time.&quot;I have my courage because of Fely. You know, there was a turning point in my life when I had to totally reinvent myself and turn a hundred and eighty degrees from what I used to. My dream in life is to be on television. But I never realized that because I got into politics. I was in politics for about twelve years, and I was already disillusioned in the last year. That was the second year of my marriage to Fely. I was able to see the signs and decide after seeing the signs with courage because I know that Fely was there behind me,&quot; he said.He was also candid about who was holding the finances when they started out. Fely, a Wharton-educated finance executive who rose to a senior position at Merrill Lynch London overseeing the Indonesia, Thailand, and Philippines divisions, was already financially established when they wed. Kim, at the time, was an aspiring politician with no income and a television career that had not yet taken off.&quot;To disclose also, Fely was also there financially. Because when I married Fely, she was a woman already. I was an aspiring politician, wala namang kita dun. I was starting out on television, hindi pa ako kumikita. We had a nest egg. When Fely and I got married, we already had a house. We bought a house. Sa Forbes pa nga &#x27;yung una naming bahay. Because she could afford it. Fely po was a star stockbroker in the &#x27;90s at the height of the stock market. And she was so good at what she did that she was promoted. She was promoted to Merrill Lynch London. She was in charge of the Indonesia, Thailand, and Philippines division,&quot; he said.Their early years of marriage were long-distance, with Kim based in the Philippines and Fely in London. When he visited, the gap between their worlds was hard to miss.&quot;Long-distance kami nun. So when I visit her, sosyal ako. Meron siyang apartment sa Kensington. Tapos sa sobrang sosyal ng apartment niya, kailangan naka-suit ako. Ganito &#x27;yan, stock market &#x27;yan, natutulog ako dun sa flat niya, &#x27;pag baba ko, may coffee shop dun sa first floor eh. Kailangan naka-suit ako. Kasi kung hindi, mukha akong kargador, blue-collar job. Nothing wrong with that. Pero I stood out. Kasi all of them are so fashionista eh. Hindi bagay dun sa Kensington. So ganun ka-sosyal &#x27;yan,&quot; he said.Fely had also planned their family&#x27;s financial future well ahead of time, setting aside funds for their children&#x27;s education abroad and securing their first home.&quot;When we got married, we were comfortable because we had a nest egg. Fely had allocated money for the children&#x27;s school abroad. Inaral niya ang cost of money at &#x27;yung interes at kung magiging magkano ang [kailangan]. We were set for three kids. Kung mag-aaral ang mga anak namin sa Amerika at tatlo sila, naka-set na &#x27;yan. Nakatago na &#x27;yan. Meron na kaming pera para sa bahay. Our first house that Fely bought was in Forbes. Kasiyahan Village. That little village on Forbes. Pero Forbes Park din ang address niyan. And then binili na niya. Kasi okay na kami eh,&quot; he said.That first home became a political liability. Kim was serving as a councilor for Manila&#x27;s 5th congressional district at the time, and his family pushed back hard when they found out the address was Forbes Park, worried it would alienate his constituents despite the house being bought with Fely&#x27;s money. They eventually sold it and moved to Malate, into the former home of fashion designer Joe Salazar.&quot;That time, I was still in politics. Nu&#x27;ng nalaman ng pamilya ng tatay ko, sabi sa&#x27;kin, &#x27;Ano &#x27;yung address mo? Forbes Park? G**o ka ba? Gusto mo matalo?&#x27; Because they won&#x27;t understand na unang-una, misis ko &#x27;yan. At hindi naman Forbes Forbes &#x27;yan. &#x27;Yan ang maliit na Forbes. But still, ang address McKinley. So, we decided to sell the house and we bought the house in Malate. The old home of Joe Salazar, which proved to be beautiful also. We&#x27;re really proud of that house,&quot; he said.One of the moments that stayed with Kim from their long-distance years was a conversation in which he tried to give Fely an out – and she turned it around entirely.&quot;Ganito &#x27;yan, nu&#x27;ng nandun na kami sa London, second year na nu&#x27;ng long-distance relationship namin. Alam kong may kaya si Fely eh. But second year, ang hirap ng long-distance eh. Sabi ko &#x27;Hon, this is so difficult. Because I can&#x27;t leave my job in the Philippines. I&#x27;m an aspiring politician and it will be unfair for me to tell you to live with me &#x27;cause you&#x27;re high-flying in London. You have a beautiful life and you&#x27;re earning so much. Where will this go?&#x27; Sabi niya &#x27;Kim, I&#x27;m a big girl now. You don&#x27;t have to stick by me.&#x27; Dinerecho ako niyan. &#x27;I don&#x27;t need you, but I want you.&#x27; Woooh! Lalo na akong na-inspire dun. She doesn&#x27;t need me kasi mayaman siya pero she wants me. Kumpiyansa,&quot; he said.He added: &quot;&#x27;What if I&#x27;m not successful? And what if I don&#x27;t make money because I&#x27;m not successful? You don&#x27;t have me rich. But you have me passionate about something.&#x27; Marami ako nun. Kung passion lang, marami ako nu&#x27;n. I am passionate.&quot;Fely&#x27;s return to the Philippines, Kim said, was set in motion by the September 11 attacks in the United States. With the markets collapsing, Merrill Lynch moved to pull out of the Philippines and handpicked three of its top people – Fely among them – to take over the business and continue it under a new company, Philippine Equity Partners.&quot;Alam mo ang reason kung bakit naging kami? That&#x27;s also God-ordained. That&#x27;s also part of the plan because it was so difficult for her to move back to the Philippines. Because of 9/11, she moved back — not forced — because of an opportunity for a job. During 9/11, Merrill Lynch, which had a presence in the Philippines, was in the middle of a campaign which was &#x27;Be Bullish&#x27; meaning steady tayo rito. Eh how can they be bullish when they want to pull out? Because of 9/11, the markets fell and there&#x27;s no more business in the Philippines,” he said. “Merrill Lynch picked their top three top men to sell the company to for a song. And these three I remember were Jojo Madrid, who&#x27;s still in Finance now, Fely, and Jojo Gonzales. Fely was in London, Jojo was in Singapore, and the other Jojo was in the Philippines. Handpicked sila ng Merrill Lynch. We will sell Merrill Lynch to these guys for them to continue the business while we pull out. And the name of the company that they set up was called Philippine Equity Partners and that company is still doing well now. And that was the reason why Fely moved home, because they now own the old Merrill Lynch, Fely and the two Jojos. Eh nakauwi na. From the airport, derecho na sa bahay ko,&quot; he added.The two also lived together for about a year before getting married, something Kim spoke about openly. &quot;Nauna pang nalaman ng parents ni Fely na sa akin na nakatira si Fely, mga 6 months na. Kasi tinanan ko. Kasi mahal ako ni Fely, she lived with me in my Malate home. I was not Christian then. And I was a believer in living in. We lived together for about a year and then we got married a year after. So Fely and I were together for about two-and-a-half years and then married after about two-and-a-half years,&quot; he said.<div><iframe width="795" height="447" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q6dqwlFL2P8" title="EPISODE 93: Kuya Kim Atienza on turning grief into purpose" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>After 25 years, Kim said their secret is simple: they are complete opposites, and that is exactly why it works. &quot;It&#x27;s a choice and a work-in-progress. Well, they say kasi when you pick someone who&#x27;s very much like you, may mapag-uusapan kayo. It doesn&#x27;t apply to us. Fely is totally different from me. She doesn&#x27;t know my world. I am totally different from Fely. When I talk about business or finance this way, that&#x27;s because I learned it from her. And that&#x27;s why it works. Because she learns from me, she&#x27;s constantly intrigued by how I move in my world. And I&#x27;m constantly intrigued by her and how she moves in her world. So it works, it complements,&quot; he said.

Kim Atienza also shares how their marriage works despite all the setbacks they have faced.

Kim Atienza also shares how their marriage works despite all the setbacks they have faced.

Kim Atienza reveals his wife supported their family in early years and bought their first home

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Kim Atienza reveals his wife supported their family in early years and bought their first home

Push Team,

Paolo Lim

Published July 03, 2026 08:33 AM PHT

Read More:

Joe Salazar

Felicia Hung Atienza

London

Singapore

Philippines

Kim Atienza

Malate

Amerika

Kensington

Jojo Gonzales

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