Aga on wife Charlene: She was never my girlfriend

Aga Muhlach and Charlene Gonzales with their children Atasha and Andres. Photo from the official Facebook page of HOLA! Philippines

MANILA - Aga Muhlach recalled his relationship with wife Charlene Gonzales before they were married in 2001, admitting they skipped a step or two in their love story.

"She was never my girlfriend. We got engaged first, but I had to ask for her hand from her parents before we even started dating," Muhlach told HOLA! magazine in its November 2013 issue.

Recalling how they first met through her cousin when "she as 11 and I was 16," the actor said he only got to meet Gonzales again when he was tapped to judge the 1994 Binibining Pilipinas pageant, which she won.

"And then we were in a show together, 'Oki Doki Doc,'" he added, referring to the long-running ABS-CBN sitcom. "It was just like that; we were just friends."

The couple then leaped from being friends to an engaged couple in a moment straight out of a romantic film.

"It was just one moment of realizing that right in front of me was my wife. A week after that, I proposed to her," Muhlach said.

Less than a year after getting engaged, the couple married on May 28, 2001 in Baguio City.

"Up to this day," Muhlach said, "I feel like I'm the luckiest guy on earth. I have a wife who’s so loyal."

Muhlach added: "When I married, I really settled down... I love that feeling when I come home from work and my wife is there to celebrate my blessings with me."

The two, along with their kids Atasha and Andres, currently reside in Mataas na Kahoy, Batangas. HOLA! described the Filipino-Balinese-inspired house as a "paradise."

"This is a dream," the actor said. "This was the first house I built when I got married. And this is my space; this is my home."