The Reinvention of
Winwyn Marquez
to open the fortress to her heart.
Words by Cara Emmeline Garcia
Photos by Dahil sa Pag-Ibig, Glow Up, & Karl Panal
“I had fun sa ARMY fest, ha!” Winwyn Marquez opens the conversation by talking about joining a fan fest she went to a few weeks earlier. “When they invited me, I went and sobrang babait nila.”
This “nila” pertains to the ARMY or fans of Korean boy group BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan).
“To be honest, I try to reach out to them. I really try to be normal and less showbiz.”
As an ardent fan of BTS, this is what a normal day is like for Winwyn nowadays. After taping or during her free time, she interacts with fellow ARMYs whether face to face or through social media.
This wasn’t the case for Winwyn years ago.
We are talking about a different version of Winwyn.
Promise
“I knew I liked what I was doing. It’s as simple as that. No excuses.”
It’s 4 in the afternoon at GMA Network and Winwyn has just finished her shoot for Kapuso ArtisTambayan, a special segment of the network’s Facebook page. She sits down on one of those sofa chairs that could pass off as a bed and comfortably finds her spot in the corner.
“Go. I’m ready!” she says while glancing over and waving goodbye to her ‘Glow Up’ co-hosts Thia Thomalla and Michelle Dee, who are leaving the scene.
She then comes over and smiles brightly—the kind of smile that can easily put anyone at ease.
One can easily tell that Winwyn understands what it entails to be an artista. After all, before the television shows and the pageants she won, the Marquez patronymic is already a popular household name.
Born Teresita Ssen “Winwyn” Marquez, she is the daughter of actor-comedian Joey Marquez and his then-wife Alma Moreno. Both parents are equally renowned for their talent in acting and starred in hit movies and television shows in the '80s and '90s.
“Actually, they don’t want me to be in show business,” she blurts out. “They wanted me to finish my studies first if ever I wanted to be in this industry.”
But the then 15-year-old Winwyn was persistent in making her dreams come true. “Ang nangyari is, I loved dancing and I saw my mom dance on TV. Plus, I grew up in an environment na puro showbiz so automatic magiging vibe ko 'yun. So, nakipag-bargain ako sa dad ko kung pwede ba akong mag-guest sa ‘Party Pilipinas’.”
A bit hesitant at first, the elder Marquez made sure that his daughter always prioritized her studies before joining any rehearsals of the now-defunct weekly Philippine television variety show.
In turn, Winwyn made this her motivation to excel more—both in her studies and her would-be career. “I like them reminding me of what to do. Like, ‘You can’t fail,’ ‘You have to do this,’ ‘You have to do that,’” she says. “Parang, ‘Okey sige, ipapakita ko sa inyo na kaya kong i-balance lahat.’
“So I didn’t leave my responsibility. I kept my promise sa dad ko,” she answers. “Pinagsabay ko ang school, ‘Party Pilipinas,’ and all the drama projects I had back then. And I finished college on time as a regular student.”
By 2012, Winwyn graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in Marketing Management from San Beda College Alabang. “I knew I liked what I was doing. It’s as simple as that. No excuses.”
Despite the surname and the star power of both parents, Winwyn makes it clear that she has no intention of becoming a superstar like her predecessors. “I had no high expectations,” she says, folding her arms across her chest. “Which for me, I don’t know if it’s a negative or positive, pero hindi mataas lagi ang expectations ko. I wanted to be an artista but I never imagined to be super sikat, I only wanted to act. Gusto kong maging dancer pero hindi ko rin inimagine na maging super sikat na dancer.”
She simply, for the lack of a better term, wanted to perform on stage.
After three consecutive years of performing for ‘Party Pilipinas,’ she took her talents to the small screen by starring in several Kapuso shows like ‘Blusang Itim,’ ‘Hiram na Puso,’ ‘One True Love,’ ‘Indio,’ and ‘Kambal Sirena,’ to name a few, before eventually deciding to try out pageantry.
“I really didn’t want to follow in their footsteps dahil gusto ko ng sarili kong daan. Pero, doon din ako napunta, eventually!” she laughs out loud and gives a high-five.
“’Yung pagbu-beauty queen ko and ’yung pagsali ko sa pageantry, dun lang siguro ako nalihis sa parents ko,” she says, pertaining to joining Binibining Pilipinas in 2015, and Miss World Philippines and Reina Hispanoamericana in 2017.
For a good second, she covers her mouth as if hesitating to say something. “Siguro kaya ’yung expectations ko sa sarili ko hindi mataas kasi alam kong mako-compare sa parents ko,” Winwyn reveals. “So, binabaan ko for me and kung feel ko na-achieve ko na, sobrang saya ko na.”
Regardless, Winwyn was even more determined to find her calling.
By 2017, she reached that goal when she was crowned as the first Filipina and Asian to win the Reina Hispanoamericana title, marking her name in pageant history.
Right after she won, she called up her parents to tell them the good news. “Unang-una si Mama, and then siya na ’yung nagsisigaw. I promised kasi that I won’t disappoint them, win or lose.”
Indeed, she has kept that promise.
And if there’s one thing that the Moreno-Marquez duo had imparted to the growing Winwyn, it’s to always “learn from one’s mistakes.”
“Kung ano man ang gawin ko, kasalanan ko ’yan! Kumbaga magpapaalala lang sila,” Winwyn says seriously. “And my parents are like that. They don’t meddle with my life. Nandyan lang sila para magpaalala pero kung ano ’yung decision ko, they support me.”
She takes a pause. Smiling, she continues, “And at the same time, tama naman sila pag nagkamali ako, natututo rin naman ako.”
Girl with love
"Na-realize ko, after having ended a really long-term relationship, na there’s so much in the world that I have yet to figure out.
Mas na-appreciate ko ’yung sarili ko na I can travel nang masaya alone, I can fangirl, and I can make other people happy with just the little things. "
Being in the showbiz industry for almost a decade, Winwyn knows that her every move would attract a few media scrutiny here and there—her love life included.
Her highly publicized break-up with Kapuso actor Mark Herras, for instance, has been covered by every news agency and tabloid early February of this year. It didn’t help that there were endless speculations about why the two have broken up. “Naka-filter kasi ’yung social media ko eh so I didn’t really read anything!” she confesses. “Siyempre bakit ko naman papahirapan ‘yung sarili ko kung i-Google ko pa? So, no I didn’t Google anything about the issue.
“Pero siyempre,” she sighs. “‘Pag may reporter na magtatanong sa akin kung bakit ang reason daw ganyan, I just say the truth.”
And the truth?
Winwyn settles it once and for all. “Hindi talaga nag-match ’yung priorities in life namin ngayon and it was really mutual,” she says. “Hindi na rin naman kami mga sixteen or seventeen years old na parang pa-tweetums. We ended it on the right note at hindi rin kami magkaaway.”
“If magkita kami, of course, I would say ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello’ but I don’t think we’d have a full-on conversation. I mean it’s still awkward, but we’re okay. Walang sama ng loob, walang anything,” she declares.
During the interview, Winwyn admits that it’s a bit hard for her to follow her dad’s 70-30 rule— 70% using her head and 30% using her heart—when it comes to relationships. But in all honesty, she says she is looking for someone who can “balance my life when it comes to decisions.”
She adds, “I want someone who is strong-willed, career-focused, goal-oriented, and wise din. Siyempre ’yung mabi-build namin ’yung future na ’yung nagwo-work kami together. Hindi puro love lang kasi hindi magsa-stand ang relationship if it’s just love that exists.”
As she lives a life with a newfound freedom, we couldn’t help but ask one thing—how did she manage to move on from her breakup?
“Two things,” she reveals. “BTS and going to Favor Church.”
These latest additions, Winwyn revealed, filled that void in her heart. And for her, the K-Pop boy group, God, and her family were certainly enough.
When you look at Winwyn’s Twitter page nowadays, her tweets are dedicated to the Korean boy group. At a glimpse, you can tell that she’s a huge fan to the point that when the topic was about the septet, the actress couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear.
“To be honest, walang echos, it helped me,” she says of the boy group. “Hindi ko masyadong naisip ’yung breakup because their music really helped me through a tough time. Nagulat nga ako na totoo pala siya kasi nababasa ko na ito ’yung effect to other people. So, for me masaya ako na na-experience ko rin.”
As for Favor Church, this was recently introduced by her cousin LJ Moreno and husband Jimmy Alapag who acted as her second parents during the breakup. “Parang inadopt nila ako para lang daw maaliw at para di ako malugmok,” she recalls. “Sila ang nagdala sa akin sa church and I’m very thankful for that because it did really help a lot.
“Every Sunday I would visit Favor and our pastor, Pastor James, helped me a lot by making me realize a lot of things and helping me create a relationship with God more than anything else.”
As if recounting her past actions, the actress couldn’t help but gush over the differences in her life in just a matter of months. “I mean, it sounds BTS-y, but I appreciate more things na maliliit na bagay ngayon. Thanks to Favor Church, thanks to my family, and thanks to BTS.
“Pero siyempre, ang ultimate diyan is my relationship with God now which I didn’t have before and I’m happy that I’m building a relationship with Him, more than anything.”
When asked if there’s something she learned about herself during and after the breakup, Winwyn struggles to find the right words to say.
“Kasi before, I was like my boyfriend lang dapat ’yung focus,” she confesses. “Kasi when I’m in a relationship, siya lang dapat ’yung focus and I give everything. Na, minsan nawawala na ’yung sarili ko na hindi ko rin napapansin na ’yun na pala ’yung nangyayari.”
Little by little, she has realized that it’s okay for her to figure things out even if it means doing it by and for herself.
“Na-realize ko, after having ended a really long-term relationship, na there’s so much in the world that I have yet to figure out. Mas na-appreciate ko ’yung sarili ko na I can travel nang masaya alone, I can fangirl, and I can make other people happy with just the little things.
“Akala ko noong kami ni Mark or when I’m in a relationship, dapat siya lang which shouldn’t be the case pala.”
As she closes that chapter of love in her life, Winwyn reassures that she has still a lot of love left to give, most especially to children.
As a recent graduate of Southville International School, she plans to utilize her Teacher’s Certificate Program to teach kids (her future kids included!) in the future. And the only thing that’s stopping her now is the Licensure Examination for Teachers that she has to take one of these days.
“I want to be a preschool teacher talaga,” she explains. “’Cause before, my dad wanted us to get a course na business so siyempre kinuha namin ’yung business management. I mean, I didn’t hate it, but it’s okay. Pero, I wanted sana to get an Early Childhood Course. And then, nung hindi ko siya nakuha nung college, sabi ko, ‘I wanted to study again. Kasi sayang... kasi ’yun na ’yung gusto kong gawin eh.’”
With great delight, Winwyn adds, “I love kids and I love babies! So sana sa next chapter ng life ko, maging certified preschool teacher or own my own preschool. And eventually ’yung kids ko dun din mag-aaral.”
Best of me
"Fifteen-year-old me, ‘wag kang matakot mag-take ng risk. Or well, sasabihin ko kumuha ka muna ng maraming life experience at ‘wag kang mag-settle down.
“Love yourself and you’ll have the best of me.”
“I don’t want people to think na, pag artista ka, artista ka lang,” the actress professes.
“Iniisip kasi nila, ‘Artista ka, bakit mo ginagawa ’yan?’ ‘Like why are you posting like a fan account?’ ‘Why are you doing this?’ ‘Hello? Image! Branding!’ ’yung ganyan.” Winwyn is currently pertaining to the barrage of tweets she received from bashers about her Twitter account,
“For other people, that’s okay. But for me, I like doing it because they make people happy and I’m happy. I’m interacting with them [ARMY] and learning about their experiences. And it’s nice!”
She claims that her fandom has led her to have many friends online and in turn, she plans to utilize her voice to share her new found faith. “ I think it’s good din that I have many friends now because I can share about how God changed me with other people di ba? So, ayaw ko rin na i-deprive ’yung sarili ko.
“It doesn’t matter to me if you think I’m an artista. I’m still the same me, online and offline, and I’m just a normal person.”
But to be clear, the actress wants to point that there is a difference between Winwyn and Teresita Ssen. If Beyoncé has Sasha Fierce, Winwyn definitely has an alter ego.
“When I’m on stage, nag-iiba kasi talaga ako—’yun si Teresita,” she explains. “Minsan nga pag Q and A sa pageants, napapaisip rin ako kung paano ko nasagot ’yun eh. From the way I walk to the way I move on stage, it’s very different.”
She then calls her personal assistant over, “As in kahit tanungin mo ’yung P.A. ko, pag naglalakad ako nang normal, naka-slouch ako di ba?” Her assistant nods to confirm this statement. “Tamad na tamad pero laging nakangiti. Pero, when I’m on stage, I’m a totally different person.
“Si Winwyn ngayon,” she continues, “siguro, change niya from before ay mas positive at mas na-appreciate niya ’yung little things in life. Ultimo the clouds, even the stars at night I say thanks, I say, ‘Thank you for this, it’s wonderful.’”
As the interview draws to a close, Winwyn couldn’t help but really reflect. “She’s come a long way,” she says of herself. From Winwyn who simply, 'wanted to dance and wanted to join pageants' to 'who’s comfortable in her own skin.'
“Fifteen-year-old me, ‘wag kang matakot mag-take ng risk. Or well, sasabihin ko kumuha ka muna ng maraming life experience at ‘wag kang mag-settle down.
“Kung ‘di ka nag-enjoy at dinepress mo lang ’yung sarili mo–like ’yung lahat ng failings, losing before, and hardships about my family or issues of my family, walang mangyayari at hindi ka magiging as positive as who you are today. So, fifteen-year-old Wyn, ngingiti ka rin.”
She then adds, “Love yourself and you’ll have the best of me.”
Indeed, Winwyn Marquez has come a long way. She’s unapologetically living her best life, continuously reinventing to be the best version of herself.
