NEWSFLASH

---

MARTIN TRYING HARD TO WIN BACK POPS

Manila, Oct. 16, 1998 - If lives of showbiz personalities were soap operas, the one with the highest ratings these days would be the long-running drama of the estranged husband-and-wife team Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez.

As much as the two would like to keep their problems to themselves, many of the highlights of their married life happened before live TV cameras and broadcast nationwide. Several months ago, Martin announced on TV that he was leaving the country to find himself after hurting his best friend, his wife. He returned to the Philippines last month.

The last episode of this real-life romance, during the Star Awards presentation, brought tears to the eyes of Pops and her fans, and hope in many that the two are on the way to a happy reconciliation.

Martin revealed in a radio interview that he had requested the people behind the Star Awards presentation at the UP Theater to call him and Pops to the stage at the same time, should they both win in the Best Male and Best Female TV Hosts category so that they would be on the stage together.

They won, they were called to the stage at the same time, and that gave Martin a chance to read a very tender, emotional poem he wrote specially for Pops that night. He wrote the poem while nervously waiting for the winners to be announced.

He left after their tearful reunion onstage, saying he did not want Pops to feel uncomfortable backstage where they talked and cried. He confessed that he was in tears as he drove from the theater.

After the awards, he had a late dinner with Pops, who was with Charlene Gonzales and Nadia Montenegro.

Pops had earlier backed out of a challenging role in a movie to be directed by and starring Richard Gomez. Speculations were that she did not want to displease Martin and members of her church group.

---