I remember that I was still young when Rustom Padilla, brother to action stars Robin and Royette Padilla, started in show business. He used to work as a flight attendant for Philippine Airlines. My mother remembered him during one of his flights and my mom says that he is really handsome.

Then he married former teen sweetheart Carmina Villaroel and they have stayed together for several years, although they didn’t have children. From the onset, who would have thought that Rustom was …or is …gay. It was not actually clear if that was the reason why he and Carmina separated, with Carmina eventually marrying another hunk, Zoren Legaspi. But there were rumors then that indeed Rustom was gay.

The big news came when during one emotional moment with Keana in the Pinoy Big Brother house celebrity edition, Rustom confessed that indeed he is gay and he then narrated how he came to know that he was different from his rather macho brothers.

He tried to live the normal life, like a real man, got married to a pretty girl, but I guess, it was not enough to hide the things that were boiling inside of him.

But this year was the worst. He came home from a short stay in New York, and when he came back, Rustom became an entirely different person. He became Bebe Gandanghari–he dressed differently, talked differently, moved differently. When asked where Rustom is, he said Rustom is dead. I dunno what happened in between or who he met while he was in America, but somehow, Rustom transformed, like a butterfly from a caterpillar. That is how drastic his change became.

He is now a fashion model, fulfilling probably his childhood dreams of becoming a woman. He denies getting a sex change procedure.

Anyway, I could not imagine being in Carmina’s shoes. The guys I had loved and married and had sex with in the past turned out to be literally a closet queen.

I don’t want to make judgments on Rustom, it is not my call. I just wonder, has neurosis really set in? Why the sudden change?

Anyway, Rustom seems very happy with his new self. And people are just accepting him. We are just having difficulty explaining the fact to our 3-year-old nephew.

Actress, TV host, and product endorser Carmina Villaroel has long since been separated with former husband Rustom Padilla and has moved on with her life and has since enjoyed a seemingly happy marriage with the hunk of an actor Zoren Legaspi, with whom she has two kids–fraternal twins in fact.

Bbut I wonder, does any of the changes in her former husband affect her in any way? I mean, wow, once in your life, you have been married to this guy for several years. The only thing missing in their marriage was kids. She has slept with the guy, seen him, talked to him, smelled him etc…And now, he is sexier than you. How about that?

Rustom came out in the open on national TV (including Filipinos abroad, if you count TFC) that he is gay. There were already rumors in the past about his sexuality, and that people say, it was the reason why his marriage with Carmina didn’t work. Then the rumors died down and Carmina went on with life.

But this year, Rustom came home from a short stay in the United States. His arrival at the international airport was not discreet at all. He arrived in full regalia, like he just stepped out of the pages of the high fashion magazine, Vogue. Since then he has been granting interviews as Ms. Bebe Gandanghari, claiming that Rustom is dead, but denying that he has had a sex change.

And I wondered how Carmina has taken all of that. Sure, she said on TV that she is happy for Rustom, but how is she during her private moments?

Thankfully, Carmina seems to be taking everything wonderfully. I guess I can say that she is really happy and content with her own marriage and family life right now that things like that do not bother her anymore. She deserves to be happy, every woman does. Or she was not really surprised and already saw this coming from way back and has already prepared herself for this?

Well, I am hoping for the best for Carmina and her family, but I can’t say the same for Rustom. I can’t what best I can wish for him in his present state–that he gets more modeling offers?

When Rustom Padilla bravely admitted on national television (via the Pinoy Big Brother celebrity edition) that he is indeed gay, the whole world changed for the Padilla family. Even his brother Robin went to the Big Brother studio and attempted to make a scene.

But hey, who can deny the fact that Rustom has finally come to himself and was able to admit his sexuality? Anyway, a lot of things have happened since then. But not as dramatic as what happened early this year.

I saw on the news that Rustom went to the United States, in New York specifically, for some modeling lessons, or something. When he came back, he looked like he stepped out of the pages of Vogue. On TV Patrol, it was reported that he made such an arrival at the International Airport that the press and the people were starry eyed. Tall and statuesque and in red suit, Rustom caught the eye of everyone in his all red leather outfit.

But Rustom did not come back as Rustom Padilla–he came back a sophisticated and glamorous (I won’t say woman) Bebe Gandanghari.

Lately, when I go to the malls, I see gay men parading in really fashionable outfits. Whereas before, yeah, I see their futile attempts at dressing like women, now they have more taste in mixing and matching their outfits. Well, I guess I can say that Bebe Gandanghari has had a huge influence on them.

As for me, here I am a woman who doesn’t mind her looks and with short hair, whereas gay man are strutting like supermodels in the mall. What an irony of life!

I am not judging them. I respect their choices. It is not for me to judge. But I have to admit, they have a better taste in fashion than me. And boy, well, they look good in those clothes.

As for Bebe, he is now enjoying his new career as a fashion model. He has had several pictorials already since he got back to the Philippines. He is just starting his career as a new person. The old has gone, the new has finally arrived.