Ruffa: Wives are 'owned' in my husband's culture

"I told him, buti pa no'ng mag-boyfriend pa lang kami, we'd go out, we'd party, we'd go to bars... Now it's like parang mas naging seloso, kasi sa culture nila, it's like they own you," said Ruffa Gutierrez about her estranged husband Yilmaz Bektas in a conversation with YES! editor-in-chief Jo-Ann Maglipon on May 9. A day before, on May 8, an official statement was sent to the media: "It is with much regret that Ruffa Gutierrez and Yilmaz Bektas announce their mutual decision to end their four years of marriage." Since that fateful day, Ruffa and Jo-Ann have talked and texted about the issue at hand. On May 9, Gretchen Barretto, Ruffa's long-time friend, sponsored a merienda for a handful of showbiz friends. "There is no business at hand, there is only feast," wrote Jo-Ann. The mood was cheery. Perhaps that was the objective—to make Ruffa laugh and momentarily forget what had just happened to her marriage with her "Lovey." It was only a month before that YES! had Ruffa for their cover. "And now I'm cramming, trying to pack my stuff for the Easter break. Ooh I can't wait to be in the loving arms of my Lovey Dovey once again," said the former Miss World Second Princess in an interview with YES! on March 31. "The things you said to YES! in March—were they for real?" Jo-Ann couldn't help but ask. Ruffa answered, "Yes! That is all real, that is the truth. Mga kuwento ko about Yilmaz were real... In December 2006, we were fine. Why should I pretend? Life is so short! Either we're together or we're not. Why fake it?" She added, "When we had the YES! pictorial in March, we already had problems, but I don't like talking about my private life. And it was a fashion shoot, so alangan naman I make drama there." The merienda a la Greta—served in antique China—turned into a seven-hour chitchat between friends. Ruffa, who is beautiful even in pain, talked about the four-year marriage, the away-bati moments, and the controversial "cultural differences." YES! is the first and only magazine to bring a close-up look at Ruffa's life. Now available in bookstores and newsstands! - Philippine Entertainment Portal