Jinkee Pacquiao: The lady is also a champ

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Jinkee Pacquiao: The lady is also a champ

Thrust into a world of opulence that she never imagined in her wildest dreams, Jinkee Pacquiao eventually learned that the best way to experience the good life is to take everything in stride.

When the People Asia team found out that Maria Geraldine “Jinkee” Pacquiao – wife of the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer Manny Pacquiao – has agreed to a pictorial, the preparation was unlike any other. After all, the lady is very hard to pin down, what with the couple’s very hectic schedule. It was what we deemed a “mission impossible” assignment. But in the end, just like Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise’s character in the Mission Impossible movies) we conquered the assignment and, we’d like to think, even won the lady over.

Round One

For someone who grew up in a middle-class family in South Cotabato’s General Santos City, the past five years for Jinkee and family might as well have been a gift from a benevolent genie.

But the life that she leads now did not appear with just a flick of a finger. It was gained through the blood, sweat and tears of her husband. And in Manny’s every bout – win or lose – Jinkee was there to stand by her man. Not a frail flower, this one, even revealing that she’s not afraid of the sight of blood and has gotten used to watching her husband in a fight.

Married for almost 10 years now, Jinkee recalls the first time she met Manny. It was when she was working in a mall in GenSan. One of her uncles was Manny’s trainer and it was inevitable that the two should meet. But for Jinkee, there was no spark on their first meeting.

“Nag-hi, hello lang kami. ‘Nong time na yon may girlfriend siya. Bumibili siya ng gift para sa girlfriend niya. (We only said hi and hello because at that time he already had a girlfriend and he was buying a gift for her.)”

But there was one quality in Manny that won Jinkee over. “Nong nakilala ko siya, tahimik siya, hindi mayabang. Gusto ko yong mga ganon, hindi nagsasalita. Pero ngayon madaldal na! (When I first met him, he was a quiet man, not conceited. I liked it that he’s the silent type. But now he’s so talkative!),” jokes Jinkee.

Now with their new lifestyle, Jinkee is trying her best to adjust to the number of people who would often visit her husband, asking for all kinds of advice, and given the fact that Manny has a generous nature, some would even ask for monetary assistance. For such a private person, it is understandable if she finds it quite difficult to accept the situation.

“May mga tao akong hindi gusto at sinasabi ko minsan na hindi pwedeng papasukin. Pero kay Manny sila tumatawag, kinukulit siya. So wala na akong magagawa. Ayoko namang mag-away kami dahil lang don. Ang hirap noh? Yon pa naman yong ayaw ko, yong maraming tao. (There are people that I don’t like but they would go directly to Manny and ask him if they could come to the house. And I wouldn’t want us to have a fight just because of that. It’s so hard. But that’s what I don’t like, having too many people around us.),” reveals Jinkee with disarming candor.

And though she’s a quiet person herself, the champ’s wife doesn’t pull any punches when she has something on her mind. She shares that there are times when she doesn’t feel like facing a crowd or even going out to big events.

“Ayaw kong mag-pretend na okay kung hindi naman ako okay. Kaya minsan pinagsasabihan ako ng mga kapatid ko na kapag naka-TV ako, dapat hindi nakikita sa mukha ko na galit ako. Kasi minsan daw halata. Ang hirap nga. (I don’t want to pretend that I’m okay when I am not. My family often tells me that I should try to hide my emotions when I’m on camera because I can be so transparent. So it’s hard for me.)”

Love Thyself

Jinkee eventually learned to cope with the situation and ultimately started to enjoy the benefits. As a matter of fact, she now endorses the Belo Medical Clinic and has tried out their new slimming program, losing 15 lbs in the process.

“Before kasi hindi ako masyadong nagpapaganda. Kasi dati naka-focus lang ako kay Manny. Parang napabayaan ko na yong sarili ko. Lagi akong nakasunod at nakabantay. Hindi pala dapat. Useless (Before, I wasn’t really into making myself look pretty. Back then, I was so focused on Manny, that’s why I’ve neglected myself. I was always keeping my husband company, looking after him. And I realized it was useless),” reveals the 30-year-old, adding, “Naisip ko lang na syempre kapag si Manny ang kasama ko, kailangan rin alagaan ko yong sarili ko. Kailangan mag-ayos, magpa-sexy. Di ba ganon yon? Kailangan mahalin mo muna yong sarili mo. Huwag magpabaya. (I just realized that if I’m to be seen with Manny, I would have to take care of myself first. Fix myself up and be sexy. Isn’t that the way it should be? I have to love myself first.)”

And now that she’s the mother of four – Michael, Jimwell, Mary Divine Grace (nicknamed Princess) and Queen Elizabeth – Jinkee feels the need all the more to take care of herself. She discloses that she tries to play badminton regularly to keep fit and there’s a treadmill in her room so she can exercise any time she wants to.

Her choice of clothes, however, is sometimes the bone of contention between husband and wife. Jinkee, we found out, loves white and yellow and would often choose clothes that inadvertently her husband would not approve of. “Minsan pag nagsuot ako ng maikli, sinasabi niya, ‘Sige maghubad ka na lang.’ O kapag nakikita yong likod ko. Minsan sa shorts pumapayag siya, huwag lang maikli. Pero masama pa rin ang tingin. (When I’m wearing something short, he’ll often say ‘Why don’t you just go naked.’ He’s okay when I wear shorts, not just too short),” candidly shares Jinkee with a smile.

New Venture

Now that her husband has revealed his plans to again run for Congress, this time in Mindanao’s Sarangani province, Jinkee it seems, has resigned herself to becoming a politician’s wife. After all, she admits that once Manny has made up his mind, it can be quite hard to convince him otherwise.

“Men are hard to control. Maybe when we first started out, I still had power over him but I think that’s gone now,” shares Jinkee.

Though she adds that when the two have a tiff, Manny will be the first one to succumb and plead for her forgiveness by asking her to feed him. But when she won’t budge, the world champ would make her feel guilty by saying “Hindi ka na marunong maawa. Bato ba yang puso mo? (You don’t know how to forgive. Do you have a heart of stone?)”

In the end, Jinkee will often give in. This is her nature. She’s the kind of wife and mother who – amidst all the wealth and opulence surrounding her – would rather be in her hometown, wishing to rear her kids away from the spotlight. But for now, she’s learned to cope, fight her own battles and show that in her own way, she is also a champ.

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