14 minutes. I haven’t been training as intensively as I used
to—I’ve already retired from active competition—but I
finished the course in 12 minutes, 11 seconds.”
An interior designer by profession, the Sea Princess
maintains a column for the Philippine Daily Inquirer,
hosts events, attends socials, joins triathlons, and enjoys
yoga and Zumba. “My weeks are never really the same
because of my crazy schedule—which is so crazy that I
used to tell my kids I worked as a night nurse because
I was always out!” she says with a laugh. Also active in
charity work, she has her annual Red Charity Gala, a
fashion event that showcases the best of Filipino design
while raising funds for the projects of the Philippine Red
Cross and Assumption College Batch ’81 Foundation.
Tessa finds sanctuary in religion and spirituality. She is
devout to her faith, but is also a firm believer in Feng
Shui, meditation, and reiki healing.
As a pair, they balance each other out. Ever-tolerant
and patient, Dennis remains a constant, solid presence
by Tessa’s side—and she understands that it isn’t always
easy to have her as a wife. “Because of my costumes and
my ever-changing hair colour, he often jokes that he’s
married to a different woman every night,” she says.
“But even though I am so flamboyant and over-the-top,
Dennis lets me be me; that is how confident and loving
he is.” He celebrates her as a writer, too, having surprised
her with Tessa: Ten Times Ten, a book chronicling some
of her most memorable written works for her column.
Tessa looks back on it with fondness; it is no easy feat to
keep things secret from her, and Dennis managed to do
so—with the help of close friends and family members,
some of whom penned the chapter introductions for
the book—for a year. “We concealed the launch from
her under the pretense that Virgie Ramos had asked her
to come to National Book Store to host an event for a
Sheaffer pen!” he recalls. In turn, Tessa is his staunchest
supporter—so much so that she has been encouraging
him to go back to underwater hockey training upon
finding out his impressive finish time.
They have worked their way through the intricacies
and demands of marriage, all the way down to the detail
of perfecting their pre-event preparation rituals. Everyone
who knows Tessa understands her love for glamming up; she
has been doing so for years, but still lights up like a child on
Christmas Day when asked about her costumes and grand-
themed parties. “I take ages to get ready, and he has mastered
the waiting process,” says Tessa. “Dennis will ask, ‘Honey, are
you ready?’ and if I respond with ‘I’m almost ready,’ that’s his
go signal to get dressed. Why? Because my ‘almost’ entails
another 30 minutes!” And once they arrive, Dennis
waits for Tessa to have her solo moment before making his
own entrance—then they walk into the event together.
When it comes to family matters, they are a solid unit.
Their four children (Bryan, Tyrone, Annika, and Athena) are
the centre of their universe. “Because our kids are so spaced
apart—there is a 20-year gap between Bryan and Athena—
the method of parenting we apply can vary,” Tessa shares. “It
can be challenging, but it is also a fun learning experience.
All four of them are at different stages in their lives; Bryan,
for example, got married last year, while Annika, who is very
much into film, just graduated from university. We let them
be their own persons; we don’t want them to shortchange
themselves because of any expectations they think we might
have.” Dennis (whom Tessa claims is the better disciplinarian
between the two of them) also believes that it is important
to give them something constant to look forward to, hence
their yearly Easter and Christmas family vacations. Their
shared love for the ocean runs in the blood, and activities
such as swimming, parasailing, windsurfing, and, of course,
diving are enjoyed by all. For the Prieto-Valdes clan,
weekends are reserved for family. Time for just the two
of them is just as important—though, with all the things
they have going on, has become more and more difficult to
squeeze into their schedules.
For their milestone anniversaries, support for a
charitable initiative close to their hearts is requested in
lieu of gifts. When they celebrated 20 years, they raised
money to build 20 homes in Samar. This time around,“Because of my costumes and my ever-changing hair
colour, he often jokes that he’s married to a different
woman every night. But even though I am so flamboyant
and over-the-top, Dennis lets me be me; that is how
confident and loving he is”
—Tessa Prieto-Valdes