When you’re in a long-distance relationship (LDR), the old expression “Absence should be long enough for someone to miss you but it should not be too long for someone to learn to live without you” should always be kept in mind. It is kind of a joke that the absence can make the heart grow fonder because if the absence is too long, the heart learns to move on and learn to love again.
For overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the excitement of LDR has always a counterpart and those are the challenges faced by them. Oftentimes, the one left behind in the Philippines seeks for love or the one who left for work abroad is the one falling for another.
This is often the scenario for couples in LDR who are undergoing breakups and problems in their relationships like the couple Jonel and Jairah Belen whose story was featured in Raffy Tulfo in Action just recently.
Jairah Belen is a housewife with two children who are five years old and 11 months old. She is married to Jonel Belen who is a seaman whose contract lasts for nine to 10 months. Jairah went to Tulfo for help because she suspected that her husband Jonel was having an illegal affair with a woman named Raya Real and claimed that she could not talk to her husband seriously, thus she sought Tulfo’s mediation.
Initially, Jairah complained to Tulfo about her husband Jonel who bought a tricycle for his father and bought other things for his family rather than buying for her and their two children.
When Jonel was interviewed by Tulfo he admitted that he bought a tricycle for his father as he promised this to him and he stressed that he and his wife Jairah had already an agreement about this matter.
Jonel said for the three contracts he had, he never missed giving his wife and his children their allotment worth 20,000 pesos, which Jairah also proved it correct. However, due to Jairah’s attitude of constant talking as alleged by Jonel and the distance factor as well, he somehow lost his love for her and fell for another woman in the person of Raya Real.
Raya Real admitted on the phone that she had an affair with Jonel but she claimed she had already ended up with him, which Jonel also proved they have already broken up for good. Raya said harsh words to Jairah over the phone interview and even blamed her for losing her husband to her, which Tulfo reproved and reprimanded Raya for it.
Jonel and Jairah are not living together through the course of their marriage. Jonel lives with his parents while Jairah lives with her parents in Bicol. Jonel claimed he wanted Jairah and their children to live with his family in Manila but Jairah disagreed because she wanted to live alone with her children and her husband, which Jonel failed to do because he had not acquired a home for them.
Tulfo’s interview with Jonel and Jairah ended with both saying sorry to each other and forgiving each other and they both signified their intention for reconciliation and getting back together in the future. Jonel said they just needed time and space.
For couples who really want to keep their relationship stable and strong, it is a requirement that they should live together to cultivate the love and relationship. Each partner should work to make the relationship last. It is not a work of only one partner. A relationship always involves two parties working hand in hand. Like they say, it always takes two hands to clap.
Source: Raffy Tulfo in Action
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