Pinoy pair oldest couple in UAE mass wedding

Two Filipino sweethearts, who were parted for 27 years because of circumstances, got married at a mass wedding in the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

Salesman Tomas Tolentino Jr., 49, and teacher Rowena Macaraeg, 47, were among the 37 couples took part in the mass wedding, UAE news site Gulf News reported Tuesday.

Most of the couples were Filipino, though there were pairs from India, Nepal and Africa.

Macaraeg and Tolentino were the oldest couple at the mass wedding, wedding organizer Emolyn Bucsit said.

“I guess this is fate, this is God’s plan for us,” said Macaraeg, who wore a white wedding dress she had custom-made in Sharjah.

The two first met in Caloocan City where they both grew up. They lost touch after Tolentino's family migrated to Samar after his mother fell ill.

When they met again in 1986, Macaraeg was about to marry Tolentino's childhood friend.

Both then went their separate ways, with Macaraeg giving birth to five children now aged 14 to 25, and Tolentino marrying and having two children now aged 17 to 19.

However, Macaraeg's husband was murdered in 2007, while Tolentino's wife died in an accident in 2009.

In 2010, the romance between the two was revived when Macaraeg, then a preschool teacher in Al Mankhool, went on holiday in Manila and re-connected with Tolentino.

Both started exchanging text messages, calling each other either through the phone or through Skype.

They married in a civil ceremony at the Quezon City Hall in April 2012.

Macaraeg then sponsored Tolentino's move to Dubai.

Gulf News said the two were now grandparents, but were not discounting the possibility of having their own children.

“We’re quite old, but we’re not ruling anything out — though I don’t imagine it would be odd for our kids to playing — or fighting with our grandchildren,” said Macaraeg. — DVM, GMA News

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