Many were surprised by the revelation of former sexy star Sabrina M about her two-year secret relationship with former matinee idol Rico Yan. Rico Yan passed away on March 29, 2002 while on vacation in Palawan with his best friend Dominic Ochoa and his then-girlfriend Janna Victoria. Sabrina revealed their secret relationship in 2021, but it was not given much attention at the time, perhaps because people were busy dealing with their own problems brought about by the pandemic.

Now that life has returned to normal, many are interested in the truth behind Sabrina’s statements about Rico Yan. For those who were not born yet when Rico became famous and passed away, Rico was a former matinee idol who was paired with both Judy Ann Santos and Claudine Barretto. He was also the first youth spokesperson for the Department of Education Culture and Sports in 1998. Before his rise to fame, he worked as a commercial model through Eskinol Master. He came from a military family, with his grandfather General Manuel Yan Sr. and his uncle General Edgar Aglipay. He also graduated with a degree in Marketing Management from DLSU in 1997. Rico Yan had a wholesome image that was further adored by fans when he became the boyfriend of his screen partner Claudine Barretto in 1998. Claudine was at the peak of her career as the queen of ABS-CBN and had a wide fan base.

There were rumors back in November 2001 that Claudine and Rico had already broken up while the production of “Got To Believe” was still ongoing. However, they managed to keep their breakup hidden from the public until it premiered in February 2002. There were also rumors of intense fights between them in Claudine Barretto’s condo, possibly because Claudine did not want to reconcile with Rico. There were hints of a lovers’ quarrel due to jealousy, and some initially thought it was the younger sister of her politician best friend, who was still a teenager at the time. Sabrina’s name also came up, but fans didn’t take it seriously, thinking that Rico wouldn’t fall in love with a sexy star.

Sabrina insists that she was not the third party or the cause of Rico and Claudine’s breakup. She also stated that Bobby Yan, Rico’s brother, and Claudine Barretto herself were aware that she was Rico’s secret girlfriend. However, what seems to be slightly conflicting is her statement that she and Rico were in a two-year relationship before he passed away. If true, it means that Rico’s relationship with Sabrina overlapped with his relationship with Claudine, and it also gives a clue that Rico was not faithful to Claudine.

During Rico’s wake, the Yan family had a cold treatment towards Claudine. She needed to be accompanied by her sisters Gretchen and Marjorie. Claudine was not in the front row and was just mixed in with the majority of mourners. Sabrina did not mention where she was positioned during Rico’s wake, but she mentioned that Bobby handed her a flower to drop as Rico’s casket was lowered. Claudine did not approach while Rico was being buried as there was a tension between her and the Yans.

Over the course of 21 years, there has been a judgment against Claudine that she was the cause of Rico Yan’s depression, and then later to his death by acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. It was not reported if Rico was aware that Raymart and Claudine were together in Subic while he was in Palawan. Claudine stated that they would talk after the Holy Week to discuss what needs to be discussed and fix what needs to be fixed.

Rico may have had a relationship with Sabrina, but it was Claudine whom he truly loved, which is why he wanted to fix everything, especially when he heard that Raymart Santiago was getting close to Claudine. Claudine swallowed all the criticisms, and perhaps there was guilt because Rico passed away without them having closure. Hence, she never forgot Rico after all these years.

Even though Rico passed away 21 years ago, he is still being talked about because, generally, he was a nice man. If he did have another girlfriend while he was still with Claudine, I think he deeply regretted hurting his greatest love. Perhaps he also loved Sabrina, but not to the extent of his love for Claudine, so who are we to judge Sabrina if there was indeed something between her and Rico.

There is only one thing clear in this story: Rico was a well-loved man, and anybody would love to reminisce the happy memories they had with him.