Actor and TV host Jhong Hilario has filed a petition at the Makati Regional Trial Court seeking recognition of his divorce from his foreign wife Michelle Westgate.
Hilario, whose previous marriage was kept from public knowledge, revealed that the couple never lived together and did not have any children.
Hilario and his former wife met during the production of ‘Miss Saigon’ in the Philippines, where she worked as a wardrobe mistress. Due to the distance and circumstances preventing Hilario from joining his wife in Norway, they decided to divorce.
Philippine law does recognize divorces obtained by Filipino citizens from their foreign spouses in countries where divorce is legal. Despite this, Hilario’s case requires court intervention to update local records. The court must instruct the civil registrar in Makati, where the marriage was recorded, to remove it from their records. Additionally, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) must be directed to issue Hilario a Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR), a document necessary for his potential remarriage.
Hilario, who now has a live-in partner and a child, wishes to marry his current partner officially, especially since his previous marriage has been dissolved for some time.