Former actor Richard Merck announced that he was the legal and current husband of the late National Artist Nora Aunor.
In an interview with Pep.ph, Richard said that he married Nora when they traveled to Las Vegas in 1988 to watch a concert.
“I apologized so much to her…Kasi, I left her without saying goodbye,” said Richard.
“Iyon ang pinakaano, e, tingin ko na nagawa kong pagkukulang—na umalis akong walang paalam,” he added.
However, their relationship ended, but Richard reiterated that their marriage had never ended legally.
“So sayang nga, e. We lost a superstar. I lost my ex-wife. We were married, you know. In Vegas,” he said.
“So, we were not divorced. We never went to Vegas to divorce. So, malungkot.” he added.
Richard said that his relationship with Nora started when he became her vocal coach.
The statement made by Richard surprised even the Noranians, as they were only aware of Nora’s relationship with Christopher de Leon.
Nora and Christopher’s divorce was not finalized until 1996, which automatically invalidated her marriage to Richard, which had occurred in 1988.
As of the time of writing, Nora’s family has yet to confirm the claims made by Richard.