An Inside Look at Ayen Munji-Laurel's Life as a Princess in Brunei

It's rare for Ayen Munji-Laurel to talk about her days as a princess in Brunei. The year was 1995 when Munji-Laurel married Prince Jefri Bolkiah, the younger brother of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Their marriage last for almost seven years, and ultimately ended in 2002 when the singer and actress filed for divorce. They have one son, Prince Hasan Bolkiah.

Life as a Princess

While on Updated With Nelson Canlas, Munji-Laurel looked back at her life in Brunei. “Every time I think about it, para siyang panaginip na lang, alam mo yun? Nangyari pala talaga to sa buhay ko na you did not really plan it. It wasn’t like… gusto kong makapag-asawa ng ganito, gusto ko ganyan. Hindi yun yung wish ko. Hindi talaga.”

These days, she laughs off discussions about her title as a princess. “Oo. Natatawa ako dun kasi, yun nga, like what I said, kasi ang tagal na.” But, her past life being brought up is unavoidable during interviews. “Like what I said, it’s like a dream right now, but you really cannot shake it off because you have a son with him. And then, also, part na talaga ng buhay ko. Yung buhay ko nun, kumbaga, they always ask kasi, ‘Is it like a fairy tale?’

“Fairy tale siguro sa mata ng iba. Kasi minsan naiisip… natatawa ako kasi ang concept nila is, like, probably like Cinderella…,” she continues. “Yung sa akin kasi, iba naman yun. Kasi I was married [to a man] who was a Muslim, so ibang-ibang-iba yung culture. Magka-clash, yeah. Kumbaga, nung time na yun, I had to convert kasi hindi kami puwedeng magpakasal if I was a Christian. So, alam naman niya yung belief ko and he said, ‘You do it coz it's part of the protocol.’ Nung time na yun and, of course, we wanted to be married. We were married for, like, it is almost seven years? Six years? Parang ganun.”

Lifestyle of a Princess in Brunei

There are still some who think that she married the Sultan ng Brunei instead of his younger brother. Munji-Laurel explains, “The ultimate question there, people would like to ask me up to now, ‘How was it when you were like a princess?’ Ito yung concept nito, kasi yung palasyong sinasabi nila, hindi yun palasyo. Kasi yung palasyo, yun yung sa kapatid niya, yung Sultan, yung Palace. Married ako dun sa kapatid nung Sultan, hindi yung Sultan, kasi nalilito sila dun, e. And then, yung youngest brother. Fairy tale na rin naman if you will call it, that you’re married to someone like the prince.”

She adds that many ask her about her lifestyle as a princess. “And then, yung lifestyle, laging kinukuwestiyon, 'Kumusta yung buhay mo nun, yung material things that you get?’ Those are, like, the questions... Sabi ko, ‘Alam mo, those things hindi ka mapapasaya nun talaga kasi akala… Wow you have this, you have that,’ nung panahon na yun. Dumating ako sa time na hindi naman yun yung gusto ko, e. Kung binibigay sa yo, nagpapasalamat ka. Pero those are the things na hindi magpagpasaya sa yo.

“Maybe for a while, maybe for five minutes, ‘Oh, I’m so happy you have these things,’ you know, you bought this, you can afford to buy this, or what have you nung time na yun,” she says. “Pero, hindi yun ang definition ng happiness. It is so temporary. You will always look for permanence. You would always look for someone who’s there for you na alam mong nandiyan sa yo, sa buhay mo. Yung mga material things na akala mo maku-cover up yung longing mo, yung wala ka, hindi, e.”

She later realized that this wasn't what she wanted—the things she thought would make her happy. “Pero I always had, okay, I always had fun when I am being asked questions, ‘Oh, how were you when you’re shopping?’ Ganyan-ganyan. Sabi ko, merong taong nakasunod sa akin pag nagsa-shopping ako. Kasi ngayon, pag nagsa-shopping ka, ayokong may kasama ako. Even yung asawa ko [Franco Laurel], alam niyang ayaw niyang sinasamahan ako. Pag nagsa-shopping ako, mag-isa ako.”

Not Happy Living as a Princess?

Munji-Laurel looked back more about shopping and eating at home in those days. “Nung panahon na yun, laging may nakabantay sa yo, wala kang privacy. Kasi lahat ng ginagawa ko, may nakabantay. Even pag kumakain ako, may nakatingin sa aking ganun na… Totoo yun na habang kumakain ako, may tao sa likod ko, ‘Puwede ba akong kumain na walang nakatayo sa likod ko?’

“And then, when they talk to you, they kneel down. They’ll talk to you while they're kneeling down,” she says. “Inalis ko yun sa household ko, actually.”

She told her servants and maids that when they're talking to her, to not do that. But that when Prince Jefri was there, they should follow protocol. She explains, “Mas gusto ko yung para tayong pamilya.”

How was shopping really like, though? According to Munji-Laurel, “Bonggang shopping? Yung shopping kasi nung time na yun, hindi ako yung nagbabayad. Yung assistant ko will go. Hindi ako naglalabas ng credit card o cash, sila na yung magbabayad. Kasi they want me out of the shop when it’s paying time. Very seldom yung ako yung nandun. So, ituturo ko lang kung ano yung gusto ko, kung ano yung bibilhin ko… Ituturo ko lang, ‘I want this and this and that,’ exit na ako. And then yung assistant ko would go and pay.”

Munji-Laurel did have a wallet but she didn't count the U.S. dollars or U.K. pounds inside it. “Actually ang sarap mag-shopping nung mga panahon na yun abroad, naalala ko pa.” She would buy classic styles, not trendy items. “Marami akong pinamili noon na alam mong hindi maluluma,” she says.

Breaking Protocol

Was it true that she couldn't leave the palace? “Nung una, siyempre hindi pa ako kasal nun, parang pag hindi mo kailangan lumabas, you don’t,” Munji-Laurel answered. “And then, kung meron akong kailangang gawin, ipapagawa mo. I think it's part of protecting me during that time because I wasn’t married yet. They’re preparing me for marriage during that time. And then, nung nagkaaanak na kami, I was married na, I go out naman, pero hindi there.”

“Usually, I shop, I go somewhere else, not there kasi wala namang masyadong nabibili doon. So, I go out of the country if I shop. Pero totoo yun na hindi yung kung saan-saan ka nakikita. Hindi yung pupunta sa mall mag-isa. And if ever noong time na yun lalabas ka, there was a time na patago,” she says.

There was one time, Munji-Laurel says, that her assistant helped her escape. Bunches of cloth were thrown over her and she ran into the trunk of her assistant's car as this was during a time when she couldn't leave. All she wanted to do was eat hot pot. “If you want to eat daw, bring it to the house or something na, ‘Have it made sa bahay.’ Kung saan ako nakatira during that time,” she says.

From: PEP.ph