A childhood remark meant to wound became the seed of an ambition that paid off years later, according to Ryzza Mae Dizon, who recounted on a recent episode of “Toni Talks” how she eventually purchased the very house where she was once made to feel small.
The “Eat Bulaga” co-host told host Toni Gonzaga that the turning point traced back to an accident during a visit to a well-off neighbor. A grandchild of the family had arrived from abroad, and while the two children played, Dizon brushed against a vase. The reaction from the household stayed with her. “Meron pong kapitbahay kami na malaki ang bahay tapos may balikbayan siyang apo na dumating, nakipaglaro po ako. Tapos medyo nasagi po ‘yung vase. Nasabihan po ako ng ‘Mas mahal pa ‘yan sa buhay mo.’ Parang tumatak po ‘yun sa akin na balang araw magsisipag talaga ako para ‘di ako masabihan ng ganu’n,” she said.
By her account, she was only about five or six at the time, before her run on the noontime program began. Gonzaga used the moment to point out how lasting an offhand comment can be on a young child, noting that such words can follow someone well into adulthood.
What gave the story its weight, Dizon said, was how it resolved. She was clear that the memory never faded, framing it instead as something with an unexpected outcome. “Hindi ko po kinalimutan ‘yun. May plot twist ‘yun, Ms. Toni,” she told the host.
Pressed on what that twist was, Dizon delivered it plainly: after her success on “Eat Bulaga,” she bought the neighbors’ house. “Nu’ng nanalo po ako, nabili ko po ‘yung bahay nila,” she said.
Now 20, Dizon rose to fame after winning Little Miss Philippines on “Eat Bulaga” in 2012, a victory that launched a career spanning film, hosting, and her own GMA talk show.
