Segunda Katigbak

First love never dies they say—unless your first love is already engaged to be married when you meet. Then you have to let it go really fast. Such was the
case of Jose Rizal and Segunda Katigbak, a Batangueña, whom Rizal met when he was only a 16-year-old boy.

They met when the young hero visited his grandmother with his friend, Mariano Katigbak, Segunda’s brother. The Katigbaks were close to Rizal’s
grandmother, and coincidentally, Segunda was at the grandma’s house when Rizal and Mariano arrived. It was attraction at first sight. Segunda was also a
close friend of Rizal’s sister, Olympia, whom he visited every week at the La Concordia College. The two became very close. However, Segunda was
already engaged to be married to a man who lived in her town, and Rizal had to stop pursuing her.

Leonor Valenzuela

Leonor “Orang” Valenzuela, Rizal’s second object of affection, is literally the girl-next-door. They met when Rizal was a sophomore medical student at
the University of Santo Tomas, during which time he also lived at Doña Concha Leyva’s boarding house in Intramuros, Manila. Orang, who was then
14 years old, was his neighbor.

During the courtship, Rizal was said to have sent Leonor private and secret love letters, which he wrote using invisible ink made with water and salt—
he was adept in chemistry, too. To read the letters, Orang had to heat the letter over a candle or a lamp.Rizal also frequented the Valenzuelas’ home,
which was a hang out place of the students in the area.

Some accounts say he was courting Leonor Valenzuela and and his second cousin Leonor Rivera at the same time. Rivera apparently knew of this and
gave way to Rivera’s attraction for Rizal.

Leonor Rivera

Leanor Rivera and Jose Rizal lived the tragedies of Shakespeare’s poems.

They met when Rizal was 18 and Leonor was 13, at the boarding house of Rizal’s uncle in Intramuros, Manila. Leonor was Rizal’s second
cousin.

It was a perfect love story in the beginning: he, the intelligent charmer, and she, the beautiful student who had a beautiful singing voice and was a talented
piano player. Soon, they fell in love. But as tragic love stories go, they were besieged by obstacles. Leonor’s parents highly disapproved of their
relationship as they were wary of Rizal being a “filibuster.” In his letters, Rizal called Leonor “Taimis” to hide her identity.

Before leaving for Europe in 1882, Rizal said that he had found the woman he wanted to marry. But even his brother, Paciano Rizal, disagreed with the
idea, saying that it would be unfair to Leonor if he were to leave her behind after getting married.

Although they did not get married, they tried to continue sending each other love letters, a lot of which were intercepted and kept hidden by Leonor’s
mother. In 1890, Leonor wrote a letter to Rizal saying that she was engaged to be married to a British engineer named Henry Kipping. That same
year, the wedding pushed through. It is believed that Rizal immortalized Leonor through the character Maria Clara in Noli Me Tangere.

4 Consuelo Ortega Y Rey

Consuelo Ortega Y Rey was the daughter of Don Pablo Ortiga Y Rey, who was Mayor of Manila when Maria dela Torre was the governor. While Rizal
was in Madrid, he would hang out at Don Pablo’s house, which became a place where Filipino students would often get together. Through one of
these gatherings, Rizal met Consuelo.

He showed affection towards Consuelo but was not serious in his pursuit as he was still engaged to Leonor Rivera at the time. Yes, he loved the company
of women, but during that brief period, he too  was lonely and yearning for the physical void left by Leonor.

Although most accounts say the dalliance didn’t turn serious, Rizal wrote a poem for her, entitled, “A La Señorita C.O.y.P.” Of course, these days,
when you write a poem for someone, that’s like a marriage proposal. In the end, Consuelo got engaged to Rizal’s friend, Eduardo de Lete. It is said that
Eduardo’s love for Consuelo was also the reason Rizal didn’t pursue the mestiza. Or maybe, in modern parlance, theirs was a classic case of a rebound
fling.

Seiko Usui

In many of his diary entries, Rizal wrote about how he was charmed by Japan’s beauty, cleanliness, and peace and order. But if there was one thing that
almost kept him in the country where cherry blossoms bloom most beautiful, it was a woman named Seiko Usui, affectionately called O-Sei-San.

It was in 1888. Rizal had just arrived in Japan from Hongkong upon an invitation to take a job offer at the Spanish Legation. One day, while he was in the
office grounds, he saw O-Sei-San walk past the legation’s gate and was immediately enthralled by her beauty. With the help of a Japanese gardener, he
asked to be introduced to the woman who captured his eyes—and the gardener acquiesced. Rizal spoke little Japanese at the time, so the gardener had to
serve as a translator. However, a few minutes into the conversation, they both found O-Sei-San spoke English and French, which was a relief as Rizal
spoke both languages. When the language barrier broke, they started to build a relationship.

As days went by, O-Sei-San taught Rizal the ways of the Japanese. They went gallivanting, visiting museums, galleries, and universities. They talked
about the arts and culture, switching their language from French to English and back as they pleased. Their love was childlike and spirited. According to
many accounts, Rizal was ready to move to Japan, stay with O-Sei-San, and live a peaceful life with his love.

Unfortunately for this relationship, country-saving duties would call and he had to leave Japan for San Francisco. He never saw O-Sei-San again. Their
affair lasted for around two months. It’s shorter than an average season of a Netflix series, but you know Rizal and his intensity.

6 Gertrude Beckett

In the same year he began and ended his relations with O-Sei-San, our JR, then 27, went to London and met a woman named Gertrude Beckett, the
eldest daughter of his landlord. Gertrude showered Rizal with all the love and attention of a girl who is hopelessly in love. She even assisted Rizal as he
finished some of his popular sculptures, “Prometheus Bound,” “The Triumph of Death over Life,” and “The Triumph of Science over Death.” He called
her Gettie, she called him Pettie. But all documents lead to say one thing: the feelings weren’t mutually shared.

In 1889, Rizal left London, and left Gettie a composite carving of the heads of the Beckett sisters. Marcelo del Pilar, Rizal’s friend, said Rizal left London
to move away from Gertrude, whose idea of their relationship was more than what it really was—the most tormenting kind: an unrequited love

7 Suzanne Jacoby

Maybe Rizal was repulsed with the idea of having an idle mind. With all the loneliness and anxiety from the turmoil of his country and family, he was
even able to fill his resting moments learning new things—like flirting with women. When he arrived in Belgium in 1890, he lived at a boarding house
that was run by two sisters whose last name was Jacoby. The sisters had a niece named Suzanne. You probably can guess now what happens with
Rizal and his caretaker’s kin. If it’s not a neighbor, it’s a caretaker’s kin. Are we seeing a trend here? Obviously the guy is too busy to explore beyond a
one-kilometer radius.   

The relationship was probably a fling, too, as Rizal made no mention of Suzanne when he wrote letters to his friends about his stay in Belgium. Rizal left
the country in August that year. Suzanne was heartbroken. Rizal continued writing El Filibusterismo, writing for La Solidaridad, and worrying about his
family back home. It was said that Suzanne wrote Rizal letters. Rizal may have replied once. In 1891, Rizal went back to Belgium—not for Suzanne—but
to finish writing El Filibusterismo. He stayed for a few months, left, and never returned. Maybe she got the point after that

8 Nellie Boustead

Remember that famous time when Antonio Luna and Jose Rizal almost got into a duel because of a girl? The girl in the middle of that madness was
Nellie Boustead. Rizal and Nellie met in Biarritz, where Nellie’s wealthy family hosted Rizal’s stay at their residence on the French Riviera. Before
Biarritz, Rizal already made friends with the Boustead family a few years back, and even played fencing with Nellie and her sister.

During his stay at the beautiful Biarritz vacation home, Rizal learned of Leonor Rivera’s engagement and thought of pursuing a romantic
relationship with Nellie, who was classy, educated, cheerful, and athletic. After strengthening their relationship, Rizal wrote letters to his friends, telling
them about his intention to marry her. They were all supportive, including Antonio Luna.  

Although they seemed like the ideal couple, marriage for Rizal was still not meant to be. First, Nellie’s mother did not think Rizal had the resources to be
a good provider for her daughter.  Second, Nellie wanted Rizal to convert to Protestantism. Rizal refused. But their friendship must have been strong
enough because they ended up being friends after all the drama.

Before Rizal left Paris in 1891, Nellie wrote him a letter: “Now that you are leaving I wish you a happy trip and may you triumph in your undertakings,
and above all, may the Lord look down on you with favor and guide your way giving you much blessings, and may your learn to enjoy! My remembrance
will accompany you as also my prayers.” 

9 Josephine Bracken

Josephine Bracken was the woman who stayed with Rizal until his execution in 1896. She was also, allegedly, the woman whom Rizal married.
However, accounts of their marriage have been much-debated over the years.

Josephine was the adopted daughter of one George Taufer, whom she lived with in Hongkong for years before she needed to seek help from an
ophthalmologist due to George’s blindness. They then sought the help of Jose Rizal, who was already exiled in Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte at the
time. Rizal and Josephine fell in love and in a month made the announcement that they wanted to get married. But just like the other Rizal great loves,
this one was once again complicated. No priest would marry the two, for reasons that are still unclear—but perhaps it was because of Rizal’s status in
politics. Without a legal paper, Rizal and Josephine lived together, and had a son, who died a few hours after birth. Rizal named his son after his
father, Francisco.
Up to this day, there is no legal proof that Josephine and Rizal ever got married.

In retrospect, maybe Rizal was not meant for a long commitment, like marriage—with all his travels and freedom-fighting obligations. Maybe heroes can
only be alone with their thoughts. Left alone, they will naturally think too much, and thinking for an entire country, we assume, can be exhausting. Maybe
Rizal just always needed a companion.