Yes, there is no getting around it, and JINKEE PACQUIAO admits it herself that she is better known around the globe as the wife of the one of the greatest of all time professional boxers and an incumbent senator of the Philippines MANNY PACQUIAO. Jinkee was born in General Santos City in the Philippines. She says her family lived simply. They were not rich-rich but rich in principle. Her parents raised and taught her to always be kind to others and to stick to family no matter what because family is where life begins and where love never ends.
That you can’t bring a single cent to your grave, but you can bring the love of family. “My happy place is wherever my family is,” she says. There is no doubt that Jinkee is a natural beauty. She had rich suitors but “money cannot buy love .” When she married Manny they barely had money and she had no qualms saying this.
“I chose Manny because he had this quiet confidence about him,” he was not conceited and I sensed that he had a good heart,” Jinkee divulged that one of her biggest pet peeves is that she cannot stand cocky people. “Up to today, even with all the accolades my husband has achieved and all the fame and possessions he has, he still remains humble and not arrogant,” she says. “I married the right man for me.”
Jinkee considers her five children her biggest blessings in life. She says she will never push her kids to do what Daddy does or be what Mommy wants them to be. As far as she is concerned, she wants them to pursue whatever their passions are in life. What they do as parents is to encourage them to live healthy lifestyles, expose them to positive role models, teach them social responsibility, and most importantly to be God-fearing and giving people because “giving is life-changing.” As best as they can, they try to shower and surround their children with as much love as possible so, in return, they will love each other and love others as much as God loves them because “love saves lives.”
A wife, a mother, and now, Jinkee the entrepreneur who has started her own cosmetic line that is top-notch but made affordable to the average woman who once in a while wants to get dolled up as she does. Jinkee confesses that she has a weakness for nice clothes and bags. When she was single, she worked hard and long hours, her motivation being that when she gets her paycheck she can buy a nice dress and a nicer bag to go with it.
Jinkee literally wears her heart and soul on her sleeve. What you see is what you get is what family and friends say about her. They describe her as down-to-earth, honest, very generous, kind-hearted, with a fierce mind and brave spirit. A heart, mind, and spirit that Jinkee says come from knowing and learning about her creator in heaven and trying to be more and more like him every day.
It is no secret that Jinkee’s personal life with husband Manny went through a roller coaster of a ride. The boxer, senator himself admits that his vices and infidelity brought his wife a lot of pain and suffering. During these toughest of times, when life was throwing Jinkee all kinds of punches, it was her faith in God that gave her the strength to be still, to not be afraid, to not panic. Instead, she turned to the word that gave her wisdom. Wisdom gave her more patience, understanding, and confidence knowing that after suffering comes strength, support, and restoration. “God gives us strength to face life’s challenges,” she says with full conviction.
Jinkee believes in the power of prayer and trusts that God keeps his promises. When she was encountering the toughest challenges in her marital life, she held on to the promise that God can change people from the inside out and will leave you with his gift of peace of mind and heart. “God changed my husband.” Today, Jinkee has peace in her heart, calmness in the way she talks, confidence in the way she moves, and a fulfilling joy and peace of mind that she says only Jesus can bring.
From humble beginnings to fame and fortune. Even if she is married to a global superstar athlete, lives a life of luxury, has dined with the likes of Prince Harry and Paris Hilton, Jinkee has remained as humble as humble can be, her friends say. Bluntly said, whatever Jinkee wants . . . Jinkee can pretty much get, but you will never hear her brag about the ‘rich and famous’ lifestyle she now enjoys. Actually, rich and famous is not how Jinkee describes the life she lives today, she describes it as a God-given blessed and abundant life. The only thing you may hear Jinkee brag about if you want to call it bragging is, “I am the daughter of the king of all kings,” she says.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Only a few words are needed to describe JINKEE PACQUIAO . . . SIMPLE ELEGANCE, AMAZING GRACE, AND A KNOCKOUT INSIDE AND OUT!
Photographer: VINCENT GOTTI @vinniegotti