or in extreme complacency, nor will a courteous smile be deemed the only weapon against insult

or humble tears the ineffable panacea for all tribulations.”

A supporter of women empowerment—who has that swagger? It’s not so hard to imagine anyone
flirting back after he inks his first sentence.

As proof of his “ways,” here are the recorded stories of the nine women of Dr. Jose Rizal.

1 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.

Rizal wrote about the incident years later, “Ended, at an early house, my first love! My virgin
heart will always mourn the reckless step it took on the flower-decked abyss. My illusions will
return, yes, but indifferent, uncertain, ready for the first betrayal on the path of love.”

Our heartache-filled, hugot-induced breakup films would be put to shame.

2 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. (How did we get from this intricate,
labored way of courting someone to pressing that heart icon on Instagram? Just wondering.) Rizal
also frequented the Valenzuelas’ home, which was a hang out place of the students in the area.
There are, however, documents that may serve as proof that Rizal’s efforts were not effective.
Some accounts say he was courting Leonor Valenzuela and and his second cousin Leonor Rivera
at the same time—thus the need for invisible letters. (Still, we need to appreciate the effort that
went with it.) Rivera apparently knew of this and gave way to Rivera’s attraction for Rizal. When
Rizal left for Spain in 1882, it was said that he did say goodbye to Orang, but kept in touch with
the help of Rizal’s close friend, Jose “Chenggoy” Cecilio.

Chenggoy was the ultimate teaser—and maybe wingman?—who was amused with the “rivalry” of
the namesakes. On one of Chenggoy’s letters to Rizal, he wrote, “…nagpipilit ang munting kasera
(Leonor Rivera) na makita si Orang, pero dahil natatakpan ng isang belong puti, hindi naming
nakilala nang dumaan ang prusisyon sa tapat ng bahay. Sinabi sa akin ni O(rang) na sabihin ko
raw sa munting kasera na hindi siya kumakaribal sa pag-iibigan ninyo. Que gulay, tukayo, anong
gulo itong idinudulot natin sa mga dalagang ito!” (Manebog 2013)

Lest it be forgotten, while he was pursuing the two Leonors, Rizal was in Europe taking courses in
medicine at Universidad Central de Madrid and painting at Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San
Fernando in Calle Alcala. Maybe he still had time on his hands?

3 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.

But their love—as young loves are—wanted to go against all that stood in the way. 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.

Upon the coercion of her mother, Leonor burned Rizal’s letters to her—but it was said she kept the
ashes of those letters. A story goes that she hid some of these ashes in the hem of her wedding
gown.

But their dark romance didn’t end there.

In 1893, Leonor died during second childbirth. Documents show that when Rizal heard of the
news through his sister, Narcisa, he didn’t speak for a few days. It is believed that Rizal
immortalized Leonor through the character Maria Clara in Noli Me Tangere. Like we said, it’s a
Shakespearean kind of dark—and no love story is more intense than the one that lost the battle
with circumstances.

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.

Photo from Pablo Trillana III, The Loves of Rizal and other Essays on Philippine History, Art, and
Public Policy via positivelyfilipino.com
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.

5 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.

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.”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you become friends with your ex.

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.

But if there’s one thing his dalliances and longings and pursuits remind us, it is that heroes are
humans, too. Humans have needs. And he did die for our country. He gets a pass—even when he
was a master in ghosting.