ennylyn Mercado and her Mommy Lydia have been renting this charming condominium unit since April 2004.

The Mercados have a two-story house at the BF Resort Home in Las Piñas—and if it wasn't such a hassle to keep shuttling between Las Piñas (where Jennylyn grew up) and Quezon City (where her home studio, GMA-7, is based), the StarStruck Ultimate Survivor would not have allowed herself to be uprooted.

The hometown house after all, is a place Jen knows by heart. And the house knows her back as well. It is, you see, the house where the childless couple Lydia and Rogelio Mercado raised their adopted daughter Jen.

As many televiewers know by now, Jennylyn is really Lydia Mercado's niece, the daughter of Lydia 's sister—whose name Lydia begs us not to mention anymore. How Jen came under the care of her aunt is the stuff that telenovelas are made of.

“ Ako kasi ,” Mommy Lydia discloses, “ mahilig ako sa ampon . Madami akong naging ampon. Madaming-madami. May bakla, may tomboy, may hindi bakla at tomboy…

“Ngayon, ‘yong kapatid ko saka ‘yong asawa niya ”—that is, Jen's real father, Noli Pineda —“ naghiwalay. Noong araw, sa amin sila nakatira. ‘Tapos, naghiwalay. Sabi ng tatay niya, parang nagtiwala sa akin, na iwan na lang niya si Jennylyn sa akin.

“'Yong mommy niya, may ibang pamilya na ngayon sa London . Ang daddy naman niya, napunta sa Korea . So, si Jennylyn , lumaki sa akin at hindi ko kailanman siya itinago sa kanyang tunay na mga magulang.”

The fact that she's an adopted child was never a secret to Jen. But this was not something the Mercados went around proclaiming to the whole world. It was only when Jennylyn Mercado became a popular teen star that fragments about her past life emerged.

“Nakahanda naman kaming lalabas ‘yon sa press,” says the adoptive mother. “Kasi alam naman naming na pag napasok ka sa showbiz, lahat kakalkalin.”

However, she admits,” “Si Jennylyn, naiyak pa rin siya. Gusto kasi ni Jennylyn ng tahimik na buhay.”

In June 2004, Jen's biological father, Noli Pineda, now 50 came home for a holiday. His arrival did not go unnoticed in the press. Reports came out saying that he was asking for money form his now self-sufficient daughter. This, Jennylyn strongly denied. What her father wanted, she said, was for Jennylyn to use his surname.

Jen explains: “Bale sa birth certificate po , Pineda talaga —Jennylyn Pineda. Pero sa showbiz, Mercado pa din po, kasi ang hirap nang magpalit. Pero Jeannilyn po talaga pangalan ko, ginawa na lang Jennylyn ngayon. Siguro naman, maiintindihan niya.”

Still, according to Jen, she and her biological father keep in touch, even if they don't get to see each other often, since he's based in Korea .

It is her mother she refuses to talk about. In the October 14 episode of TV series Magpakailanman , which featured the life story, we learned why.

In 1991, when she was nearly four years old. Jennylyn made headlines as a battered child.

Her assailant was her stepfather. He burned Jen's young's skin with cigarette butts and whacked her back with a flat iron. Her mother, who was then in Dubai working as a domestic helper, immediately came home. Sadly, though, she came not to take care of her daughter but to bail out her cruel partner, who was in detention.

It was then that Mrs. Lydia Mercado decided to legally adopt Jennylyn.

Jen says she came out with her story on TV to set the record straight: “Kasi nga, unti-unti nang lumalabas, para may past is haunting me… E, kesa naman mali-mali pa ang lumabas, kesa inaccurate, nag-decide ako na ilabas na.”

Now that her past life is an open book, Jen can easily breezed through her new one. For one thing, she has learned to adjust to the reality that she is now a Quezon City resident.

“Maganda naman dito, tahimik,” says Mommy Lydia of the condominium that serves as their second home, a yellow sanctuary in a hectic city. “Ang gusto ko rito, ‘yong security lugar. Hindi basta-basta nagpapapasok kung hindi ka tatawagan. ‘Yan ang maganda rito. Parang tiwala ka.”

Mang Rogelio, Jennylyn's beloved adoptive father, still stays in the Las Piñas house, but every Friday he visits his mag-ina in Quezon City .

It's a happy ending, after all.

***
Jennylyn's first major expense after winning the StarStruck
Ultimate Survivor title was a blue Toyota Revo. Then, with her business manager Becky Aguila, she went scouting around for a place in QC. They found this one-bedroom, 30-square-meter loft. “Pang-single lang talaga,” says Jen. “Pero kasama ko dito ang Mommy ko.” That's because, at 17, Jenny still cannot sleep without Mommy Lydia beside her.” E, sanay akong nakasiksik sa kilikili niya pag natutulog, e.”

***
This is how Jennylyn's yellow paradise looks like when viewed from the living room. This angle reveals the kitchen-pantry area. ‘Kulang-kulang pa ng gamit,” says Mommy Lydia . “Parang ako lang ang namimili pag nakakita ng oras. Tinernuhan ko na lang ang lugar, kumbaga. Kasi noong abutan naming ito, dilaw na talaga ang kulay. Pero kung si Jennylyn ang masusunod, gusto niya all-white ang pintura.”

***
Jennylyn's room is bursting with stuffed toys, mostly gifts from fans, and is stocked with perfumes—her real collection. Still Perfume for Women by Jennifer Lopez and Miracle by Lancome are her current favorites among the many bottled scents she owns. “Ubos aga,” she says of some of the nearby empty containers. “Diyan din nauubos talent fee ko.” The framed photo of herself on the wall is an enlarged reproduction of one of the photos used in the promotion of her debut recording album, Living the Dream, which has already been certified gold. Now here's the more interesting part. See the huge stuffed toy Jen is cuddling? Well, like her now-famous pet shih tzu, Wesley, the toy is also a from on-and-off screen suitor—and now sweetheart—Mark Herras. The toy's name is Mackie. Mommy Lydia volunteers information about Mackie: “Bigay ni Mark, galing ng Hong Kong . Natatandaan mo noong nagpunta sila nina Manay Lolit [Solis, Mark's manager] ng Hong Kong noong nagdaang Mahal na Araw? Ito ‘yong pasalubong niya.”

***
Jen's room as viewed from the living room. The closed white door leads to the bathroom, while opposite the open bedroom door is where Jen's shoe den is located. Is Mark Herras a frequent visitor here? “Bihira, “says mommy Lydia . “Dahil kung baga, ang buhay ni Mark ay buhay rin ni Jennylyn, e. Walang hilig sa barkada masyado. Hindi rin si Mark, palalabas, e.” Does she like Mark for her daughter? “Ako naman, open,” she smiles. “Ang sa akin, kung gusto niya, basta ‘wag sila lalampas sa limitasyon. Mabait naman si Mark, wala naman akong maipipintas. Maganda rin pagpapalaki sa kanya.”

***
This is the opposite side of Jen's room. Asked if her daughter loves shopping, Mommy Lydia says: “Nako, ako pa rin. Nakadepende ‘yan sa akin sa lahat ng bagay, maliban na lang siguro minsan sa damit. Kasi mapili ‘yan sa pantalon, blouse… Kadalasan kasi, ayaw niya noong binili ko. Nasasayang. Sa damit lang siya maselan. Sa ibang bagay, sasabihin niya, Ma, ikaw na.”

***
The YES! Readers Choice Most Popular Female Young Star winner has already accumulated hundreds of imeldiffic shoes in the 11 months that have passed since the StarStruck season one finale. “'Yong karamihan naman [from] sponsors,” says her mom. “Pero ang talagang hilig niyan, rubber shoes.”

***
Mommy Lydia (in white) says that, except for candy, crackers, and some chichirya, she doesn't normally stock up on food in this condo unit. “Ang asawa ko, mahilig mag-grocery,” she says. “Kaso, minsan, magdadala ‘yan ng ulam, halimbawa—isang linggo na, nandiyan pa rin. Walang kumakain. Kaya ako, hindi rin ako palaluto dito. Si Jen, hindi kumakain ‘yan. Umiinom lang siya ng gatas, fresh milk, sa umaga. Pero kanin—bihira lang talag ‘yang kumain. Sa loob ng isang araw, mga isang beses lang ‘yang kung kumain.” The little lady with them in this photo is Jen's visiting pamangkin, Angelie.” - -