Miriam Quiambao is known to many Filipinos as a beauty queen, television host, actress and public speaker. She became an international name after finishing as first runner-up at Miss Universe 1999, but her personal journey has also included a difficult first marriage and a painful divorce.
Quiambao’s first husband was Italian businessman Claudio Rondinelli. They married in 2004 and moved to Hong Kong, where Rondinelli was based. Their marriage eventually ended, and Quiambao later found a new beginning with Christian author and entrepreneur Eduardo “Ardy” Roberto Jr.
Who Was Claudio?
Claudio Rondinelli was an Italian businessman and restaurateur who was based in Hong Kong during his marriage to Quiambao. Contemporary Philippine reports described him as the owner and manager of a fine-dining restaurant there.
Stick to the Facts
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His relationship with Quiambao became public after her successful pageant career and growing television profile. The couple eventually decided to marry, with Quiambao stepping away from much of her Philippine entertainment work after their wedding.
Their Wedding
Quiambao and Rondinelli married in 2004 in a beach wedding in Boracay.
The marriage represented a major change in Quiambao’s life. After the wedding, she relocated overseas and spent much of her time in Hong Kong with Rondinelli. At the time, she had already established herself as one of the Philippines’ best-known beauty queens and television personalities.
A 2006 report noted that she had left local show business after marrying Rondinelli and had been living in Hong Kong and traveling with him.
Life in Hong Kong
The move did not turn out to be the new chapter Quiambao had expected.
In later interviews, she described feeling isolated and emotionally neglected during the marriage. In a 2010 interview, she recalled that both she and Rondinelli had doubts about their compatibility almost immediately after the wedding.
She also said that although she enjoyed financial comfort, money could not compensate for the emotional difficulties she was experiencing.
Her account offers an important perspective on why the relationship eventually failed. Rather than portraying the breakdown as a single disagreement, Quiambao described a marriage in which both partners struggled with compatibility and emotional connection.
The Separation
By 2006, the problems in the marriage had become public.
A December 2006 report in The Philippine Star stated that Quiambao had confirmed their separation on television. At that point, the marriage had lasted only about two years.
Quiambao later returned to the Philippines and resumed her television career. Her comeback included appearances on GMA programs, including Extra Challenge, a show with which she had previously been closely associated.
Infidelity Claims
Quiambao later spoke about another woman being involved in the breakdown of her marriage.
In her 2010 interview, she confirmed that there had been a third party. Other Philippine entertainment reports have described the situation as Rondinelli admitting to an affair with another woman.
Because the details come largely from retrospective interviews and entertainment reporting, they are best understood as Quiambao’s account of the marriage rather than as independently established facts.
What is clear is that the relationship had ended by the time Quiambao rebuilt her career in the Philippines.
A Difficult Period
The end of the marriage had a profound emotional effect on Quiambao.
She later revealed that she experienced severe depression and suicidal thoughts during the darkest period of the relationship. In her 2010 interview with The Philippine Star, she described reaching a point where she believed leaving the relationship was necessary for her survival.
Her Christian faith became central to her recovery. Rather than allowing the divorce to define the rest of her life, she gradually rebuilt her confidence, returned to television and began speaking more openly about faith and personal struggles.
Her experiences eventually became part of the story she shared in her autobiography, He Can Catch You When You Fall.
The Marriage Ended
There is some inconsistency in older reporting over whether the legal conclusion is best described as divorce or annulment.
Contemporary and later Philippine sources have variously referred to the relationship as a divorce or an annulment. A 2010 Philippine Star interview specifically described the marriage as having been annulled.
For readers searching for “Miriam Quiambao ex-husband,” however, Rondinelli is unquestionably the former spouse associated with her first marriage.
A New Beginning
Quiambao eventually found love again with Eduardo “Ardy” Roberto Jr., a Christian author, entrepreneur and motivational speaker.
The couple married on March 25, 2014, in Tagaytay. At the time, Roberto was a widower with a young son, while Quiambao was already divorced from Rondinelli.
Their relationship marked a dramatic change from the painful period that followed Quiambao’s first marriage.
Family Today
Quiambao and Roberto have built a family together. Their first biological son, Elijah, was born prematurely in February 2019. Their second biological son, Ezekiel Isaiah, was born in July 2021, when Quiambao was 46. She described the pregnancies and births as “miracle” experiences.
Roberto’s family also includes Joshua, his adopted son from his previous marriage.
In March 2024, Quiambao and Roberto celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary with a vow renewal surrounded by family and close friends. Their anniversary celebration highlighted how far Quiambao’s personal life had come since her first marriage ended.
As of 2026, Miriam Quiambao remains married to Ardy Roberto, while Claudio Rondinelli belongs to an earlier chapter of her life.
Her story is more than one of a failed celebrity marriage. After a difficult period overseas, Quiambao returned to the Philippines, rebuilt her entertainment career and eventually became a prominent Christian speaker and author.
