Three months since the passing of "T.G.I.S." star Red Sternberg, his wife Sandy Sternberg returned to the Philippines with their three children, Raesee, Risen, and Rykr, to bring home her husband’s cremated remains and celebrate his life with his friends from the iconic '90s barkada.
In a tearful remembrance, Sandy opened up about her love story with Red, the kind of father he was, and the heartbreaking day he passed away.
“I know you guys are waiting for me to… what do you say? I’m Sandy Sternberg, the one that broke a lot of women’s hearts,” she said.
Sandy described their first meeting as something straight out of a movie -- a dark bar, a glance, and a spark between two people from different worlds. She was a goth girl; he was doing a movie. They stayed in touch for years until one day, he simply asked her to marry him.
“We were, unfortunately, sorry if you’re watching this with other people, but when we got together, we knew that was the end of that,” she said.
Red, never imagined having kids. But he was the one who planned for Raesee.
“Raesee came on May 5. Not a Gemini, but it still worked out. And then we said, okay, let’s try again after three years. So then came Risen… She was supposed to be born on the 27th. I was ready to push, and he said, ‘Wait. If you wait 30 more minutes then it’ll be 28, 29, 30.’ So I waited and she came out at 12:23,” Sandy shared.
They even planned the names ahead. “Raesee, Ray from Red’s dad. We Googled it. No one had Raesee. Risen was supposed to be Rice, but we knew she was going to be made fun of with kanin So, Ryzen. And then Rykr.”
It took years before Rykr came along. Sandy was older and didn’t expect to get pregnant again. Rykr was born prematurely at 26 weeks, and Sandy nearly died during childbirth. “We didn’t have anything ready for him. He was so small. Red didn’t tell me how he cried. He thought he was going to lose me. He never expected that,” she said.
After Red’s passing, Sandy struggled to process the loss and struggled even more with telling their children. “It took me about a month to tell Rykr that his dad had passed away. He was asking me, ‘So it’s just us now?’ I said, ‘Yes, buddy. Just us.’ He asked, ‘Is he coming back?’ I said, ‘No buddy, nobody comes back.’ I didn’t know how to answer.” She added, “Im just as distraught as you guys.”
The day Red died, Sandy was away at a friend’s ranch just a few hours from home. “When Risen told me that her daddy didn’t pick her up from school, I drove as fast as I could. I just didn’t make it in time. They tried to revive him for an hour but it was too late,” she said.
It took her two days before she could tell her in-laws and her parents. She had to break the news to their daughters the next day.
“I was so much in shock I didn’t tell my mother-in-law, my in-laws or my mom and dad for two days so I'm sorry. I had to say it on his birthday but I was just all by myself. I had to deal with that and figure out what I was gonna do with the girls. So I’m sorry, girls. He always planned for us. But we will figure it out. I have more to say… it’s just not coming out. But it was worth it. I just wish it was longer.”
The tribute also includedba message from their daughter Raesee, who described herself as a “daddy’s girl” from the very beginning.
“He was the one person who truly understood me. I could just look at him across the room and he would know what I was thinking. One of my favorite things to do with him was binge-watch movies and TV shows. And we loved popcorn,” she said.
Red’s former co-stars and friends from the industry also paid tribute. Rica Peralejo posted a heartfelt message on Instagram.
“I never thought we’d meet again this way. Naka-side eye ka pa while I am talking about you, which is so you. Pero Kiko talagang hinintay ko lumabas ka sa likod nyan so you can tell us all ‘Surprise! It’s a prank!’ But you didn’t. So I am sad cause it would have been nice to know you all over again but this time as the husband and dad that your family has been talking about and missing a lot. You have such beautiful and wonderful girls, from Sandy to your daughters. And I got to talk to your boy about Roblox! Ikaw nalang talaga ang kulang. But we will never understand some things in life, we can only heal from them. Nevertheless, like what I was saying in the memorial, I am grateful that we got to love you and you got to love us in this lifetime. Goodnight, Red! Sleep well PS: BGM was also the song @pinaypole sang during the memorial. Magkakasama parin naman talaga kami in our hearts forever,” she wrote.
Angelu de Leon also shared photos of her with Red’s family and some of the "T.G.I.S." cast, captioned with a simple yet heartfelt message: “Hanggang sa muli, Red.”