Bio
Ernesto Lopez is a businessman from Manila, Philippines best known as a contestant on the first season of the reality television competition The Amazing Race Asia, from 2006-2007.
His partner was wife Jeena Lopez.
Amazing Race Asia Bio
Ernie and Jeena have been married for ten years, but you couldn't tell from looking at them. Full of life, jokes and fun, these two consider themselves the clowns of the race, and are hoping to have fun - perhaps even more fun than any of the other teams.
There is a myth that marriage is boring, and that couples who have been married for a long time become dull and jaded. Ernie and Jeena from the Philippines disprove that myth - having been married for ten years, the word that best applies to them is "fun".
Ernie is the joker and Jeena patiently puts up with every joke. She's not afraid to come up with a barb or two of her own. Even so, you can always count on Ernie to come up with a witty comment, or to interpret a statement in an odd way, solely to get a laugh. He's animated and lively, but his humour is never cruel, usually gentle and a little quirky.
Celebrating their ten years of marriage, Ernie and Jeena feel that the ten years of experience with their own and their partner's faults, strengths and weaknesses would stand them in good stead. Jeena comments, "we're hoping to use how good we are as husband and wife as an advantage, to get ahead."
The couple met initially through Jeena's sister who is married to Ernie's first cousin, and they became closer after Ernie started rock climbing with Jeena's best friend.
A mutual interest in sport became one of the foundations on which they built their marriage - both of them are sports fanatics. Between them, they have tried a range of sports including diving, hiking, and rock-climbing.
These days, the couple play different sports: Jeena enjoys horse-jumping while Ernie participates in adventure racing and tennis.
They support one another's sporting efforts, diligently attending each other's events, and helping out with training. These days, they don't often get a chance to play together, so The Amazing Race Asia will be an opportunity for the both of them.
Both of them have a mutual love of adventure, and a passion for trying out new things, a passion that has led them to skydiving, bungee jumping and technical diving. It even extends to their everyday lives.
"Our relationship is an adventure!" says Ernie, and Jeena agrees. Daily life for them is an adventure, thanks to their other mutual love, their three children. The children generate enough activity to keep Jeena on her toes for the whole day, while Ernie is away in the office.
Each of them has a role in their marriage - Jeena is the carer, while Ernie is the provider - and these roles may carry over into their strategy for The Amazing Race Asia.
Ernie jokes that taking part in the Race will save him the trouble of planning something special, especially since he was supposed to take Jeena to Africa on safari for their tenth wedding anniversary. They both see that their relationship, which is already such a large part of their lives, will come under some strain during the Race.
"We've survived ten years of married life, so I hope that speaks for how well we'll do as a team," said Jeena.
Of the two, Ernie considers himself to be the more intense, and the more driven, always looking for the next goal while Jeena prefers to do things at her own pace. Both of them are looking forward to having fun, perhaps more fun than anyone else in the Race.
"We're the clowns," said Ernie.
Both of them are going to go all out for The Amazing Race Asia. Jeena's willing to shave her head to win the race - and Ernie, who hasn't a hair on his, quickly pipes up to say that he's willing, too.
"We know that this will give us more challenges," says Jeena, "But we hope to keep up that lighter side of things. We don't really know how our relationship will be after this, but we're hoping it will be for the best. We'll get to know each other even more."
They're bringing quite a bit to the game since they've travelled extensively and are both quite sporty individuals. And although they have yet to plan a firm strategy, they will take each day as it comes and hope for the best.