All the girls Rizal loved before

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.

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.) Rizal also frequented the Valenzuelas’
home, which was a hang out place of the students in the area.

Leonor Rivera
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.

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.
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.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
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.  

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.” 

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.

References
Bam Abellon | Dec 30 2018, https://news.abs-
cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/12/30/18/all-the-girls-rizal-loved-
before