Tessa Prieto-Valdes

Maria Theresa Isabel "Tessa" Rufino Prieto-Valdes (born September 1963 ) is a Filipino interior designer, socialite, columnist, and television personality known for her flamboyant personal style in fashion and for her philanthropic work. Prieto-Valdes writes lifestyle and society columns for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and has co-founded the Red Charity Gala, an annual charity fashion gala in Manila. She has also appeared as a media personality on reality television and in films.

Early life Prieto-Valdes is the eldest daughter of Marixi Rufino-Prieto, a businesswoman who chaired the Philippine Daily Inquirer and a member of the prominent Rufino family, and Alejandro "Alex" Prieto, a businessman. She had an older brother, Louie, who died in a motorcycle accident along South Luzon Expressway in 1994. while her brother Paolo is the president of Inquirer.net, the newspaper's website.

Prieto-Valdes completed high school at Assumption College in Makati in 1981 and initially studied architecture at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila for two years, but she dropped out after becoming pregnant with her eldest child, Bryan, at age 19. Raising Bryan as a single mother, her parents sent her to live abroad.

The Rufino-Prieto family was listed by Forbes as one of the Philippines' richest—ranked 39th in 2007 and 40th in 2008—with an estimated family fortune of more than US$30 million.

Career Interior design and writing Prieto-Valdes has been a practicing interior designer since at least 1989—fellow designer Tessa Alindogan recalls that Prieto-Valdes was her first business partner in an interior design venture that year. Prieto-Valdes later established her own design firm known as the Trezza Group or "Tessa Group", which has handled both residential and commercial projects. By the mid-2000s, she was contributing two weekly columns (society features and a realty column) in the Inquirer.

Television, film, and other media In 2007, Prieto-Valdes joined the GMA Network's reality singing competition Celebrity Duets: Philippine Edition, where well-known personalities performed with professional singers. Among the singers she performed with were Kyla, Jolina Magdangal, Billy Crawford, Kitchie Nadal, Manilyn Reynes, Rufa Mae Quinto, Arnell Ignacio, Michael V., Joey G. of Side A, Mike Hanopol, and Aia de Leon of Imago. On October 20, Prieto-Valdes won the show's first season. In subsequent seasons of Celebrity Duets, she returned as a judge.

In October 2009, she was featured as a guest judge on an episode of the second season of Project Runway Philippines, where the design contestants were challenged to create wearable outfits inspired by her famously eccentric style.

Prieto-Valdes made a cameo on the regional reality competition show The Amazing Race Asia, which aired on AXN. During the show's fourth season (2010), a leg set in the Philippines featured her as the local "pit stop greeter", welcoming contestants at the finish mat in Bacacay, Albay, while standing beside the show's host, Allan Wu—she appeared in a vibrantly colored abacá-fabric outfit reflecting the local culture.

In 2012, Prieto-Valdes co-hosted Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Philippines on TV5 as the show's interior design expert, alongside Paolo Bediones as the team leader.

She has guested on several talk shows, including The Ryzza Mae Show (2014), The Lolas' Beautiful Show (2017), and Sarap, 'Di Ba? (2019).

One of Prieto-Valdes's major television stints was as host of Philippine Realty TV, a real estate and home design program on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC). She first joined this show in 2015, announcing that she was "the new host of Philippine Realty TV, a show on real estate" airing Sunday nights. The program involved property tours with interior design features—an area well within her expertise. Prieto-Valdes's tenure on Philippine Realty TV spanned multiple seasons; she remained its host through the late 2010s. As of 2020, media profiles still noted that she "hosts Philippine Realty TV" as one of her ongoing roles.

She led a team (dubbed "Team Sea Princess") as a celebrity contestant on the GMA Network game show Family Feud in 2024,

Apart from television, Prieto-Valdes has appeared in a few Filipino films, usually in cameo roles where she plays herself or a variation of her public persona. She had a cameo in the comedy film Temptation Island (2011), portraying a beauty pageant host (essentially as herself) in an extravagant pageant scene. She also appeared briefly in the teen comedy Tween Academy: Class of 2012 (2011) as a character known as the aunt of "Popular Gal" Chloe (played by Lexi Fernandez), and in the comedy horror film Coming Soon (2013). These film cameos typically capitalized on her status as a fashion icon; she would often be seen in her trademark flamboyant attire on screen.

Philanthropy In 2009, Prieto-Valdes co-founded the Red Charity Gala together with Kaye Chua-Tinga, the wife of former Taguig mayor Freddie Tinga who later became the president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The Red Charity Gala is an annual fundraising event in Metro Manila that combines a high-profile fashion show with charity auctions. The gala showcases the works of prominent Filipino fashion designers and raises money for various causes. Over the years, it has featured celebrated designers such as Dennis Lustico, Michael Cinco, Rajo Laurel, Cary Santiago, and others, each headlining the gala to present their collections for a cause. The proceeds from Red Charity Gala events are donated to humanitarian and community charities—beneficiaries have included the Philippine Red Cross, the Assumption HS '81 Foundation (Prieto-Valdes's high school alumnae charitable group), and organizations supporting livelihood projects and disaster relief.

As the gala's co-chair, she helps oversee sponsorships, the creative themes, and the selection of designers. In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in 2013, funds from the gala and her foundation were used to build homes for affected families in Samar. In interviews, she has credited her mother, Marixi Rufino-Prieto, for instilling in her the duty to "share your blessings" and to maintain "charity in our blood". She also lends her time to various benefit events, from art auctions to charity balls, frequently as a host or speaker. Her reputation as a philanthropist earned her the description of having a "heart of gold" by fellow socialites. She has stated that she dresses to express joy and individuality, not to blend in. Early in her adulthood, however, her style was far more subdued: when she was coping with her older brother's death in the mid-1990s, she wore mostly black and neutral tones. Prieto-Valdes later credited a shift in her outlook on life—a decision to "live it up" after her brother's death and other challenges—for inspiring her signature colorful look. Philippine Entertainment Portal, and Tatler Asia have noted that her maximalist fashion style has made her the "life of the party" at Manila's social gatherings.

She has earned the moniker "Sea Princess" because of her affinity for diving and marine life. Prieto-Valdes, for her part, lives up to the title with ocean-themed elements in her wardrobe.

Personal life

Prieto-Valdes was married to businessman Dennis Valdes from 1994 to 2025. The Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP) reports that the two had first met in 1993 on a scuba diving trip in Anilao, Batangas, Their story was dramatized on the GMA Network romance anthology series Wagas on June 27, 2015, where Tessa and Dennis were played by Jackie Rice and TJ Trinidad, respectively. Prieto-Valdes and Chua had dated for about 11 months after the former's marriage ended, and according to Prieto-Valdes's affidavit, there were instances where arguments escalated to physical harm—including one severe incident in July 2023—and she stated that she feared for her safety. The complaint was filed under the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act (Republic Act [RA] No. 9262), which covers abuse in dating relationships as well as in marriages. The Makati prosecutor's office reviewed the evidence and, in late 2024, issued a resolution finding basis to charge Angel Chua with violation of RA 9262 (a criminal offense). In February 2025, a Makati Regional Trial Court branch issued a gag order on the case, which Chua's lawyer says Prieto-Valdes had violated.

In October 2024, a businesswoman named Salud Bautista filed a complaint accusing multiple people—Prieto-Valdes included—of involvement in an alleged syndicated estafa (fraud) scheme. The complaint, filed with authorities, suggested that Bautista had been defrauded in an investment or business deal and that Prieto-Valdes, along with five other individuals, had some role in convincing investors. Prieto-Valdes denied any wrongdoing. In January 2025, she submitted a counter-affidavit and testified at the Makati prosecutor's office, asserting that she was "falsely accused" and had never solicited money from anyone for investment purposes. She told the media, "I have never gotten anybody else's money and told them to invest in this or that," maintaining that her only involvement was being linked via a former associate. Prieto-Valdes enlisted Nilo Divina's law firm to represent her. As of early 2025, the syndicated estafa case was under preliminary investigation, with Prieto-Valdes and her co-respondents awaiting the prosecutor's determination of whether the complaint had merit to proceed. She expressed confidence in a just outcome, stressing that she had "zero track record" of involvement in any financial scams and that those who know her can attest that she is far more inclined to spend her own money (often lavishly) than to scheme to get others' funds.

The following year, Tatler Asia included Prieto-Valdes in its 2021 list of "Asia's Most Influential" figures in the Philippines.