According to the Marriage Inquiry System of Clark County, Las Vegas, Nevada, a certain Nora C. Villamayor—or more popularly known as Nora Aunor—was married twice. The first time was on July 7, 1988 to Richard James Merk and the second time was on May 22, 2000 to Norie Sayo.

Through her confidante and manager Norie Sayo, Superstar Nora Aunor refused to comment on the issue of her being married twice in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The marriage records of Mark Lapid and Yuri Park in the Marriage Inquiry System of Clark County in Las Vegas gave us the idea to research other showbiz personalities who got married in the aforementioned place.

We found in the Marriage Inquiry System the marriage records of Vilma Santos and Edu Manzano on July 19, 1980; Gabby Concepcion and Jenny Syquia on June 17, 1993; Phillip Salvador and Emma Ledesma on November 15, 2003; and Dorothy Jones (the late Nida Blanca) and Roger Laurence Strunk who were also married twice in 1979 and 1981.

We tried searching the inquiry system for the name Nora Villamayor, Nora’s real name, and our laptop screen showed the record of her marriage to Richard James Merk on July 7, 1988. Richard was a well-known jazz singer who also became an artist, the son of Annie Brazil and the brother of Rachel Ann Wolfe.

We were not surprised by what we saw because Nora and Richard’s relationship was well-publicized at the time.

It was Nora’s second marriage that surprised us because she married both women.

Clark County records show that Nora remarried on May 22, 2000 to Norie Sayo, who was very open about her lesbianism.

We asked a lawyer if Nora and Norie’s marriage was valid because they are both women, but his answer was “no.” Same-sex marriage is not yet legal in Nevada, unlike other states in the United States such as Massachusetts.

Norie also did not answer the issue when Showbiz Central staff tried to take her side. In a text message sent by Norie, she said that Nora has no plans to give any statement.

Since the lawyer said that Norie and Nora’s marriage was invalid, we also want to know if Richard Merk filed for divorce before he married his wife Ronnie Tapia.

Did Nora also divorce Richard before marrying Norie?

Norie is currently in America and is in charge of Nora’s singing career there.

Norie is a musical arranger and director. He was Nora’s companion during the times when she had many problems.

The release of Nora and Norie’s marriage record is proof that Desiree del Valle is not the first Filipina actress to marry another woman.