Which of these confirmed relationships and splits among Filipino celebrity couples surprised you the most?
MANILA, Philippines – Apart from acting comebacks, major collaborations, and international breakthroughs, the local entertainment industry this year has been dominated by headlines about celebrity relationships.
2023 saw several couples finally confirming their romances after months (and even years!) of speculation, a handful of on-and-off relationships, messy splits with rumored third-party involvements, and an end to a decade-long affair.
With the year coming to a close, we round up a list of relationship reveals and breakups involving our favorite Filipino celebrities:
Charlie Dizon and Carlo Aquino
Charlie Dizon and Carlo Aquino were among the first celebrity couples of 2023. In January, the actor confirmed that they were dating and in the “getting to know each other” stage.
The two, who first worked together in the 2020 series A Soldier’s Heart, sparked dating rumors in December 2022 after they were spotted together several times, including on a vacation to La Union with Carlo’s family.
In an August episode of Magandang Buhay, the Third World Romance stars became emotional as they opened up about their relationship.
“For me, si Carlo ang biggest surprise talaga sa akin, as in (For me, Carlo is really my biggest surprise),” Charlie said.
“Before, parang hindi ko talaga ini-expect ang timing niya and all. Parang first time ko na feel na ‘Ah, bakit open ako ngayon?,” she added. “Parang siya lang talaga rin ‘yung nakakagawa nun.”
(Before, I wasn’t really expecting this, given the timing. But this is the first time that I felt so open about a relationship. And he’s the only one who can make me feel that way.)
Before Charlie, Carlo was previously in a relationship with Trina Candaza, with whom she shares a daughter, Enola Mithi. He confirmed their breakup in April 2022.
Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla
Perhaps the celebrity couple split that no one saw coming was that of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla. In November, the actress confirmed that she and her reel-turned-real partner have parted ways after 11 years.
“What [Daniel] and I had was real. It was never for show.… These are 11 years that brought me joy, adventure, and the feeling of being home,” she said.
The actress also acknowledged that she was aware of the rumors surrounding their relationship, but she explained that the reason for the split was: “We’ve been drifting for a while now, and we ultimately had to accept that we can’t go back to where we used to be.”
She also ended the statement by addressing Daniel, saying that she’ll always be grateful to him: “You gave me 11 beautiful years and the kind of love that I will forever cherish.”
Kathryn and Daniel first worked together in 2011 for the youth-oriented series Growing Up. Since then, the two have starred in multiple blockbuster projects and hit primetime series.
After announcing their split, the two were also seen together during the ABS-CBN Christmas Special and the Asia Artist Awards.
Julia Montes and Coco Martin
After years of speculation and keeping mum on their rumored romance, Coco Martin finally confirmed that he’d been dating Julia Montes for around 12 years already.
“Napakasarap ng pakiramdam dahil ito, 12 years na kaming magkasama, pero pareho pa rin gaya ng dati,” he sad in a TV Patrol interview.
(It’s such a nice feeling that even if we’ve been together for 12 years, it still feels like the same.)
When pressed if their relationship started in 2011, the actor told interviewer MJ Felipe: “Ang galing mo (You’re good).” Coco and Julia first worked together in the 2012 series Walang Hanggan. At the time, Coco was already 31 while Julia was still 17.
Since then, the two have been paired in various projects as a love team. They’ve also been spotted together on multiple occasions, such as vacation trips, which prompted dating speculations.
Andrea Brillantes and Ricci Rivero
Just few months after their viral promposal at the BLACKPINK concert in March, Andrea Brillantes and Ricci Rivero were confirmed to have parted ways in June.
In a tell-all interview on Fast Talk with Boy Abunda, the basketball player explained the timeline of his split with Andrea, noting that they agreed to “take a little break from each other” in April. However, it was only during the first week of May that they officially parted ways.
In this interview, Ricci also shared that there were several factors that led to their separation. He also shut down speculations that beauty-queen-turned-politician Leren Bautista caused his split with Andrea.
James Reid and Issa Pressman
In March, James Reid and Issa Pressman fueled dating rumors after posting pictures of them attending the Harry Styles concert together and holding hands.
However, the photos revived past controversial dating rumors as Issa was alleged to be the third party in his 2020 breakup with Nadine Lustre. Following the attacks online, James took to his Instagram to address the speculations, emphasizing that there was no truth in the rumors.
“I feel the need to speak up now because this is the start of something beautiful. And I’m not gonna let anyone take that from me,” he said.
“To my fans, all you need to know from me is that I’m the happiest I’ve ever been,” he said, seemingly confirming his relationship with Issa.
Since then, the two have been more public about their romance, even attending fashion and entertainment events together.
McCoy de Leon and Elisse Joson
In January, McCoy de Leon surprised his fans when he confirmed that he and Elisse Joson had called it quits, noting that no third party was involved in their breakup.
“Hindi ko po intensyon na manakit ng tao o manloko. Sadyang dumating lang po sa point na sobrang bigat ng problema kaya po ako sumuko,” the actor said.
(It wasn’t my intention to hurt others or to cheat. It just reached the point where the problem was already too heavy so I gave up.)
Fans of the former Pinoy Big Brother housemates were saddened by the news especially since the two share a child together, a daughter named Felize McKenzie, whom they welcomed in April 2021.
Moreover, this isn’t the first time for the two to part ways, given that they had also parted ways in 2018 for more than a year. It was only in June 2021 when they confirmed that they had gotten back together.
However, weeks after McCoy announced their breakup, he was spotted hanging out again with Elisse. In a February interview, he confirmed they were back together, noting that he was “happy” with Elisse.
In an August episode of Magandang Buhay, Elisse shared that it was the people around them who helped them reconcile.
Given that their relationship had been on-and-off, she explained that it was because she was not the type to give up on the people she loves now that she has her own family. She added that their daughter was also a pivotal factor in working things out between herself and McCoy.
Media personality Kris Aquino and Batangas Vice Governor Mark Leviste were first speculated to be in a relationship in January when the politician spent the New Year with the host in the United States.
In February, Mark hinted at the romantic nature of their relationship, but Kris was quick to clarify that he was only her “male best friend.”
In June, Mark revealed that he was “full of love” for Kris. To which the latter responded with a social media post saying that her relationship was made public “without [her] knowledge or consent.”
In July, Kris revealed that she had broken up with Mark, saying that a long-distance relationship was difficult to maintain given her health condition.
“We just weren’t meant for each other,” she wrote.
In September, the host asked the politician to stop reaching out to her.
“Thank you for keeping in touch but I’d really prefer it if you don’t. It’s really a lot more peaceful now,” she said.
In November, Kris revealed that she had initiated another breakup with Mark, explaining that she had to put her recovery first.
“I’m dealing with so much and my love life isn’t a priority,” she said.
Paolo Contis and Yen Santos
More than a year after his much-publicized breakup with LJ Reyes, Paolo Contis confirmed that he is now dating his A Faraway Land leading lady Yen Santos.
In a January episode of Fast Talk With Boy Abunda, Paolo recognized that he can’t ask the public to be happy with their relationship given that Yen was rumored to be involved in his split with LJ.
Although he didn’t mention when he and Yen became a couple, Paolo also emphasized that the latter was not the third party between him and LJ. He added that at the time of his fallout with LJ, he and Yen had only been friends when they were spotted in Baguio.
As to what made him fall in love with Yen, Paolo said: “When the whole thing started, the whole crucifixion started, there was a time or there was every opportunity, she had every opportunity to leave me, but she stayed.”
Prior to Yen, Paolo was in a relationship with LJ for six years. They welcomed their daughter Summer in 2019.
AJ Raval and Aljur Abrenica
After months of speculation, Aljur Abrenica and AJ Raval finally publicized their relationship in February, over a year after the actress first confirmed they were getting to know each other.
To mark Valentine’s Day, both stars shared sweet photos on their Instagram accounts.
“I’ll always give you all the love I have in my heart and love you unconditionally,” the actress wrote.
AJ and Aljur starred together in the 2021 film Nerisa. They first sparked dating rumors in October 2021, just months after Aljur and ex-wife Kylie Padilla announced their split.
At the time, AJ was rumored to be the third party in the breakup, but all parties, including Kylie herself, denied AJ’s involvement in the fallout.
In April, however, Aljur admitted that he had cheated on Kylie. Aljur and Kylie have been together on and off since 2011, before getting married in 2018. They have two sons. Rumors of their split started in February 2021, before it was confirmed in July 2021.
After initially denying any romantic involvement together, basketball player Ricci Rivero and beauty-queen-turned-politician Leren Bautista went public with their relationship in October.
“Hindi tayo magtatago dahil walang dapat ikahiya. Walang nang-agaw at walang inagaw,” Ricci captioned his post.
(We won’t hide because we don’t have anything to be embarrassed about. No one took anyone away from anyone.)
The two first sparked dating rumors in June, before Ricci’s breakup with actress Andrea Brillantes was confirmed. This prompted speculations about Leren being a third-party. The councilor, however, was quick to address the allegations, denying that her alleged romance with Ricci was “entirely false and [had] no basis in reality.”
Jake Cuenca and Chie Filomeno
After admitting that they were “enjoying each other’s company,” Jake Cuenca fueled relationship rumors with Chie Filomeno after posting steamy photos of them together.
Prior to that, the actor had been leaving flirty emoji comments on several of Chie’s Instagram posts.
In August, Chie confirmed that she was dating Jake, adding that they were not rushing their relationship.
