Reel or Real? The Enduring Magic of Filipino Love Teams
In the world of Philippine entertainment, few phenomena are as beloved and enduring as the “Love Team.” There’s nothing quite like it. Sure, Western cinema has given us some iconic celebrity pairings, but Filipinos have taken fanaticism up a notch with their Love Teams. We can even say it practically runs the showbiz industry with its expansive and fiercely loyal fanbase that has endured for many years. These on-screen pairings have captured the hearts of audiences, blurring the lines of fiction and reality.
From the golden era of Philippine cinema to the rise of social media-driven fandoms, Love Teams have not only fueled blockbuster movies and top-rated teleseryes (television dramas), but have also shaped the careers of actors and networks, and ultimately redefined the country’s pop culture landscape.
But what exactly makes these pairings so compelling? What is it about their chemistry, and how do industry executives know when two actors are meant to be on screen? In our latest explainer, we’re diving into the concept of “Love Teams” and why, in the Philippines, romance is not just a storyline but a national obsession.
What is a ‘Love Team’?
From the name itself, a “Love Team” is a pairing of actors who are depicted to the public as a romantic couple. This concept can be traced way back to the 1920s with the tandem of Gregorio Fernandez and Mary Walter, who starred in local silent films.
Love pairings in cinemas aren’t exactly new, nor is it something that’s solely practiced in the Philippines. We’ve seen Hollywood actors in romantic feature films too, but the Philippine showbiz world operates in an unorthodox manner when it comes to these tandems. Once actors are paired up, they are expected to work together on multiple projects and even extend the act off-screen, which somehow ends up with the actors involved being at the mercy of their respective fandoms.
By that, we mean people start to fiercely root for them, hoping they end up together for real, which has indeed happened multiple times over the years. Just look at Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes, two of the most beloved actors who were once a love team for over eleven years and are now married.
Much like how lovers develop feelings for each other over time, fans develop this belief that the actors within a Love Team are somehow brought together by fate thus expecting them to live out a love story akin to the stories they play on screen. The more real a love team becomes, the more money it brings into the actors' and networks’ pockets.
But what exactly makes a good love team? Are there qualifications? We consulted with an industry insider, award-winning screenwriter Noreen Capili who has worked on multiple films and television programs for one of the country’s top media conglomerates, to get her opinion on what makes a love team “click.”
“Two things: Chemistry and authenticity,” she answered. “Chemistry is that unexplainable magic — yung titigan palang, kinikilig ka na (from the way they stare at each other, you instantly feel the butterflies). It has to be natural, not forced.”
“But chemistry isn’t enough, it also has to feel authentic. Fans will know if it’s fake. They want the truth behind the kilig — even if you can’t truly confirm if they’re together for real, you feel there’s something there. Plus, the journey matters. It’s not all about the sweet moments. There also has to be growth, which is shaped by conflicts and heartbreaks, while still finding their way back to each other. 'Love Teams' that evolve with their audience stay longer and mature alongside their fans.”
Love Teams on Becoming a Brand
On the bright side, being in a Love Team can boost an actor’s popularity and shape their careers and is a sure way to gain stardom in the industry. This can be assumed from how the highest-grossing films in the country, including the only one that surpassed the billion-peso mark stars loveteams. In fact, if we are to look at the top 10 alone, six of these films feature popular love tandems and were able to bring in millions of pesos!
This is mostly due to the fandoms they build, and how they gain massive support simply by working together on various projects. Of course, this comes with the fact that fans enjoy seeing their relationship develop, hoping that the more they work together, the higher the possibility of developing actual feelings for each other. This shows how many Filipinos are hopeless romantics and simply love the concept of “falling in love.”
“Filipinos are naturally romantic. We’re into love stories and happy endings,” Noreen said when asked why Love Teams are so popular among local audiences.
If you ever tried marathoning Filipino movies that star Love Teams, you’ll notice a pattern in their projects and how it’s almost always romantic comedies or dramas. The Cinderella trope is probably the top trope used in these stories or the “good girl x bad boy” story where the girl inevitably changes the guy to be better. Some examples include KathNiel’s “She’s Dating the Gangster” and JaDine’s “Ang Diary ng Panget.”
“We all want to consume stories that make us feel kilig, that will make us laugh then cry towards the end,” Noreen told The Beat Asia. She also mentioned that looking back on Pop Culture history, romance stories have always played an important role in Filipinos' lives.
An example would be the “Precious Hearts Romances” (PHR) pocketbooks, which gained popularity in the '90s up until the 2010s as they were bought and read by working-class Filipinos. From the sales ladies at the department stores down to the factory and office workers, everyone was holding one of these pocketbooks, reading them during their lunch breaks or while stuck in heavy traffic. In 2012, PHR published 40 to 50 titles a month and was named the most prolific publisher of local romances. Today, its mother company, Precious Pages Corporation (PPC) created Life is Beautiful (LIB) Books which is aimed at encouraging online readers to return to the pages by publishing popular fiction from Wattpad and other platforms. One of their most bestselling titles includes Maxinejiji’s “He’s Into Her” series, which was adapted into TV show starring one of today’s biggest loveteams, Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano.
“They offered escape and entertainment,” Noreen stated. “Even for just a little while, they are taken with a romantic story. It comforts them that no matter how hard life gets, they can still find true love.”
“It’s the same with Love Teams. Whenever we watch KimPau, DonBelle, KathNiel, LizQuen, or even during the times of Claudine-Rico, Judy-Piolo, Maricel-William, and Sharon-Gabby, we are like co-authors in their love stories. We root for them because we want to believe there’s hope in love. Love Teams fuel that hope and fantasy.Sa mundong puno ng trabaho, trapik, at problema, kilig is our sweet escape (In a world filled with work, traffic, and problems, stories of love are our sweet escape).”
Although Love Teams bring in sales and a loyal and passionate fan base, it can also be very limiting for the actors involved. For Love Teams, pairings with other actors are limited and if they pursue projects with a different actor, these artists often get bashed and painted like “villains” in their supposed love story.
Solenn Heussaff, an actress and entrepreneur, once spoke about the truth on Love Teams in an interview with GMA News, saying how being involved in such a pairing is “difficult” as it limits one’s growth as an artist.
"You want to act with different people because you learn from every new person you act with. But when your love team is too strong and you get a job where you have to act with someone else or you have to be the love interest of a different person, someone gets attacked," she said.
Liza Soberano, who rose to fame as half of the love team “LizQuen” with her on-and-off screen partner, Enrique Gil, also opened up about her experience being in a Love Team in an podcast interview with Korean singers Ashley Choi and Peniel. She talked about how actors were tested on projects and how once their tandem takes off, they are inevitably “shipped” by fans, which starts the Love Team frenzy.
“In Love Teams, you’re expected to be with just one person. We’re supposed to be ‘real’ and ‘reel’ and only work with each other throughout our careers.” Liza said.
She also mentioned how they’re not allowed to reveal if they’re officially dating or worse, dating other people, as it’s their job to keep the people hungry for them to be actually dating. This incites excitement for their projects and encourages fans’ support. In turn, support means higher ticket sales, ratings, and more brand partnerships.
“A successful Love Team can carry a network or production company for years,” Noreen said. “They’re truly a huge investment. The chemistry of a Love Team is the product, and if it clicks, it becomes a brand.”
Filipino Love Teams Through The Years
It may have its ups and downs but one thing is certain, Love Teams make us believe in love again. For a couple of hours or through a handful of episodes, we can live vicariously through these actors' love stories, making our days a little brighter, and our loads a little lighter.
As long as we can keep that line clear between fiction and reality and respect the actors’ boundaries and their need to grow in their careers outside of their tandems, then Love Teams can be an enjoyable source of entertainment.
Why don’t we take a stroll down memory lane and see some of the most iconic Love Teams through the years that have made an impact in the Philippine entertainment scene? We’ve included some of their most popular works too, so feel free to check them out and watch a romcom…or two!
Nora Aunor and Tirso Cruz III
This phenomenal tandem drew much adoration from fans in the ‘70s. Some of their most successful movies include “D' Musical Teenage Idols” (their debut pairing in 1969), “Fiesta Extravaganza” (1969), “Young Love” (1970), “Nasaan Ka, Inay?” (1970), and “Guy and Pip” (1971).
Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion
Sparks definitely flew between Sharon and Gabby, and if there was a top Love Team in the 80s, it was most definitely them. They first starred in “Dear Heart” (1981), which became an instant blockbuster. The following year, when VIVA Films was established, they were paired up again for the film “P.S. I Love You,” which also became a box-office hit. This began Sharon's reign as the Box-Office Queen of Philippine Movies, a title she held until 1993.
The two of them starred in a string of films together before getting married (yes, in real life!) in 1984, but unfortunately separated after three years. They have one daughter, KC Concepcion, who’s also an actress and showbiz personality.
Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin
These two got their start as part of the popular teen show “Gimik” (1996) and were the strongest Love Team on the show. One of their popular films is “Labs Kita...Okey Ka Lang” (1998), a friends-to-lovers story that has since become one of the most iconic love stories in Philippine cinema.
Claudine Barretto and Rico Yan
Even though their partnership was short-lived due to Rico’s passing in 2002, there’s no doubt that this real-life couple was the King and Queen of the ‘90s and will forever remain in our hearts as the pair that made us believe in love again.
Their film “Got 2 Believe” was a box office success and was considered by critics as one of the greatest romance films of all time, and continues to be a blueprint for Filipino romance movies today.
Bea Alonzo & John Lloyd Cruz
Their story began in 2003 when Bea, at only fifteen years old, was cast as a 20-year-old lawyer in the 2002 drama, “Tagal Kang Hinintay” alongside John Lloyd Cruz. This paved the way for a series of hit teleseryes and blockbuster films, including “It Might Be You” (2003), “Maging Sino Ka Man” (2006), and “One More Chance” (2007).
Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes
Marian and Dingdong’s team up in the adaptation of a Mexican drama series, “MariMar” (2007), set a record in Philippine television at that time with a 52.6 percent rating for its final episode. They also starred in the fantasy series “Dyesebel” (2008) before finally debuting on the silver screen in “One True Love,” which was, unsurprisingly, a big hit!
The two are also an off-screen couple and have been married since 2014. Last year, not only did they star in one of the Philippines' highest-grossing films to date, "Rewind," but they also renewed their marriage vows in celebration of their 10th anniversary. See? Happy endings do exist!
Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla
Much like Jolina and Marvin, ‘KathNiel’ starred in a teen-oriented series called “Growing Up” in 2011, which paved the way for their primetime hit series, “The Princess and I" (2012-2013).
Kathryn and Daniel proved to be one of the most enduring pairings on screen and even starred in one of the highest-grossing films in Philippine cinema, “The Hows of Us” (2018). Although no longer a tandem on or off screen, they surely cemented their status as one of the industry’s most beloved Love Teams.
Nadine Lustre and James Reid
Dubbed as “Team Real” by their fans, ‘JaDine’ made fans swoon when they practically confirmed their off-screen romance at their Love Valentine Concert at the Araneta Coliseum in 2016.
Nadine and James had several music, film, and TV show collaborations, including their debut movie pairing in “Ang Diary ng Panget” (2014) and the highly-rated drama “On The Wings of Love” (2015).
Maine Mendoza & Alden Richards
Born from the country’s longest-running noontime show, “Eat Bulaga!”, this accidental Love Team broke TV ratings, Twitter trends, and ticket sales during its peak. There was a time when all people could talk about was “AlDub” and their popular improv soap called “Kalyeserye,” which many people tuned into during their lunch breaks.
Maine and Alden also starred in several films: “My Bebe Love: #KiligPaMore" (2015) and “Imagine You and Me" (2016), which was filmed in the city of love, Verona.
Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil
Liza and Enrique’s debut series, “Forevermore” (2014) was a massive hit, even breaking the record for the highest recorded national TV rating on Philippine television in 2015.
This Love Team played many roles throughout their careers and starred in various romantic films from sweet rom-coms like “Everyday I Love You” (2015) and “Just The Way You Are” (2015) to heartbreaking dramas, such as “My Exs and Whys” (2017) and "Alone/Together” (2019).
Belle Mariano and Donny Pangilinan
We’re adding a Gen Z Love Team to this list, and one of the more popular ones today is ‘DonBelle.’
They broke out as a tandem in the series “He’s Into Her” (2022), where they showed off their undeniable chemistry before following it up with “Can’t Buy Me Love” (2023).
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