LOVE is dead.
Or so it feels for many fans after power couple Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla announced their breakup on Nov. 30.
After 11 years of togetherness, the famous loveteam has called time on their relationship, sending supporters and other personalities into a frenzy and causing the term “KathNiel” (as the adoring public calls them) to trend on social media.
An article announcing the breakup was screened on stage during an event at Batangas State University, causing attendees to groan in disbelief. Even the official Facebook page of KitKat Philippines alluded to the split, showing the couple’s popularity.
Acknowledging the KathNiels who were invested in their loveteam, Bernardo requested that they not take sides in the separation.
Several names have been dragged into the issue, like actresses Andrea Brillantes and Gillian Vicencio. After Ogie Diaz (entertainment reporter and talent manager) revealed his unconfirmed source’s claim that Padilla and Brillantes were secretly seeing each other, screenshot photos of a conversation claiming something happened between the actor and Vicencio had been circulating online.
Admittedly, like many fans, I was downhearted when I heard that the duo headed to Splitsville and overwhelmed with incredulity. It can’t be true. Everything seemed to be going so well.
While many celeb couples have gone the distance, other romances haven’t stood the test of time. It seems that everywhere we look, a new famous twosome is breaking up. Have we entered some alternate reality? Is Mercury in retrograde? Some have gone down in history as public and complicated or have expertly coined new relationship terminology such as “consciously uncoupling”.
Aside from KathNiel, the Philippines has been marred with several star separations – rumors and facts.
As we enlist some of the hottest relationship breakdowns in the country today, we hope your avid fan hearts can take it.
Miles Ocampo and Elijah Canlas
They first worked together in 2020 on a TV5 drama series, “Paano ang Pangako?” The two went official on Instagram in 2022 after Canlas posted a birthday greeting for Ocampo. Since then, the two have been present on each other’s social media accounts, greeting each other on birthdays and memorable milestones. The actress-TV host even took the time to thank Canlas for being supportive when she underwent a health issue earlier this year.
But all things ended after Canlas announced his breakup with the actress on Nov. 23 during an interview with ABS-CBN. He mentioned that it had been a couple of months since they had broken up due to personal reasons.
Despite the breakup, Canlas said his love for Ocampo would remain – the two dated for two years. “I’m always going to have love for her, and I’m always going to support her in whatever she does.”
Andrea Brillantes and Ricci Rivero
After the viral video of basketball player Ricci Rivero asking Andrea Brillantes to be his girlfriend after the game, the two instantly became a favorite internet couple, from posting sweet photos to celebrating their first anniversary.
In June 2023, the duo called it quits but did not cite the reason. Rivero posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), “I own up to the mistake of not making my relationship status public because I felt there’s no need to add up to what we’re going through.” After the breakup, they have been in stir-up issues regarding a third party.
Yassi Pressman and Jon Semira
After publicizing their relationship in 2022, actress Yassi Pressman and entrepreneur Jon Semira showed a strong bond and affectionate dynamic as a couple. From the cute date night photos to traveling to different countries, it is undeniable that the two are smitten with each other. But after dating for a year, they announced their breakup in August.
In their respective Instagram accounts, Pressman and Semira posted the same statement. “After an amazing run, Yass and I have decided to part ways. We look to move on to our next phase in life in peace and with the support of our family and friends,” the statement read.
The breakup confirmation came after Pressman was linked to Camarines Sur Governor Luigi Villafuerte and Ilocos Norte Representative Sandro Marcos. Semira and Pressman deny that there is a third party involved in their split-up.
Janella Salvador and Markus Patterson
Welcoming their son Jude in 2020, Janella Salvador and Markus Patterson have always kept their relationship out of the limelight. From posting birthday greetings to celebrating holidays together, it was a sweet time for them.
But in September 2022, Salvador confirmed she is a single mom. According to the actress, she’s been on good terms with Patterson for the sake of their son Jude. Although the two have gone their separate ways, they have each other’s support to keep Jude their priority.
Moira dela Torre and Jason Hernandez
In April 2022, fans noticed on Instagram and TikTok that dela Torre deleted her pictures with ex-husband Hernandez. The two singers were married for three years after getting hitched in 2019.
Hernandez confirmed their breakup on his Instagram account, releasing a statement that he’s been “unfaithful” to dela Torre during their marriage. “Three years ago, I married my best friend with the intent of spending the rest of my life with her. Though my love for her has always been genuine, a few months ago, I confessed to Moira that I have been unfaithful to her during our marriage.”
Although Hernandez tried to fix his relationship with dela Torre, the latter didn’t take the chance to get back together again.
Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez
Another whirlwind breakup that made headlines is Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez. After saying “I do” on the altar, the two called it quits three months after their wedding.
In January 2022, the duo was rumored to be separated after Rodriguez posted a cryptic video that featured a dialogue that sounded like a breakup scene, which alarmed fans of the artists. The actress also made a lengthy statement on YouTube where she recounted the pain she endured for seven years at the hands of her longtime partner. That same month, Rodriguez issued his statement, which the couple’s manager Popoy Caritativo posted on social media. The actor, an American citizen, left the Philippines in March 2022 and said he had filed for a divorce.
JK Labajo and Maureen Wroblewitz
Fans were ecstatic when JK Labajo called model-turned-beauty queen Maureen Wroblewitz his “buwan” on Valentine’s Day in 2019.
In June 2022, JK and Maureen ended their relationship amicably and on good terms, but did not elaborate on the reason for their breakup.
Kim Chiu and Xian Lim’s rumored separation
A celebrity breakup rumor that has been the talk of the town is Xian Lim and Kim Chiu’s.
The discussions about their alleged split began when they were seldom seen with each other, especially during the actress’ recent vacations.
Chiu went to Balesin Island Club on Nov. 20 with her family and traveled solo to California. She hasn’t posted anything that includes Lim on her social media, and the last time was on July 30, when they went to Hong Kong together. Making the speculations grow much stronger, Lim didn’t congratulate Chiu for the success of her latest TV series “Linlang” when it ended on Nov. 16.
In a post on Instagram on Nov. 11, Lim seemingly addressed the issue when he talked about a “hearsay,” but that didn’t clear things out between them. But in Chiu’s latest interview on ABS-CBN on Nov. 27, she seemed to prove that the rumors were true when she said they wanted to “keep” the stand of their relationship status to themselves.
Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati’s alleged split-up
Rumors about Sarah Lahbati and Richard Gutierrez’s separation have been circulating online especially after the couple stopped posting photos of them together on their respective social media pages. To add more fuel to the fire, the actress recently cut her hair short, which indicates a broken heart and a sign of moving on for many, and dropped the surname Gutierrez from her Instagram handle. However, she still uses SLG, which means Sarah Lahbati Gutierrez.
Though the two have remained mum about it, a source, allegedly one of their close relatives who shared with a friend, confirmed to Daily Tribune that the couple have broken up. Although the reason behind the split is unknown, with the name of actress Kazel Kinouchi being dragged into the issue, it’s said to be because Lahbati is planning for a showbiz comeback, to which Gutierrez disagrees.
Mavy Legaspi and Kyline Alcantara’s reported breakup
Mavy Legaspi and Kyline Alcantara have reportedly called it quits this year. The rumors started with Alcantara’s several cryptic social media posts as of late, including an Instagram story on Nov. 28, talking about peace. “I was taught that keeping quiet kept the peace. Until I realized, (whose) peace is it keeping,” the post read. But before that, she also had an earlier post on X, saying, “I knew it.”
Though the two have yet to break their silence about the issue, many claim they have already parted ways. The Philippine Entertainment Portal reported that a very reliable source claimed that the couple would release a joint statement to address their relationship status.
Investing in celebrity figures
In a world where showbiz splits are so common, why do we care so much about the relationship breakdowns of famous people we’ve never met? With every Insta-worthy breakup announcement comes the inevitable churn of headlines and rumors – as well as social media posts and group chat texts from the many fans who most definitely have opinions.
People can take celebrity breakups hard, even from afar. Contrary to the stereotypes, it’s not just women who care about celebrity gossip, says Alice Leppert, a media and communications professor at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania who focuses on stardom and celebrity culture. “Most people have at least one celebrity figure (broadly construed, be that an athlete, a social media influencer or YouTuber, or a more traditional celebrity) that they care about, and whose personal life they’re invested in one way or another,” she told the US radio program “Morning Edition”.
In other words, most people are liable to find themselves reacting strongly to a celeb split-up at some point or another. Experts say those feelings don’t necessarily just reflect how people see famous personalities, but also their own lives. And even if we think their breakups have nothing to do with us, there are some lessons we can learn from them.
Why do we care about celebrities’ relationship status at all? Experts offer a few theories.
First of all, Leppert points out that our culture – from Disney movies to dating and relationship reality TV series – places high value on monogamous, romantic love. So, most of us are conditioned to want and idealize happy, long-lasting couplings.
“Relationship goals” is a term often thrown around when it comes to celebrities because they tend to publicly portray the ideal or fantasy of what a relationship looks like or can aspire to be. The stars tend to be attractive yet down-to-earth and have busy careers but still find time for dates and cute grocery trips together. Inadvertently, they project the idea that your romance can survive the odds, no matter what.
Plus, people tend to either envy, look up to, or see something of themselves in celebrities. But such personalities may often perform an image or identity that doesn’t always align with their authentic selves. Their marital problems can come as a shock if all the public sees is a happy family.
Dr. Andrea Liner, a clinical psychologist and breakup coach, says that’s especially true because celebrities share so much of their lives online, creating an “almost artificial sense of intimacy” that obscures what’s happening behind the scenes.
Parasocial relationships – a one-sided connection between a viewer and public figure – have become more of an issue over time, in large part because social media has increased the level of access to public figures. “Before the internet, it was just whoever happened to be booked on the talk show that night and what magazines were coming out that week – we didn’t get as much into their personal lives,” Liner says in an interview with npr.org. “Now, celebrities take their cell phones with them into the bathroom and are showing their morning routine.”
These public figures represent a lot of our highest goals. They tend to be attractive, wealthy and successful, which many people assume makes them immune to a lot of life’s problems.
So, when we find out that beautiful, gorgeous, wealthy celebrities are getting cheated on or divorcing or breaking up, it kind of humanizes them and can be validating for us to see that they have problems, too. “But it can also confuse us because we think that they shouldn’t be having problems like that if they’ve achieved these levels of success,” Liner says.
And if the rich and famous are having problems, what does that mean for everyone else? “There’s more to learn from every relationship you’re going to have,” she adds. “And celebrities rarely stay single for too long. So, if they can do it, we can do it.”
The information that celebrities share about their relationships on social media or through sources who talk to the tabloids is, of course, only one part of the story. For some couples, breaking up is the best course of action, no matter how enamored of each other they seem on Instagram. But in such an uncertain time, it’s still very tempting to hope for a happy ending.
Beyond our curiosity about their personal lives, celebrity breakups also provide an opportunity for introspection. They force us to examine our own beliefs about love and commitment. We may find ourselves questioning societal expectations or reevaluating our own relationships.
