Winter, spring, summer, and fall – these are the four seasons of the year. For most of us, it is already winter season, but for the Philippine showbiz industry, it appears to be a break-up season.
Celebrity break-ups have been trending for the past few weeks, among them is the most controversial break-up between Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla – collectively known as Kathniel – who first started as a loveteam and eventually dated each other in real life.
The love team culture in the Philippines is an established concept that captures the heart of many Filipinos. This fusion of reality and fiction brings huge fanbases to celebrities, and audiences often extend their support to their real lives. Even couples who are not paired on-screen but choose to date in real life receive the same support.
When these couples part ways, fans find themselves mourning the conclusion of what they considered “something great.” The audience, having invested time and emotional energy in supporting these pairs, also gets a sense of sadness witnessing their favorite couple’s heartbreak.
Let’s look back on the recent celebrity breakups in the second half of 2023 – rumored and confirmed:
- Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla
“Chapter closed,” said Kathryn Bernardo in her recent Instagram post where she clarified the end of her relationship with on-screen and off-screen partner Daniel Padilla.
Bernardo and Padilla were first paired in the Philippine TV series “Princess and I” in 2012. The triumph of the TV series propelled them into becoming one of the nation’s most widely followed power couples, both in front of the camera and in real life. In that same year, the pair also started dating but officially went public in 2018.
The relationship spanned 11 years before the news broke out that the two had split. As for the reason behind their separation, it was never disclosed by either Kathryn nor Daniel. They publicly announced their breakup, bidding farewell to each other through separate Instagram posts.
“Deej, you gave me 11 beautiful years and the kind of love that I will forever cherish. I will always be grateful for you,” said Kath.
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“Thank you for dancing with me during my highs, and thank you for singing with me during my lows,” he wrote. “Our lives may drift away, but our love will still ride that tide,” Padilla said.
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The split of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla was the end of an era.
In their journey towards healing, the former couple addressed to the public that they would now be moving forward in different directions.
“Chapter closed. I hope this finally helps all of us move forward. I won’t be entertaining questions regarding this anymore. Thank you for understanding,” Kathryn concluded — or so we thought.
Fans took notice when Daniel erased the “break-up” letter from his Instagram post after they were seen performing together at the Araneta Coliseum. Theories arose that the two have gotten back together.
Amidst all that, Kathryn posted a photo on Instagram with the caption: “No looking back, only moving forward.”
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Fans took it as a hint that she and Daniel did not get back together despite their recent interactions.
Finally, the beans have been spilled by trusted sources to PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) that the two have already been separated when they attended the ABS-CBN Ball last September 30, 2023.
Sources revealed that Andrea Brillantes also known as Blythe, the alleged third-party, reached out to Kathryn, showed up at her studio at dawn where Blythe made her drunken confession regarding her relationship with Daniel.
The first source shared that Blythe and Daniel met once last November 2021 at his house. During that time, Kathryn was 25, Daniel was 26 and Blythe was 18.
It was said that Blythe showed to Kathryn her conversations with Daniel which was described by the first source as “landian nila ni DJ (Daniel) sa text [their flirty conversations through text].”
A few days after their rendezvous, Blythe shared to Daniel that his ex-boyfriend Seth Fedelin knew about them.
“Ayusin mo yan,” he said.
During that time, Blythe and Seth were in a “cool-off” period which eventually led to a breakup after Seth found out about Daniel and Blythe’s text message exchanges.
“Seth has receipts,” the first source shared. The evidence that Seth has against Blythe was strong enough to not make him believe any explanation from her.
According to a source from Pep.PH, it was Kathryn who initiated the breakup.
“Mahal pa rin ni Kath si DJ, e, pero ayaw na niya,” they said.
- Kim Chiu and Xian Lim
In another reel to real pairing, Kim Chiu and Xian Lim – popularly known as KimXi – confirmed their breakup through social media last December 23, 2023. Just like Kathniel, this couple also started dating in 2012 and publicly announced their relationship in 2018.
Kim and Xian both had the leading roles in the teleserye “My Binondo Girl” in 2011 alongside actors Mateo Guidicelli and Jolo Revilla. During that time Xian also started courting Kim which eventually led to a relationship the year after.
Before the confirmation of their split, this couple have been leaving fans into a frenzy trying to decipher whether or not they have broken up.
On November 11, Xian Lim shared a message to the public through an Instagram post saying “plenty of hearsay [is] happening right now and I would like to ask everyone to be mindful of what you chose to believe in deceiving headlines and other information used to just pretend to know the whole story for personal gain and traction.”
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Fans have assumed that it was linked to the rumors of their split.
Xian also showed his “Lover” in a recent Instagram post.
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It is a famous trend where someone shows himself/herself in front of the mirror before showing his/her significant other in the next frame as a reference to Taylor Swift’s hit song “Lover.”
In the video, he showed a red puppet as if it was his lover.
Just recently, the rumors were fueled when Xian deleted his YouTube content with long-time partner Kim Chiu.
On December 23, the couple finally confirmed their split through separate social media posts.
“End of a love story,” Kim shared.
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“To Xi, thank you for the almost 12 years of beautiful memories together one can never imagine. You will always have a place in my heart. Thank you for showing me what love is,” she added.
Afterwards, Xian Lim also took his letter to Instagram saying, “I wish that you will find all the happiness and love you are searching for. You deserve nothing but the best.”
“No goodbyes here, I’ll see you around petunia,” he added.
The split was, according to Kim, a mutual decision to transition their romantic relationship into a lifelong friendship.
“As we close this chapter, I ask for everyone’s kindness and respect. I hope this clears everything as we all move forward with our lives,” Kim concluded.
- Richard Guttierez and Sarah Lahbati
Speculations of the rumored split of married couple Richard Guttierez and Sarah Lahbati has intensified as the actor’s mother and talent manager, Annabelle Rama, revealed that Richard has been living with her at present and is slowly moving to his place in Alabang.
“Si Richard, trabaho nang trabaho. ‘Yung isa, nagwawaldas ng pera,” she stated in a recent interview with ABS-CBN news.
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This showbiz couple hit it off while filming the Philippine television Drama “Makapiling ka Muli” where Richard played the leading role while Sarah was a supporting character.
In 2013, Sarah left to “pursue her studies” in Switzerland. The next year, the couple revealed their first child.
“A lot of people think that Sarah left the country because we are having a baby and she’s pregnant. I just want to set the record straight and tell everyone that I’m a proud father of baby Zion,” Richard said in the first episode of their family reality show It Takes Gutz to be A Gutierrez.
They both revealed that they kept it a secret because they did not want her pregnancy to be feasted by tabloids.
As of this year, they already have 2 kids together and there are still no confirmations regarding their split.
- Elijah Canlas and Miles Ocampo
Elijah Canlas and Miles Ocampo – one of the internet’s favorite couple – have confirmed their split last November.
In an interview with a local media outlet, Elijah confirmed that they were going through a rough patch that eventually led to their split. He said that they have already separated months ago but are still in good terms.
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Elijah is currently playing the role of Archie Aguerro in the ongoing Philippine TV Series “Senior High” while Miles is a regular host at the noontime show “EAT.”
They were recently spotted standing beside each other at the Metro Manila Film Festival motorcade.
4. Andrea Brillantes and Ricci Rivero
This couple were trending back-to-back from 2022 to 2023. From “will you be my girlfriend?” to prom-posals, to a controversial breakup.
On April 2022, the couple went viral when athlete Ricci Rivero asked actress Andrea Brillantes — also known as Blythe — to be his girlfriend after his University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) game. Rivero used the game announcer’s microphone to ask her: “Can I ask Blythe to be my girlfriend?” in which she said “yes” using a shirt presented to her by Rivero’s accomplices.
This was the start of their official relationship, as well as the start of their back-to-back virality.
Last March, Blythe made a very bold move as she asked Rivero at the Born Pink Concert by South Korean girl group BLACKPINK to be his date for the Star Magical Prom.
As seen on the video below, she was noticed by Rosé of BLACKPINK who read her prom-posal.
@jnlsamandu JUST IN: RICCI RIVERO PROPOSED TO BLYTHE AT BLACKPINK CONCERT AND ROSÉ AND LISA NOTICED. #blackpink #promdate #chaelisa #ricci #blythe #fyp ♬ Shut Down – BLACKPINK
Around June 2023, rumors about their separation were circulating. Rivero then confirmed their split through a post on X saying, “Please respect our decision to keep it to ourselves so that we can preserve what’s left of our friendship. I hope let’s stop creating your own versions and dragging other characters into these false accusations.”
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 were going through. Please respect our decision to keep it to ourselves so that we can preserve whats left of our friendship. I hope let’s stop creating your own…
— Ricci Rivero (@_ricciiirivero) June 8, 2023
Their split was filled with rumors of a third-party as fans were speculating that Rivero is seeing former beauty queen-turned-politician Leren Bautista.
On October 21, Rivero confirmed his relationship with Bautista through an appreciation post on Instagram.
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Indeed, it is easy to get swept up in the drama and excitement of celebrity relationships. Yet, it is also important to remember that stars, as bright as they shine, also experience the same mundane things normal people do — in life and in love.
Behind the spotlight, they laugh together, they quarrel together, they cry together just like normal people do.
But unlike normal people, these stars are public figures which brings their relationships to the spotlight.
Although these relationships seem juicy to the fans and marites out there, it is important to remember that these are the real lives of celebrities. Whatever the status of their relationships are must still be respected.
