In Philippine media, a love team (or loveteam) is an actor and actress depicted to the public as a romantic couple. Some of these onscreen pairs have become couples in real life.

Background

KathNiel_at_Celebrate_Mega_in_Iceland_2016_(7)

The concept of love teams can be traced back to the early years of Philippine cinema in the 1920s.The tandem of

Gregorio Fernandez Gregorio Montemayor Fernandez (May 25, 1904 – March 11, 1973) was a Filipino film actor and director, and father of Rudy Fernandez. Personal life Fernandez was born on May 25, 1904 to Eugenio Araneta Fernandez and Maria Montemayor. He marr ...

and

Mary Walter Mary Walter (September 10, 1912 – February 25, 1993) was a Filipina actress whose eight decade-long film acting career saw her transformation from a romantic lead in the silent film era into a wizened fixture in horror movies in the late 1 ...

who starred in silent films in the country during the 1920s is considered as the precursor of the love team concept in Philippine cinema. Other pairings became prominent such as

Rogelio dela Rosa Regidor Lim de la Rosa"Filipinos in History Vol. 3", page 75. (November 12, 1916 – November 26, 1986), professionally known as Rogelio de la Rosa, was one of the most popular Filipino matinee idols of the 20th century.Garcia, J., ''A Movie Qu ...

and

Carmen Rosales Januaria Constantino Keller (March 3, 1917 – December 11, 1991), better known by her stage name Carmen Rosales and by her nickname Mameng, was a noted Filipina actress and World War II guerilla fighter. Her acting career spanned the decades i ...

in the 1950s,

Tirso Cruz III Tirso Silvano Cruz III (born April 1, 1952) is a Filipino actor, comedian, and singer. He currently serves as the Chairperson of the Film Development Council of the Philippines. Regarded as a "matinee idol", Cruz is a FAMAS Award and Gawad Ur ...

and Nora Aunor in the 1960s and the 1970s,

Gabby Concepcion Gabriel Arellano Concepcion (born 5 November 1964) is a Filipino actor, singer and businessman. He began his show business career in the 1980s as a teen commercial model and is known for his debonair career in Philippine cinema, spanning severa ...

and

Sharon Cuneta Sharon Gamboa Cuneta-Pangilinan ( , ; born January 6, 1966) is a Filipino actress, singer, television host, and socialite. Regarded as one of the most successful and highest-earning individuals in the Philippine entertainment industry, she has ...

in the 1980s,

Rico Yan Rico Yan (; born Ricardo Carlos Castro Yan; March 14, 1975 – March 29, 2002) was a Filipino matinee idol, model, film and television actor, host, spokesperson and entrepreneur. Yan graduated from De La Salle University in 1997 with a degr ...

and

Claudine Barretto Claudine Margaret Castelo Barretto (; born July 20, 1979) is a Filipino actress, singer, and entrepreneur. Popularly dubbed as “''The'' ''Optimum Star''” by various media outlets, Barretto has won 3 FAMAS Award including 2 Best Actress w ...

, Marvin Agustin and

Jolina Magdangal Maria Jolina Perez Magdangal-Escueta (; born November 6, 1978) is a Filipina singer, actress, television presenter, and entrepreneur. She is referred to in the Philippines as the Queen of Pinoy Popular Culture (or simply as Pop Icon) and is ...

in the 1990s,

John Lloyd Cruz John Lloyd Espidol Cruz (born June 24, 1983) is a Filipino actor, model and occasional TV host. He was a member of ABS-CBN's Star Magic, where he is an alumnus of Batch 5. He starred in the teen drama '' Tabing Ilog'', and is best known for his ...

and

Bea Alonzo Phylbert Angelli Ranollo Fagestrom (born October 17, 1987), professionally known as Bea Alonzo (), is a Filipino actress. Alonzo first gained recognition for the 2002 teleserye ''Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay''. She is best known for her portrayals ...

in the 2000s. In the 21st century, love teams are also known by the portmanteaus of the couple's names. Becoming part of a love team in the Philippine entertainment industry can be a boost to the acting career of two people who are part of the pairing. The two people in a love team often star in television series and films with their characters. It is expected that their characters will be romantically attached like in line with their public image as a romantic couple off-screen. There are some organized fan groups supporting love teams. However, prospects of an actor or actress involved in a love team, especially the more popular pairings, to star with another actor or actress other than each other is limited. In cases where this happens, there is backlash from supporters of a love team, such as the case of Kathryn Bernardo's involvement in the 2019 film ''

Hello, Love, Goodbye ''Hello, Love, Goodbye'' is a 2019 Philippine romantic drama film directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina and produced by Star Cinema. The film follows Joy Fabregas (Kathryn Bernardo), a struggling overseas Filipino worker, and Ethan Del Rosario (Alde ...

'', where her character got paired with the Alden Richard's. Her pairing with Richards was not received well by KathNiel fans who support her being with Daniel Padilla instead. In that year, both Bernardo and Padilla mutually decided not to be involved in the same film project together. Hardcore fans of love teams wish for the pairing they support to become a "real-life couple." One example of this is Gabby Concepcion and Sharon Cuneta, who eventually got married. However, their marriage later got annulled. Traditionally, the "success" of love teams is influenced by the "real-life relationship" between the pairing members. However, love teams could involve actors and actresses who are not romantically in a relationship with each other, with even both members of the pair having open relationship with someone outside the pairing such as the case of

Ruru Madrid Ruru may refer to: Places * Ruru, Nepal * Ruru, New Zealand People * Rouran, an ancient nomadic race from the Mongolian steppes, also called Juan Juan * Ruru Madrid, a Filipino teen actor Others *Māori name for the morepork owl *A Kanohi from th ...

and

Shaira Diaz Shaira Mae Dela Cruz (born May 3, 1995) is a Filipina actress. She is under GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded ...

both of which are dating other people. In the case of

Richard Yap Richard Edison Uy Yap (born May 18, 1967) is a Filipino actor, singer, model and businessman of Chinese descent. He is best known for portraying Richard "Sir Chief" Lim in ''Be Careful with My Heart'' and "Papa Chen" in ''My Binondo Girl''. ...

and Jodi Sta. Maria, Yap is already married when his love team with Sta. Maria is active. Sta. Maria herself, who separated from her husband, is not in a romantic relationship with Yap.

Reception

Within the entertainment industry

Actress

Solenn Heussaff Solenn Marie Adea Heussaff-Bolzico (née Heussaff, ; born July 20, 1985) is a Filipino actress, model and singer. She was one of the official castaways of '' Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Showdown''. She made it to the Final Three. In Decem ...

after conversing with people she knows are involved in love teams, said that being in such a pairing is difficult. She remarked that the love teams may "lose a sense of who they are" by trying too hard to portray themselves as romantic couples both on-screen and in real life, which she says is not good if it is forced in the case of the latter. She also points out that love team fans may be limiting the career options of actors involved in a pairing "knowingly or unknowingly." Heussaff states that if an actor or actress gets an assignment for a film or television series where they pair with an actor or actress other than each other as their love interest, "someone gets attacked." But she was quick to add that love teams could be beneficial. Sometimes, those involved in such pairing became romantic couples in reality and urged fans to respect the individuality of the actors and actresses.

Notable examples

References

External links