''The Legal Wife'' is a 2014

Philippine drama Philippine television drama, also known as ''teleserye'', Filipino telenovelas or P-drama, is a form of melodramatic, serialized, televised fiction in the Philippines. ''Teleserye'' is derived from two Filipino words: "tele", short for "''telebis ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

directed by Rory B. Quintos and Dado C. Lumibao, starring

Angel Locsin Angelica Locsin Colmenares (born April 23, 1985) is a Filipino actress and humanitarian. She is known for her dramatic roles and portrayals of heroines and mythological characters in film and television. She is a recipient of various accolades ...

Jericho Rosales Jericho Vibar Rosales (; born September 21, 1979), also known as Echo, is a Filipino actor. He is currently a freelance actor. Primarily a film and television actor, he is known by his stage name "Echo" cousin of Jefferson C. Rosales. He beg ...

Maja Salvador Maja Ross Andres Salvador-Ortega (; born October 5, 1988) is a Filipino actress, performer, television host, occasional producer, and talent manager. Referred to as the “Majestic Superstar”and the "''Queen of Revenge Drama''", Salvador is ...

and

JC de Vera John Carlo de Vera (born March 10, 1986), better known by his screen name JC de Vera, is a Filipino actor, host and model. Personal life De Vera was offered a basketball scholarship in Colegio de San Juan de Letran after he graduated from high ...

. The series aired on

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

's ''Primetime Bida'' evening block and worldwide on

The Filipino Channel The Filipino Channel, commonly known as TFC, is a 24-hour global subscription television network based in Daly City, California with studios in Redwood City, California and offices in Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, UAE, Ethi ...

from January 27, 2014 to June 13, 2014, replacing '' Maria Mercedes''.

Plot

The story follows the lives of two best friends, Monica Santiago (

) and Nicole Esquivel (

). Friends from childhood, both yearn for a father’s love. Monica’s mother Eloisa (Rio Locsin) escapes a controlling, jealous and violent husband but is only able to take her baby daughter. Her two sons are left behind. They are saved from the streets by her childhood sweetheart Dante Ramos (

Mark Gil Raphael John "Ralph" Gil Eigenmann (25 September 1961 – 1 September 2014), better known by his screen name Mark Gil, was a Filipino actor. Gil was often cast as a main villain in Philippine action films that was popular during the late 80s t ...

) who brings them to

Daet Daet (), officially the Municipality of Daet ( bcl, Banwaan kan Daet; tl, Bayan ng Daet), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According ...

Camarines Norte Camarines Norte ( bcl, Amihanan na Camarines; fil, Hilagang Camarines), officially the Province of Camarines Norte, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Daet, Camarin ...

, a beautiful province in the northern region of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Dante raises Monica as if she were his child. Meanwhile, Dante leaves his girlfriend Camille Esquivel for Eloisa, unaware that she is pregnant with Nicole. All throughout her childhood, Nicole longs to meet her father. When Monica turns 7, her mother returns to her husband as she longs to be reunited with her sons. Monica is bewildered by a whole new environment with her wealthy father Javier (

Christopher de Leon Christopher Strauss de León (born October 31, 1956) is a Philippine film actor and politician. He is recognized as the “''King of Philippine Drama''” has appeared in over 120 films since the early 1970s. Regarded as an "acting genius" and ...

), and her two brothers Javi (

Joem Bascon Joseph Emmanuel Bascon, popularly known by the stage name Joem Bascon, (born August 29, 1986) is a Filipino actor. He is currently a freelance actor under Regal Entertainment and Viva Artists Agency. Career Bascon's first relevance in the ent ...

) and Jasper (

Ahron Villena Ahron Villena (born Roche Ahron Villena on March 10, 1987) is a Filipino actor. He was formerly a member of ABS-CBN's circle of homegrown talents Star Magic and is currently a freelance artist. Career In 2004, he joined and won the ABS-CBN noon ...

). When Camille passes away, Nicole is adopted by her landed industrialist and wealthy grandfather, Don Eduardo Esquievel. The two little girls meet during an inter scholastic intramurals. They learn that they share the same “father” and lose him due to unforeseen circumstances in their lives. They become fast friends and bond like orphaned sisters, remaining close throughout their adult lives. Upon returning to her true family, Monica learns to love her real father and her two brothers. Her Papa, Don Joaquin loves Eloisa, forgives his wife and is kinder to her. Eloisa reciprocates wholeheartedly and learns to love and care for Joaquin. Her feelings for Dante fades away. Despite their painful past, the Santiago family thrives. Don Joaquin is a wealthy sardines magnate. Unfortunately, Eloisa’s past mistakes is traumatic for the two older children she left behind years ago, deeply wounding the family’s psyche, particularly her eldest son Javie who rejects his relationship with his mother and his sister Monica. Nicole suffers a similar trauma growing up without her father, severely affecting her attitude towards men, constantly seeking love and validation from the wrong men. The two best friends’ relationship collide when they love the same man. Monica meets and falls in love with Adrian (

), the man she marries, who teaches her how to love again and who will also break her heart. Despite being madly in love with his wife, the pressures brought about on their lives, arising from the dynamics of their respective families’ dysfunctional relationships, Adrian is drawn to his wife’s best friend and embarks on an illicit affair with Nicole. Nicole is deeply enamored of her best friend’s husband who gives her the care and attention she seeks. She risks her life long friendship with Monica. The discovery of the affair is explosive. The consequences of Adrian’s affair and deception, love and lust, is vividly portrayed in the entire series.

Cast and characters

Main cast

as Monica "Ikay" Santiago-de Villa *

as Adrian de Villa *

as Nicole Esquivel *

as Max Gonzales

Supporting cast

as Javier Santiago, Sr. * Rio Locsin as Eloisa Santiago *

† as Dante Ramos *

Maria Isabel Lopez Maria Isabel Pagunsan Lopez—Melrod (born 19 August 1957), is a Filipina movie and television actress. Lopez was the Binibining Pilipinas Universe 1982 titleholder and represented the Philippines in the 31st Miss Universe Pageant in Lima, Pe ...

as Sandra de Villa *

as Javier "Javi" Santiago. Jr. *

as Jasper Santiago *

Janus del Prado Janus Renato Robles Mateo III (born 19 November 1984), better known by his screen name Janus del Prado, is a Filipino actor. He is a former talent of Star Magic. Early life He is the youngest son of veteran action star Renato del Prado and act ...

as Bradley *

Matet de Leon Matet de Leon-Estrada (born October 4, 1984 as Maria Theresa Villamayor) is a Filipina actress who began her career as a child star. She is an adopted daughter of Christopher de Leon and Nora Aunor Nora Cabaltera Villamayor (born May 21, 19 ...

as Rowena * Gabriel Sumalde as “Bunjoy” S. de Villa (age 5) * Louise Abuel as “Bunjoy” S. de Villa (age 10)

Extended cast

Bernard Palanca Bernard Revilla Palanca Jr. (born December 3, 1976) is a Filipino host, film/television character actor, and product endorser. Early life His maternal grandfather, Armando Goyena (real name: José Revilla), was an actor as was his younger bro ...

as Miguel Zapanta * Joe Vargas as Andrew de Villa *

Pamu Pamorada Annielie Gerez Pamorada (born January 8, 1992), better known as Pamu Pamorada, is a Filipina actress and comedian from Lipa, Batangas. Biography She was abandoned by her parents in her childhood. She started her career in showbusiness after she ...

as Trish de Villa * Leo Rialp as Eduardo "Gramps" Esquivel+ * Pinky Marquez as Emma Alvaro * Michael Flores as Bob Rivera *

Thou Reyes Joseph Kollins Reyes (born March 28, 1985), known professionally as Thou Reyes, is a Filipino actor and model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 1 ...

as Jon *

Dionne Monsanto Dionne Monsanto-Stalder (born December 5, 1985) is a former Filipina actress. Career Monsanto appeared on '' Pinoy Big Brother: Season 2'' as a contestant in 2007. Monsanto entered on ''Day 12'' of the series, and was evicted on ''Day 77''. In th ...

as Rhea * Zeppi Borromeo as Anton *

Carla Humphries Madeleine Lauren Humphries (born May 20, 1988), known professionally as Madeleine Humphries and formerly as Carla Humphries is an American-born Filipino actress and commercial model. Humphries is best known for her roles as Rita Arguelles in the ...

as Audrey * Frenchie Dy as Kelly * Sonjia Calit as Gwen

Guest cast

Bugoy Cariño Rogel Kyle Cariño Jr. (born September 3, 2002), popularly known as Bugoy Cariño, is a Filipino actor and dancer. He joined '' Star Circle Kid Quest'', a television search for young talented kids in 2009, and emerged as the winner. Since then, ...

as young Jasper * Casey De Silvia as young Nicole *

Xyriel Manabat Xyriel Anne Bustamante Manabat (born January 27, 2004) is a Filipino child actress. She is most commonly known for playing roles of child characters in teleseryes. Personal life Manabat was born on January 27, 2004, to Daryl Jake Manabat and ...

as young Monica * Aaron Junatas as young Javi *

James Blanco James Blanco Castillo (born June 15, 1981), known professionally as James Blanco, is a Filipino singer-songwriter, actor, and model. A freelance actor, he is known for his roles in '' Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin'' (2001 – 2002), '' Rubi'' (2010), ...

as young Javier *

Neri Naig Nerizza Garcia Presnede Naig-Miranda (born 7 September 1985), better known as Neri Naig, is a Filipina actress. She was discovered after joining Star Circle Quest, a reality show of ABS-CBN in search of new actors and actresses and landed as th ...

as young Eloisa *

Matt Evans Matthew Nicolas Evans (born October 22, 1986) is a Filipino actor who rose to prominence after appearing in Filipino soap operas '' Komiks Presents: Da Adventures of Pedro Penduko'', ''Tanging Yaman'' and ''Rosalka''. Evans previously competed ...

as young Dante * Dang Cruz as young Yaya Krising * Junjun Nayra as Atty. Hector Vargas * Ricardo Cepeda as Manuel Gonzales

Production

Prior to the official airing of the show, its working titles were originally known as ''Hanggang Kailan Kita Mamahalin'', and as ''Langis at Tubig''.

Jake Cuenca Juan Carlos Cuenca (; born December 30, 1987) popularly known as Jake Cuenca is a Filipino-American actor and model. Born in San Jose, California and was raised in Manila, Philippines. He also played for United Football League Division 2 sides ...

and

Andi Eigenmann Andrea Nicole Guck Eigenmann (born 25 June 1990), professionally known as Andi Eigenmann (), is a Filipino actress, model, and social media influencer. Early life Descent and family Eigenmann is the daughter of actors Mark Gil and Jaclyn Jose, ...

was originally part of the main cast, but was replaced by

and

. Cuenca left to join ''

Ikaw Lamang ''Ikaw Lamang'' (International title: ''No Greater Love'' / ) is a 2014 Philippine period drama television series, directed by Malu L. Sevilla and Avel E. Sunpongco, starring Kim Chiu and Coco Martin, together with an ensemble cast. The series wa ...

''.

Paulo Avelino Michael Paulo Lingbanan Avelino (born May 13, 1988) is a Filipino actor, singer, model and a movie producer. Regarded as the "Prince of Philippine Teleserye", he is best known in television series such as '' Walang Hanggan'' (2012), ''Bridges of ...

was also reported to be part of the series but later backed out due to personal reasons (and to join

Honesto ''Honesto'' is a 2013 Philippine family drama television series directed by Jerry Lopez Sineneng and Darnel Joy Villaflor, starring Raikko Mateo as Honesto, a young boy whose nose gets big whenever he lies. The series was aired on ABS-CBN's ''Pri ...

Bridges of Love ''Bridges of Love'' is a 2015 Philippine soap opera romance television series directed by Richard V. Somes and Will Fredo, starring Jericho Rosales, Paulo Avelino and Maja Salvador. The series was aired on ABS-CBN's ''Kapamilya Gold'' afternoon ...

). Avelino was later replaced by

. Filming of the series began in October 2013.

Scheduling

''The Legal Wife'' was originally planned to air on October 28, 2013. It was later pushed back to November 2013 and was set to replace '' Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin''. But due to the request of Koreanovela fans and taping conflicts because of

Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...

(Yolanda), the airing was postponed because of Korean drama ''

When a Man Falls in Love ''When a Man Falls in Love'' () is a 2013 South Korean television series, starring Song Seung-heon, Shin Se-kyung, Chae Jung-an, and Yeon Woo-jin. The story revolves around a world-weary gangster as his love life intertwines with three others, an ...

''. Eventually, the series had its pilot episode broadcast last January 27, 2014 as part of ABS-CBN's ''Primetime Bida'' block. Initially, the series was supposed to replace ''

'', but later ends up taking over the timeslot vacated by '' Maria Mercedes'' due to the demanding request of Koreanovela fans.

Reception

Critical reception

Prior to the official airing of the television series, ABS-CBN launched several teasers of the show. One was the slapping scene between Angel Locsin and Maja Salvador's characters aired on January 1, 2014. The trailer was well received and went even viral all over the web, creating

parodies A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

and

memes A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

. Since the first episode, the show became a hot topic online and even trended on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

worldwide.

Television ratings

Basing on the data gathered by Kantar Media, the pilot episode earned 21.1% of national viewership, making it the 5th most watched primetime program. It is the first drama on Philippine television to win in its late primetime slot in the ratings in all of its episodes. The finale of ''The Legal Wife'' scored its biggest nationwide rating of 36.2%. This currently stands as the country's highest rating by any TV show on late primetime since the Philippines switched to nationwide TV ratings system in 2009.

Theme song

The theme song ''Hanggang Kailan Kita Mamahalin?'' was originally performed by

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 ...

and served as the theme song for the 1996 film '' Madrasta'', which also starred Cuneta alongside Zsa Zsa Padilla and

. The film was produced by

Star Cinema ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. (doing business as Star Cinema or ABS-CBN Films) is a Philippines, Filipino film studio and film and television production company and film distributor headquartered in Quezon City. It is one of the major film ...

. It was covered by

Angeline Quinto Angeline Ticman Quinto (; born November 26, 1989) is a Filipina singer, actress, entrepreneur and winner of '' Star Power: Sharon's Search For The Next Female Pop Superstar'' in 2011. Quinto has been dubbed as the "''Philippines’ Queen of ...

and it was used as the theme song for the TV series.

Reruns

Reruns A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * T ...

of the show's episodes airs on

Jeepney TV Jeepney TV is a 24-hour Television in the Philippines, Philippine pay television channel owned and operated by ABS-CBN Corporation, ABS-CBN's narrowcast arm Creative Programs Inc. since 2012. The programming consists of classic and archived ser ...

. On March 18, 2020, ABS-CBN announced that the show would be rerun beginning March 23, 2020 via the network's ''Kapamilya Gold'' afternoon block, taking over the timeslot of ''

Love Thy Woman ''Love Thy Woman'' is a 2020 Philippine drama television series broadcast by Kapamilya Channel. Directed by Jeffrey Jeturian and Jerry Lopez Sineneng, it stars Kim Chiu, Yam Concepcion, Xian Lim, Eula Valdez, Sunshine Cruz, Zsa Zsa Padilla, R ...

'' as part of ABS-CBN's temporary programming changes due to the

lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines The COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines has resulted in, as of , reported cases, resulting in reported deaths, the fifth-highest in Southeast Asia, behind Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The first case in the Philippines was iden ...

. This rerun was originally supposed to end on May 15, 2020. However, it was abruptly cut due to the closure of ABS-CBN's free-to-air stations following the cease and desist order issued by the

National Telecommunications Commission The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC; fil, Pambansang Komisyon sa Telekomunikasyon) is an attached agency of the Department of Information and Communications Technology responsible for the supervision, adjudication and control over ...

on account of its franchise expiration.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Legal Wife, The ABS-CBN drama series 2014 Philippine television series debuts 2014 Philippine television series endings Philippine romance television series Philippine melodrama television series Philippine thriller television series Television series by Star Creatives Filipino-language television shows Television shows set in the Philippines