Diego and Barbie tell why they’d rather not keep their relationship a secret

Barbie Imperial (left) and Diego Loyzaga

Before making their relationship “official,” Diego Loyzaga and Barbie Imperial agreed that they wouldn’t try to keep it a secret, because they wanted to be able to express their love for each other freely and with no worries.

“We’re both at a point in our lives where we want to be able to date one another without restrictions. We want to be open about it without fearing what other people and bashers might say if ever things between us don’t work out. It’s difficult to live life when you’re hiding something,” he said in a virtual conference for the couple’s first movie together, “Dulo.”

“We want to be able to go out together without worrying that people might see us,” related the 26-year-old actor, who has been dating Barbie since December last year.

Barbie used to be secretive about her past relationships, because she felt it would only complicate things. But that changed with Diego. “Back then, when I have a boyfriend, I didn’t want people knowing about it, because I was afraid it would mess us up. I was worried my boyfriend wouldn’t understand,” Barbie said.

Downside

“But Diego understands. And now I prefer showing other people the person I love and how I love him,” the 23-year-old actress said.

The downside, of course, are the intrigues. And the celebrity couple have had their fair share recently with Diego being accused of cheating on Barbie, who, on the other hand, was also linked to another couple’s breakup. To “set the record straight,” Diego said he and Barbie “are so happy.”

“We have so many blessings coming in. There are projects despite the pandemic. We have our anniversary coming,” he stressed. “That’s all I have to say—we’re so happy.”

Diego has no problem with criticisms. As an actor, that’s par for the course. But there’s a marked difference, he said, between constructive criticism about one’s work and plain vitriol toward his or her personal life. “I welcome constructive criticisms. We need that. Whenever I finish a take, I show it to people close to me and ask for their honest opinions,” he said.

‘Love yourself first’

“But then there are people who always have something negative to say about you no matter what you do. And you have to filter those out,” he said. “There’s a big difference between well-meaning people and those who are just bored and have nothing better to do with their lives.”

In the romantic drama “Dulo”—directed by Fifth Solomon and now streaming on Vivamax—Diego and Barbie play a young couple who meet each other on a dating app and immediately start living together. They rush their marriage. And after only a year together, the relationship is already falling apart. “The story of the film is about two people getting in a relationship despite not being fully grown and mature enough to handle it. It’s about the thinking that you need someone else to complete you, that you need a partner to feel loved,” Diego said. “But the thing is, you have to love yourself first.”

Asked if they’re in favor of living together before marriage, Diego and Barbie shared the same sentiments, saying that it’s largely dependent on the people involved.

“Everything in life has a big aspect of trial and error, especially in relationships. The way things are in your second month, may not be the same as your sixth month or 12th month,” he said.

“But it’s different for everyone,” Barbie added. “I know people whose relationship improved after living together. And there were others who realized that they weren’t a good match.”