Scene from “Dirty Linen”
“My love for her is the purest. Even our audience sees this,” said Christian Bables as a way to explain why social media is abuzz with talks about his romantic pairing with Jennica Garcia in the revenge series “Dirty Linen.”
Supporters of Christian’s character Max and Jennica’s Lala even created a hashtag to ensure that they are trending: #LalaMax.“Kinikilig sila!” observed Christian. “I was surprised that the team up already has a big following. In fact, the photo I posted on my Instagram of me and Jennica on Mother’s Day got thousands of likes. It’s probably the most liked photo I’ve ever posted.”
During Inquirer Entertainment’s interview with Christian, he insisted that he and Jennica are merely good friends, but we couldn’t help but read between the lines when he tried to explain the kind of relationship they have.
“People can see how true and pure our intentions are and how honest we are to each other. Although we can’t be certain where fate will lead us, one thing is for sure: I don’t want to lose Jennica. I will take care of ’Tol,” said Christian, adding that “’Tol” is their term of endearment, which Jennica thought of. The word is short for “utol,” which is Tagalog for “sibling.”
Constant connection
“In one of our conversations while inside our lock-in set for ‘Dirty Linen,’ Jennica told me, ‘Let’s make sure we remain in each other’s lives, ’Tol.’ This means that even though we would have romantic relationships with other people, our connection should remain constant; that we should make sure our respective partners are able to tolerate our presence in each other’s lives,” he recalled.
“In the same conversation, I also reminded Jennica that more than loving her, her would-be partner should love her daughters, too. I hope she would be able to find a man who will treat her kids like his own, even though their biological father is still very much present in their lives,” said Christian.
Jennica broke up with her husband, Alwyn Uytingco, in 2021.
Christian said he would welcome working with her again. “If I could only demand that, I would. Now that we’re done with taping, I make it a point to message her often. If I miss her, I send her a voice message out of the blue. Nangungulit lang ako. If we have free time, we meet up. She has since become an important part of my life. After our lock-in cycles, it’s become boring without her. That’s why I see to it that I get to pester her from time to time,” Christian said.
For the supporters of the LalaMax tandem, Christian has this to say: “You’ll be happy with how their story will end up. Yes, our characters deserve what will happen to them in the end.”
Christian Bables (left) and Jennica Garcia in “Dirty Linen”
‘Same intensity’
He continued: “Actually, we already completed the series two weeks after it started airing. We’ve been taping since 2022. That’s why I’m so amazed at the reactions of people toward Max and Lala. They’re organic. People were all talking about how they enjoyed watching the heavy drama scene between Max and Lala recently. I guess our tandem works because Jennica and I have the same intensity as actors.”
Incidentally, Christian can also be seen in the series “Drag You & Me,” which is currently streaming exclusively on iWantTFC. It also features Andrea Brillantes and JC Alcantara.
“I taped for this series while doing ‘Dirty Linen.’ It was challenging because I had to juggle two characters at the same time; also because, when I began doing ‘Drag You & Me,’ I was already too attached to Max,” he pointed out.
Christian, who plays Charlie, the antagonist to Andrea’s character Betty, has nothing but praise for the young actress. “She knows how to instantly connect with her coactors. This is a good thing because almost all of my scenes with her are explosive. I’m such an evil person in this series. It helped that Andrea is a generous actor—she willingly gives the emotion you need from her in order to portray your character well.”
There are three more movies and another TV series lined up for Christian this year. “So far, 2023 is my busiest [year] since I started in the business,” he declared.