Maris Racal recalls how she, Rico Blanco kept their relationship ‘secret’

Maris Racal and Rico Blanco | Images: Instagram/@mariesteller, @ricoblanco100

Maris Racal admitted the first two years of her relationship with Rico Blanco away from the limelight were the “happiest,” but her desire not to keep the “love of her life” hidden from the world forever made her decide for them to finally come out in the open.

Sitting down for Dr. Vicki Belo’s latest vlog, the “Can’t Buy Me Love” actress shared that she and Blanco used to go abroad just to date each other, which went on for two years as they tried to shy away from the spotlight. 

“I kept it for two years,” she said, “‘Yung quiet nung two years na ‘yon it was one of the happiest years na na-experience ko kasi totoo lang siya. There are no pretensions. Masaya lang kami. We never dated outside here in the Philippines.” 

Racal underscored that one of her realizations during the pandemic is that the only thing that matters are the people you love, which prompted her to go Instagram official with the Rivermaya band member. 

“Ako na nagdecide. Nagkapandemic, ang daming nangyayari sa mundo. It was very sad. Doon ko narealize ang nagmamatter ay ‘yung mga taong mahal mo talaga. It’s not your career or whatever worldly possessions, it is the people. So sabi ko, ‘I don’t want to keep on hiding. I don’t want to leave this Earth na tinatago ko ‘yung mahal ko,” explained the actress. 

The 26-year-old Kapamilya star affirmed that Blanco understood the time that they had to hide their relationship. 

“He didn’t force me. He agreed sa conditions ko na I love my career. Hindi pwedeng sa ganitong state ng career ko tapos magjowa tayo,” she shared. 

Racal looked back on how their relationship started by admitting she has always had a crush on the OPM singer and said she tweeted on X (formerly Twitter) about wanting to collaborate with a musician, hoping Blanco would notice, which he did eventually because the fans tagged him, knowing that the actress is a fangirl. And the rest, as they said, became history. 

Recently, Blanco held a reunion concert with his Rivermaya band members and Racal showed her full support for the singer-songwriter.