Before Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia, these celeb exes reunited for work
(From left) Kim Chiu, Gerald Anderson, Julia Barretto, Joshua Garcia, Angelica Panganiban, and Carlo Aquino. Images: ABS-CBN, Viva Artists Agency, Black Sheep
Not all relationships end on a happy note. Some breakups are messy, but some could get worse before they got better. Take for instance that of Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia.
Barretto and Garcia, while their relationship wasn’t exactly ideal, they were able to move past that to join forces for their reunion movie, “Un/Happy For You.”
“Hindi naman namin ito tatanggapin kung hindi kami ready. Bakit namin gugustuhing masaktan sa pelikula? Parang ang sadista naman natin, diba? It’s been five years na rin [since our breakup]. Marami na ring nagbago. Ibang-iba na (We wouldn’t have accepted this project if we were not ready. Why would we want to hurt ourselves in this film? It’s like we’re sadists. It’s been five years since our breakup. Many things have changed. Things are different now),” Garcia said during a press conference for the film.
Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto. Image: Instagram/@garciajoshuae
Barretto and Garcia’s story is just one of those exciting turns that show biz couples faced. Find out below some more local and international celebrities who seemed to have buried the proverbial hatchet and braved the awkwardness of work with an ex.
Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson
Before Barretto found herself in the arms of her current beau, Gerald Anderson, the actor was paired with Kim Chiu for several years that produced one of the most sought-after love teams in the country (hello, Kimerald).
Chiu and Anderson were overjoyed after they rekindled their magic in the 2017 sports drama which revolves around young athletes aspiring to make it big in their chosen fields.
While they were bombarded with questions about working together again, the ex-partners stressed that they remained professional and even realized the value of forgiveness on set.
Many attested to Chiu and Anderson being on amicable terms after drawing laughs in their “Gandang Gabi Vice” appearance, where they talked about splurging on gifts for each other when they were dating. According to Anderson, Chiu gifted him a refrigerator, basketball shoes, a watch, a TV, and a golf cart, among other things.
“Actually, investment ko siya dati. Nalugi lang ako (He was my investment before. I just ended up losing in the end),” Chiu said in jest.
Angelica Panganiban and Carlo Aquino
Seven years is a long time (and a lot of investment) for a relationship, which can be seen in the case of Angelica Panganiban and Carlo Aquino who dated from 2000 to 2007. But they willingly chose to bring back their spark in the 2018 film “Exes Baggage” and the TV series “Playhouse” from September 2018 to March 2019.
Amid their electrifying chemistry, press promos, hopeful moments in interviews, and sweet posts on social media, it seemed that Panganiban and Aquino had the chance to fall in love again. However, it all fell apart after the actress revealed in March 2019 that they are not on speaking terms.
The uncertain relationship between Panganiban and Aquino was finally addressed by the actor in a “Tonight with Boy Abunda” interview in October 2019. When asked what went wrong between them, Aquino said he might have led her on, eventually resulting in the breakdown of their friendship.
Both are currently happy with how their respective love lives turned out. Aquino married to Charlie Dizon in June 2024, while Panganiban tied the knot with Gregg Homan twice — first in a private ceremony in December 2023 and then in April 2024.
Solenn Heussaff and Derek Ramsay
Solenn Heussaff and Derek Ramsay were in a relationship for four years until they parted ways in 2006. For Ramsay, he and Heussaff “clicked on so many levels” but the breakdown of their romance was due to “wrong timing.”
They eventually reunited in the February 2016 rom-com “Love is Blind” which also starred Kiray Celis and Kean Cipriano. Both admitted that they were initially hesitant about the possibility of working together before realizing how much respect they had for each other after their split.
“‘Is there going to be awkwardness? Is it going to be weird?’ I didn’t feel both of those things. We both just hit it off, nagkekwentuhan na kami kaagad (we were talking right away), as if nothing ever happened,” Ramsay said in the film’s media conference.
Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse
Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse’s relationship started on the set of “Riverdale” and unfortunately ended before the teen drama wrapped up in August 2023. Portraying the onscreen couple Betty and Jughead, their chemistry extended beyond the small screen which resulted in an on-and-off romance between the pair.
Like the tumultuous nature of Betty and Jughead’s romance, the couple eventually called it quits for good in May 2020. But they remained professional as they worked side-by-side until the show’s finale.
Sharon Cuneta and Robin Padilla
Years before settling down with their respective partners, Sharon Cuneta and Robin Padilla crossed paths on the set of the 1991 film “Maging Sino Ka Man” and the rest was history. They were so in love that they almost got married until things fizzled out between them.
“We were dead serious about getting married… We were very much in love. Parang nahanap ko na ‘yung eksakto sa’kin. ‘Yun pala hindi (It’s like I found the one for me. It turns out he wasn’t),” Cuneta said of Padilla in a 2017 media con.
“Circumstances, bata pa kasi kami (we were young). He’s a couple of years younger than I am. Medyo nag-so-sow pa siya ng wild oats niya (He’s still sowing his wild oats). I had to hide from everybody how brokenhearted I was because I really loved him very much,” she continued.
Despite their breakup, the screen veterans still had deep respect and always spoke highly of each other in interviews. After “Maging Sino Ka Man,” Cuneta and Padilla worked together in the 1993 film “‘Di Na Natuto” and the 2017 film “Unexpectedly Yours.”
Anne Curtis and Richard Gutierrez
Once upon a time, Anne Curtis and Richard Gutierrez were so in love, that even Gutierrez asked the permission of Curtis’ ex-boyfriend Oyo Boy Sotto if he could court her.
Both rising stars under GMA back then, Curtis and Gutierrez dated for a year before parting ways in 2004.
View this post on Instagram
After working together in “Beh Bote Nga” and “Love to Love” in GMA, which might have lit the spark between them, the exes top-billed the 2010 film “In Your Eyes” and took up a hosting gig at the Binibining Pilipinas 2019 pageant.
Joey King and Jacob Elordi
All the kissing aside, it’s unknown how Joey King and Jacob Elordi fell in love but it happened on the set of their 2018 rom-com “The Kissing Booth,” an adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name.
Both started as friends before realizing they had feelings for each other. However, their romance was brief as they broke up in February 2019. Despite this, they reunited for the film’s sequels in 2020 and 2021.
King admitted in a “Mood with Lauren Elizabeth” podcast in October 2019 that working with her ex again was “crazy,” but it was an experience that made her learn new things about herself.
“It was a wild experience, but honestly, it was a really beautiful time because I learned a lot about myself and I grew as an actor, I grew as a person,” she said.
Jennylyn Mercado and Dennis Trillo
View this post on Instagram
Probably one of the rare cases of exes breaking up, getting back up, and settling down, Jennylyn Mercado and Dennis Trillo proved that love is lovelier the second time around. The couple first met on the set of the 2006 drama “Now and Forever: Dangal,” where Trillo initially thought of Mercado to be “attractive.”
They reunited in the 2010 drama “Gumapang Ka Sa Lusak” and got together in the same year. They parted ways after 11 months. But as fate would have it, they would reunite in 2014 and eventually get married in an intimate ceremony in 2021.
Real-life romance aside, the couple will put their acting chops to the test in their upcoming film “Everything About My Wife” where they will be joined by Sam Milby.
