Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano | Image: Instagram/@donny, belle_mariano
On-screen love team Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano, known as “DonBelle,” recently sent their fans abuzz after they posted a new photo hinting at a new project together.
The Kapamilya stars posted a joint Instagram post with an image of them sitting at a dinner table. They teased that “vacation’s over” and that they are “cookin something up.”
“OKAYY vacations over… we miss ya Btw cookin something up hope ur ready ;)” the caption read. The pair also used a film slate or clapper board emoji.
The post immediately became a trending topic online, specifically on X (formerly Twitter), with fans expressing their excitement by using the hashtag #DONBELLE NEW PROJECT.
The duo last top-billed the drama romance series “Can’t Buy Me Love,” which concluded last May.
Aside from the two, “Can’t Buy Me Love” also features actors Rowell Santiago, Agot Isidro, Ina Raymundo, Ruffa Gutierrez, Maris Racal, Anthony Jennings, Kaila Estrada, Albie Casiño and Darren Espanto, among others.
In one of their past interviews, Pangilinan and Mariano underscored that whenever they start a new project, they don’t always think it will be a “hit,” but try their best to deliver what they can.
“When you start a project, hindi mo naman alam kung magiging hit siya (you don’t know if it’s going to be a hit), if people will really watch it, if they’ll support it. So, we were really nervous, a bit of pressure. We were just hoping for the best, you know. Not having all those expectations,” explained Pangilinan.
“Thinking about it, we’re done shooting and everything… There’s this sense of fulfillment na, wow, we were able to deliver a project,” added Mariano.
“Can’t Buy Me Love” on its premiere garnered 454,413 concurrent live viewers on YouTube, and soared to become the No. 1 most watched series on Netflix Philippines at the time.
Kantar Media also reported that the series received television ratings of 11.6 percent, beating its rival program “Love Before Sunrise” with 9.7 percent. AGB Neilsen echoed this with its report that the pilot episode of “Can’t Buy Me Love” generated 8 percent ratings as against its rival “Love Before Sunrise” with 7.1%.