Andi Eigenmann and Philmar Alipayo. Image: Instagram/@andieigengirl
Andi Eigenmann and Philmar Alipayo have been the talk of the town after their volley of cryptic posts and later revelation of their conflict involving the latter’s longtime female best friend.
Admired for their island life, among many other reasons, Eigenmann, Alipayo and their children Lilo and Koa — together with the actress’ daughter with Jake Ejercito, Ellie — have earned quite a number of fans who have been religiously following their family updates on their social media pages.
With this, the couple’s recent posts about their dispute immediately drew the attention of netizens, causing quite a stir on social media.
While a resolution to the issue has yet to be known as of the moment, let’s have a lookback at Eigenmann and Alipayo’s romance.
Eigenmann and Alipayo first met in Siargao during the awarding ceremony of a surfing competition. The pair’s first interaction, as narrated by them in a 2020 vlog, included Alipayo offering the actress a tequila shot, and her asking him for a picture as his fan.
From then on, Eigenmann and Alipayo became friends. Eigenmann noted that Alipayo had no idea that she was an actress at the time, which made her “more comfortable” with him.
The pair continued their communication until they later reunited in Manila, then spent time together in Zambales where Alipayo had a surfing training.
“Our relationship got stronger. But for me, I really knew that there’s a future because of his relationship with Ellie,” Eigenmann said. “Because for me, he’s my friend and I didn’t have to overthink about introducing them.”
Alipayo, for his part, said he realized his love for Eigenmann when she left for Manila and when he felt her absence. “I realized that I’m happy with you…na masaya akong pinapasaya ka.”
In 2018, rumors of their romance had already been making rounds. Further fueling it was Eigenmann’s birthday post for him where she described him as “one of [her] favorite people.”
Months later, in February 2019, Eigenmann announced that she was pregnant with her first child with Alipayo.
Speaking about her second pregnancy, she said, “It will not be about hiding the bump, and bouncing back as soon as possible so that nobody notices that I actually gave birth. This time, it will be about celebrating the blessing of having another chance to raise another flower child.”
While both she and Alipayo have a child from previous relationships, Eigenmann said it did not pose a problem for them.
“Normally people make a big deal out of these things, but I think that’s the reason why madali lang sa amin maging masaya kasi hindi kami nakatingin sa mga bagay na ‘yun. ‘Yung importante mayroon kaming respeto sa sarili, sinusubukan namin ang best namin para magkaintindihan kami at para mag-grow kami together as a team,” she said.
Andi Eigenmann, Philmar Alipayo, their kids Lilo and Koa, and the couple’s children from their previous relationships, Ellie and Kanoa. Image: Instagram/@andieigengirl
Siargao then has become home to the actress as she lives with Alipayo. In July 2019, the couple welcomed their daughter Lilo.
The following August, Eigenmann revealed she and Alipayo were building their dream home on the island.
In August 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Eigenmann announced her pregnancy with her second child with Alipayo. She regarded her pregnancy at the time as their family’s “main source of hope and strength” amid dark times.
In December of the same year, the couple announced their engagement through a vlog.
“I never thought about how my engagement would go because quite honestly, I didn’t think I’d have one. It would’ve been ok regardless, but it did happen. And it happened the way I wanted it and so much more,” she said of Alipayo’s marriage proposal that happened in Batangas.
“Nothing grand. Unprompted, simple and oh so sincere. That’s us. That’s him. That is how I want the rest of my life to be,” she added.
In January 2021, the couple welcomed their son whom they named Koa.
In April 2022, over a year after overcoming the devastation caused by Typhoon Odette in Siargao, Eigenmann and Alipayo opened their own surf school and snack bar on the island.
It was also a year of firsts for the family who went to Indonesia — their first-ever international trip as a family — in June 2022, then in France — where Alipayo’s son from his previous relationship was based — the following August.
Life and parenting had been going smoothly for the couple until March 2024, when Eigenmann’s mom, veteran actress Jaclyn Jose, died of heart attack. The couple along with their children flew and stayed in Manila until they brought Jose to her final resting place.
A month later, the couple revealed that their wedding was initially scheduled to happen in 2024 but that they postponed it in view of Jose’s death.
“Honestly, we wanted to get married this year. But under these circumstances, we just decided to wait it out a bit. Para kay Nanay sana ‘yun,” Eigenmann said at the time.
The following May, the couple was hounded by separation rumors after the actress and their kids went to Japan without him. Eigenmann just laughed it off.
Weeks later, the pair was faced with yet another controversy after a “friendly” video of Alipayo and a girl went viral on social media.
The clip, which used SWV’s song “Weak” as background music, showed the celebrity surfer leaning his head close to the woman’s while looking at her face, then playfully kicking her leg while holding her waist.
While the video drew negative reactions from netizens, Eigenmann came to Alipayo’s defense and said, “He can go out with his friends, go drinking every once in a while, and chat with whoever he wants. No harm in that.”
“What’s shameful is purposely posting and editing a video to cause a stir, disturbing the peace of people and dragging them into their negativity, just for some social media attention,” she added.
Alipayo, for his part, stressed in a separate statement that he was aware of his boundaries.
Then came Feb. 7, 2025, when eagle-eyed netizens noticed that Eigenmann and Alipayo no longer follow each other on Instagram. This along with Eigenmann’s cryptic remarks about being “betrayed” ignited speculations of breakup between the couple.
Eigenmann then addressed the matter, disclosing the involvement of Alipayo’s best friend whom she did not name.
Eigenmann clarified that the celebrity surfer did not cheat on her, which was what the netizens apparently surmised from her earlier posts. However, the actress revealed that Alipayo and his best friend got inked with a “spontaneous love couple tattoo” after the couple had a quarrel.
“I posted because this person betrayed me, encourages my husband to break up with me during every fight, even when I also tell my side of the story to her,” Eigenmann said.
Eigenmann said she reached out to Alipayo’s best friend prior to her postings, “but was ignored.”
“Yes, I am hurt that my husband didn’t think this would bother me; I’m not being dumb and ignoring that, but the post was to just show that no normal person with good intentions would think it’s ok for a friend to encourage someone else’s husband to do this without considering the partner’s feelings,” she added.
Alipayo, for his part, earlier released a statement saying he would not complicate things and drag the issue any further. He also said that those who really know him know what kind of person he is.
The couple has yet to comment outright on the status of their relationship as of this writing.