Maris Racal, Anthony Jennings top Google Search trends amid cheating allegations, beating South Korea's martial law
Maris Racal and Anthony Jennings dominated the top search terms on Google following allegations that they had a romantic affair while Jennings had a girlfriend. They surpassed the sudden declaration of martial law in South Korea.
According to Google Trends, the search term "Maris Racal" received a score of 100 in the Philippines just before 1:00 a.m., signifying that Filipinos were searching for her the most on Google at that time.
The search interest in Racal did not diminish and remained high throughout the morning of December 4.
Meanwhile, the search term "Anthony Jennings" also amassed strong interest among social media users and peaked in the Philippines at 75 at 12:40 a.m.
His non-showbiz ex-girlfriend, Jam Villanueva, revealed her truth about the breakup on her Instagram stories just before midnight on December 3.
As of writing, "Maris Racal" and "Anthony Jennings" have a search volume of more than 100,000 and more than 200,000 respectively.
Both terms managed to beat the search interest in South Korea, which caught everyone's attention when its president, Yoon Suk Yeol, made a sudden declaration of martial law in an attempt to eradicate "shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces" and restore order. He has since abandoned the attempt.
The news broke in the same evening as when Villanueva posted about the alleged flirty text exchanges between Racal and Jennings. She also detailed affectionate talks and hours-long video calls, which Jennings allegedly said he had to engage in "for work."
"It took me three long months to finally accept that I was just ignoring the reality of the situation. The sleepless nights, crying, anxiety attacks, and sabotaging yourself—for those three months, I blamed myself for everything I thought, felt, and saw during that time," Jam said in an Instagram story. "I allowed this to happen because I thought it was the best way to support them both. Most importantly, I trust my partner and her—as a woman."
The love team have yet to address the cheating rumors.
The explosive revelation came just days after Jennings confirmed his split with his longtime girlfriend on November 30. At the time, the actor said he and Racal are "just friends."
"Request ko lang din sa lahat syempre na ginugulo 'yung ibang tao, si Jam naman, hindi naman siya artista, pribado 'yung buhay niya, and sa akin naman, ako 'yung may pagkukulang dun, problema ko 'yun, dapat kong ayusin 'yun magisa," he said, "Sa lahat ng mga nanggugulo rin sa dalawa—kay Maris din, nadadamay si Maris—magkaibigan lang po kami. Sana matigil na yung mga ganun."
Racal was previously in a relationship with musician Rico Blanco. They called it quits after a five-year relationship, though she noted in a press conference that Jennings was not the reason for their split.
"Anthony is out of the picture. It's just me and Rico. Mainly me, I'm the issue," she said at the time.
Jennings and Racal became on-screen partners in the 2023 romance series Can't Buy Me Love, where they played Snoop and Irene, respectively. They are also starring in the upcoming film, Incognito, which is set to premiere in January 20, 2025.
