Unstoppable Love: Showbiz exes who found their way back to each other

Is it a good idea to get back with an ex?

Getting back together with someone you were previously with feels like a relationship taboo. You should do it only when you feel like you have resolved all your previous issues so you won’t end up replaying the same issues that caused your relationship to end. You did, after all, break up for a reason, right? This is why many people actually vow never to get back together with a former lover.

And yet, this does not mean reconciling with an ex can only lead to bad news. For instance, there’s actress Maja Salvador. Asked in a 2018 interview if she could fall in love with an ex, Maja said, with conviction, that a relationship is over once it has already ended. “Kasi, once na tapos na po ako dun sa relationship na yun, tapos na po talaga,” she said.

Maja added: ”Dahil, kunwari, kung sa ilang taon naming pagsasama, alam kong ibinigay ko na po ang lahat, kung naramdaman kong hindi niya yun nabalik, at hindi ako inirespeto or hindi nasabayan yung pagmamahal, parang tapos na po. Parang ganun.” 

And yet, just a year after that interview, Maja broke her own rule about getting back together with an ex by reconciling with businessman Rambo Nuñez. The two were first in a relationship nine years ago. “I think it's worth it,” Maja said about getting back with Rambo. The two are still together.

Of course, Maja and Rambo’s love story isn’t the norm, especially in show business, where relationships can be brief and harsh as they are strong and tender. Just take the case of Gerald Anderson and Bea Alonzo. The two first became an item in 2010 but broke up soon after due to Gerald’s reel- and real-life relationship with Kim Chiu. But Gerald and Bea got back together in 2016 after working on a movie together. Three years later, their break up became a public spectacle. Bea is currently rumored to be dating actor-model Dominic Roque, while Gerald is reportedly in a relationship with actress Julia Barretto. 

But getting back together with an ex does seem work in show business, as evidenced by these other showbiz pairs who braved the relationship odds and are now stronger than ever:

Joem Bascon and Meryll Soriano 

The most recent among the reconciling showbiz couples is Joem Bascon and Meryll Soriano. The two were previously in a relationship for a couple of years, after their romance blossomed while doing the 2008 ABS-CBN soap opera I Love Betty La Fea. Joem and Meryll eventually broke up in 2010, while maintaining that they remained good friends. After the breakup, Joem dated Crisha Uy, now a popular YouTube vlogger. 

But in 2019, rumors that Joem and Meryl were rekindling their relationship erupted while they were doing the movie Culion. The reports even coincided with Joem’s admission that his relationship with Crisha was on the rocks. Joem and Crisha eventually admitted their split. Joem and Meryll remained mum about their rumored relationship for most of 2020. Then, on Jan. 1, 2021, Meryll surprised her followers and showbiz denizens by posting a photo of herself with Joem and a baby—a seeming admission that they have gotten back together, a decade after their split. 

Jennylyn Mercado and Dennis Trillo

Jennylyn Mercado and Dennis Trillo, both GMA-7 stars, first dated in 2010. But they broke up almost a year into the relationship. In a tell-all with the now-defunct Yes! Magazine, Jennylyn said their split stemmed after a petty argument at Dennis’ condominium unit became a serious fight. The actress said Dennis physically hurt her during the altercation. Dennis told Yes!, when asked for his comment about the matter, that he chooses “not to speak because there is nothing to speak about.” “The truth is my relationship with Jen just didn’t work out,” he added.

Jennylyn dated TV host Luis Manzano after her split with Dennis. Dennis, on the other hand, was in a relationship with actress Bianca King. Both relationships did not last long. 

Dennis and Jennylyn eventually patched things up in 2015. They even worked together on the GMA-7 drama My Faithful Husband. It was then that Jennylyn and Dennis rekindled their romance, and the two admitted they had gotten back together a year later. Their relationship is going strong, five years into their rekindled love for each other.

Aljur Abrenica and Kylie Padilla

A proof that former flames can have a happily ever after, Aljur Abrenica and Kylie Padilla’s romance was initially your typical roller coaster of a showbiz love story. Aljur and Kylie became a couple in 2011. Kylie then was a relative newbie as an actress on GMA-7, while Aljur was establishing himself as a leading man in the same network.

Their relationship lasted for three years; the two admitted their breakup in May 2014. Around the same, reports claimed that Aljur caused the breakup of actress Louise delos Reyes and actor Enzo Pineda. Aljur, at that time, was doing a show with Louise. All this led showbiz followers to think that the Aljur and Louise rumor was the cause of the actor’s split with Kylie. Of course, none of these rus were confirmed. Louise denied that she was the cause of Aljur’s split with Kylie. A few years later, Aljur did admit he had a short-lived relationship with Louise. 

After all that drama, Aljur and Kylie managed to reconcile as friends in 2015. They were often seen together in public and would even post photos of themselves travelling together. Eventually, the two admitted that they had gotten back together. In January 2017, Aljur and Kylie announced that they were engaged and that the actress was pregnant with their first child. The two tied the knot in December 2018.

Zsa Zsa Padilla and Conrad Onglao

Fans and followers were happy when singer Zsa Zsa Padilla and Conrad Onglao got back together in 2016, just months after they broke up. 

Zsa Zsa admitted that she was dating Conrad in 2014, around two years after the death of her long-time partner, comedian Dolphy, who died in July 2012. The two met via a common friend, actress-singer Sharon Cuneta. Reports that Zsa Zsa and Conrad, a renowned architect, surfaced soon after. But in May 2016, Zsa Zsa and Conrad broke up. The reasons for the split were not clear to the public. In a 2016 column, Philippine Star Entertainment editor Ricky Lo reported that, according to his source, Zsa Zsa allegedly “got fed up” with Conrad’s attitude, “especially towards showbiz people whom he looked down on.”

Months later, in October 2016, the two got back together. According to a Philippine Daily Inquirer report, the reconciliation between the two happened after a chance encounter in a Makati mall. Zsa Zsa and Conrad talked “for hours and hours,” “kissed and made up,” and decided to give their relationship another try. Their relationship remains strong to this day.