Maine Mendoza admits falling in love with Alden Richards

The TV host-actress disclosed this in a recent online talk show.

In the last installment of the ‘Tamang Panahon’ podcast series, ‘Eat Bulaga’ host Maine Mendoza was quizzed by her fellow Dabarkads Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola, Paolo Ballesteros, Allan K, and creative head Jenny Ferre.

They asked her about her personal feelings during the time of the ‘AlDub’ phenomenon, which happened exactly a decade ago, specifically towards her partner, Alden Richards.

Maine, who was portraying Yaya Dub in the ‘Kalyeserye’ segment, admitted that she fell in love with the actor at that time. But she was also quick to clarify that their relationship did not progress beyond that, as they moved forward and became friends.

“Nainlove ako sa kanya [Alden],” Maine declared. “Hindi siya nanligaw, walang ganon. Alam din niya… very vocal ako sa lahat ng tao pati kay Alden mismo.”

The ‘EB’ host also recalled having personally told Alden about her feelings and asked her partner about his own towards her.

“Tinanong ko siya noon, eh ang straightforward lo naman na tao, ‘sabihin mo na sa akin ano bang nararamdaman mo?’ Ang sabi niya lang [sa akin], hindi ko puwedeng sabihin sa iyo kasi mawawala ang magic.”

After sharing that, Maine even personally invited Alden to pay a visit to the Dabarkads and share his side of the story in the future.

However, in a previous episode, it was revealed that the leading man agreed to take part in the podcast, but he had to back out due to prior commitments.

During a split-second interaction in July 2015, the team-up between Maine and Alden, called AlDub, was formed and eventually gave birth to the iconic ‘KalyeSerye’ portion and the phenomenon that was.

Their partnership brought ‘Eat Bulaga’ to a historic 50% TV rating during the ‘Tamang Panahon’ concert in October 2015, which remains to be one of Philippine TV’s highest-rated episodes to date.

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