Jackpot en Poy with Alden & Maine

As a nod to Maine Mendoza’s second anniversary in show business, we asked her and Alden Richards to play Eat, Bulaga’s! popular game. From the pictures on this page, you be the referee and decide who won.

For the record: The STAR was the first Philippine newspaper that talked to Maine Mendoza in July two years ago when — as the factotum of the three lolas: Nidora (Wally Bayola), Tinidora (Jose Manalo) and Tidora (Paolo Ballesteros) — she wasn’t allowed to talk yet and got by only by “dubsmashing,” which she popularized on social media. She was Yaya Dub to Lola Nidora.

On that phone interview, Maine revealed quite a mouthful (sorry, can’t be repeated here). Suffice it to say that since then, Maine has become an overnight sensation, thanks to the accidental sticky glances she exchanged with Alden Richards in the Kalyeserye segment of Eat, Bulaga! The phenomenal AlDub loveteam was born and will mark its second anniversary next Sunday, July 16.

Let’s take a misty-eyed look at the past 24 months:

Actually, Maine celebrated her second anniversary in showbiz on July 4. On Oct. 24, 2015, the Tamang Panahon AlDub concert filled up the 55,000-seater Philippine Arena in Bulacan and generated a record-breaking 41 million tweets from Oct. 23 to 25. After its debut on the big screen in My Bebe Love #KiligPaMore at the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), AlDub starred in Imagine You & Me, its first solo starrer (produced by APT Entertainment, GMA Films and M-Zet Productions), said to have grossed close to P.5 billion, prompting the 2017 Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation Box Office Entertainment Awards to name Alden and Maine Prince and Princess of Philippine Movies.

In 2016, Alden and Maine were named among the People of the Year by PeopleAsia magazine. Early this year, they topbilled the Kapuso primetime series Destined To Be Yours which ended on a happy note after one season. They were also given the Gawad Dangal ng Kabataan (19th Pasado Awards) and Natatanging Tanglaw ng Kabataan sa Sining ng Telebisyon (14th Gawad Tanglaw).

As part of Maine’s second anniversary in showbiz, today’s 38th-anniversary edition of Eat, Bulaga! will air a special Kalyeserye feature so expect Maine to again wear her Yaya Dub costume as she and Alden relive beautiful memories with the three lolas.

And as nod to AlDub’s second anniversary, Funfare sat down with Alden and Maine for a free-wheeling chat, before which we asked them to play the show’s popular Jackpot en Poy game. So who won? Check out the pictures on this and the “jump” page (C8).

Look two years back and what do you see?

Maine: I wasn’t in Bulaga then and I would say na isa lang akong normal na babae. Ibang-iba po. You know naman ang atensyon na nakukuha ng artista; I was not used to it; I wasn’t used to being the center of attention. I was a nobody, away from everyone. Isang malaking adjustment ang pakikipag-interact sa tao.

Alden: I was just around. Andyan lang ako after two years in showbiz. May routine. After a soap, rest for three months and then appear as guest in GMA shows, Magpakailanman, etc. and episodic series. I also starred in Ilustrado, a drama series. 

What would you have been if Bulaga didn’t discover you?

Maine: Malamang po nasa eroplano ako ngayon bilang flight attendant. A week before I got a call from Bulaga, I was just waiting to be hired by an airline (not identified). Nauna lang tumawag ang Bulaga by one week.

Did you know that Bulaga also beat the other network in hiring you?

Maine: Talaga po? I didn’t know that. Good thing sa GMA ako napunta. I’m happy where I am.

Had you become an F/A and Alden were a passenger, would you have selfie with him?

Maine: Hmmmm, siguro!

Alden: I could imagine Maine serving meals during the flight. Professional ang approach, “Would you like a glass of water?”

Maine: Fish, chicken or beef?

Or…coffee, tea or me? What would you choose?

Alden: Of course, ME!!!

I presume that you don’t have a fear of flying. How would you have reacted during a turbulence?

Maine: Na-e-enjoy ko po ang turbulence, actually!

Alden: That’s the thrill of a flight. Yung walang turbulence, boring!

Now, seated beside each other during a long haul (to the US, etc.), what do you usually talk about?

Maine: Not much. Kasi kapag long flight, I don’t sleep the night before and I just sleep throughout the flight.

Thanks to sleep aid?

Maine: I don’t take any; I don’t need it.

Many blessings have been showered on you these past two years. (Alden has a big house built and invested in the Concha’s Garden chain of restaurants, one in Tagaytay, one in Silang and another one in Quezon City. While Maine, who comes from a well-to-do family, also has her own investments.) How do you take care of the present?

Maine: Ini-ingatan naman po namin ng mabuti.

Who has more commercials?

Maine: Hmmm, I have lost count.

Alden: Hindi ko na rin maalaala kung ilan.

You started as a blogger. Are you still active on social media?

Maine: Not as much as I used to.

But you quit. How come?

Maine: I took a break from Twitter because it has become toxic; and there has been so much negativity. I stopped para hindi na madagdagan pa ang negativity sa system ko.

What about you, Alden?

Alden: Ever since naman po, hindi ako naging active sa social media. I just enjoy watching videos on Facebook. Seldom ako mag-post ng kung anu-ano. Sometimes nga, my attention is called by the GMA management kasi walang laman ang mga socmed accounts ko at nagiging stale daw.

How do you react to bashing on social media?

Alden: Ayoko na pong pansinin. We have so much on our hands already, so why bother? We just want to enjoy our life and our work, kaya siguro kami tumatagal. We don’t let people bring us down. Hindi ko naman nilalahat pero there are really people whose life goal is to bring other people down.

Do you let your fans influence the way you handle your career?

Maine: No, we don’t.

Alden: Kung saan yung tama, doon kami.

Maine: It really all depends on the management. Hindi po kami nagpapa-dictate sa fans kung ano ang dapat namin gawin.

When will you do separate projects na iba ang partner?

Maine: Hindi pa po time. May tamang panahon for that. Besides, it has been only two years and our team-up is still fresh.

Alden: We still have many projects together, one of them is a new movie.

So what have you discovered about each other in the past two years?

Maine: Ano ba ang puedeng i-reveal? A, ok. Do you know that Alden is gullible? Madaling maniwala kahit sa mga jokes.

Alden: She’s right. Madali akong maniwala, madali akong mag-tiwala. But do you know that Maine doesn’t eat cold food? Ayaw niya kumain ng malamig.

You are better off as friends, right?

Alden: Well, we are okay like this. Walang label.

Maine: Steady lang.

Alden: We function better this way.

Looking forward two years from now, do you think you will still be together?

Maine: Hopefully.

Alden: Oo naman!!!

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)

Photos by VER PAULINO