Valentine's 2022: Rico Blanco shares what made him fall in love with Maris Racal

MANILA, Philippines — Musician Rico Blanco opened up about what made him fall in love with girlfriend Maris Racal.

During the recent press con of "The Goodbye Girl," which features a star-studded cast including Angelica Panganiban, Elisse Joson and Barbie Imperial, the former Rivermaya frontman talked more openly about his relationship with Maris.

"Ang gusto ko kay Maris is she doesn’t even realize it but nakaka-happy eh 'yung vibe niya. It’s something that I think is normal to them magkakapatid. Because I hang out with the sisters also and the family and even with Maris’ mom and that’s the vibe — parang barkada," he explained.

"So I think [her] vibe brings out the best in me. 'Yung positive side ko nalalabas kasi nakakalimutan ko din na I’m playful pala. There’s a bit of childlike fun in every person and then she brings that out," he shared.

There's been a lot of fuss over their relationship and often because of two reasons. One, their 25-year age gap, and two, because their chemistry is strong despite the gap. The two have been collaborating with music projects as seen on "ASAP" and on Maris' YouTube channel, where they document how they compose and produce songs together.

Rico revealed that it wasn’t love at first sight for him, although his feelings grew over time. He explained, "We were trying to find out, kami ni Maris, some time ago how did it happen. Parang little by little lang."

"[It's] definitely not the first time I met her. Definitely not when we were working on the song and recording. I take pride kasi in my professionalism in the studio and no matter if I think the person that I’m working with is attractive or not, or even on the set when I’m doing acting, I take pride in my professionalism. So wala eh. I think it was sometime after we were done working on the song. Sa mga talks namin siguro. Nagkakamustahan kami. DM yata, parang ganu'n."

"The Goodbye Girl" is their first acting project together. Based on the book of the same name by best-selling author Noreen Capili, the iWantTFC’s original series illustrates the five types of heartbroken women while sharing valuable lessons on how to conquer heartbreak and coming out of it stronger, wiser, and better.

The series is Maris’ comeback project with ABS-CBN after doing the TV5 series "Stay-In Love."

The real-life couple is set to star in the episode titled "The Bitter Hopia," where Maris plays the role of Ria, a woman who seems to be getting mixed signals in her casual relationship with band member Caio (played by Rico Blanco). 

The 24-year-old actress admitted she had to adjust to acting with her real-life boyfriend, saying, “At first it felt really strange to be working with Rico on the same set. Kasi sanay ako sa kanya as him and like hindi ako sanay na umaarte siya na ibang tao or nag-a-acting siya. Inisip ko, ‘Parang hindi ko ‘to boyfriend (laughs).’ Parang ganu'n 'yung feeling."

The actress added, "But ganu'n lang siguro sa mga first scenes na na-shoot namin pero nu'ng nag-tuloy-tuloy na, comfortable na ako. Super comfortable ako. Kaya masaya ang mag-jowa pag nasa set sila. Kasi masaya kasi andiyan 'yung boyfriend nila. Okay ganito pala kasaya 'yun. Ngayon na meron na akong ka-eksena na boyfriend ko that makes me very happy,” she said during the mediacon held last February 2. 

Rico, meanwhile, also shared that he sees his future with Maris, saying, "Years from now, I hope that the relationship is deeper and richer with so much more memories, music, active projects, and stories. And it seems like we’re going to take everyone on this journey with us kasi parang ganu'n na eh."

Directed by Derick Cabrido, this six-episode series is iWantTFC’s Valentine’s Day offering, streaming worldwide exclusively on the iWantTFC app (iOS and Android) and iWantTFC website (iwanttfc.com) on February 14, with new episodes dropping daily. It is co-produced by Dreamscape Entertainment and Cleverminds Inc. 

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