Marco Gumabao was a picture of a man in love as he faced members of the press during the media conference for his upcoming Viva series Deadly Love. A “happy” Marco openly answered the questions regarding his love life.
“Well, of course, yeah (I’m happy because of my love life). But all in all, love life is not the only thing that could make a person happy. (It also includes) work, everything, career, at the same time, future plans. So, everything’s good,” he remarked.
He is now more open to talk about his relationship with girlfriend Cristine Reyes. Contrary to the title of his latest series and starrer Deadly Love, he described their relationship as “not deadly, of course.”
“Maybe I can (say) content love and at the same time, safe. It’s like everything is… parang you feel safe with the person that you love. And contentment is really an important aspect in terms of a relationship,” he added.
Helmed by Derick Cabrido, the six-part series Deadly Love will premiere on July 10 over Viva One with a new episode every Monday. The mystery crime-thriller is written and created by Enrico Santos. It also stars Louise delos Reyes, Jaclyn Jose, McCoy de Leon, Raffy Tejada, among others.
The Instagram photo Marco uploaded earlier of him and Cristine being cozy with each other, which publicly confirmed their dating status, was unplanned, according to Marco. “I surprised her (with that post). Siyempre kinilig siya. We don’t want to hide our relationship from the public. We were just looking for the right timing,” he shared.
“She was also surprised. Actually, when I posted that photo on Instagram, kakahiwalay lang namin nun kasi magkasama kami. I just waited for the time that we left, then I posted it. And that’s it. Of course, she was happy,” he furthered.
It was through filming the comedy movie Abay Babes (2018) that their “friendship” was formed and it continued throughout the years.
Before that, Cristine was already Marco’s “happy crush.” “She was my crush even before. Sa Tubig at Langis (2016 film) pa lang. But of course, I didn’t tell her that. It was just a happy crush.”
It was during the filming of Martyr or Murderer (2023) and while constantly working out together that their friendship blossomed into romantic love.
“It was just recently. I think nakatulong rin yung Martyr or Murderer. I think it was around December, January. But we were close (friends), I mean, years ago,” he recalled.
Prior to the filming of Martyr or Murderer, Marco and Cristine, along with their friend Jake Cuenca, had been going to the gym together to work out. “Sabay-sabay kaming nag-wo-workout nun. So that’s when (our feelings) developed (for each other),” Marco said about Cristine.
What happened was they met at a birthday of one of Nadine Samonte’s children. The husband of Nadine, businessman Richard Chua, is Marco’s cousin. “We saw each other there and we just went out with Tita Isabel Rivas… Cristine said she want(ed) to work out, (but) wala siyang kasabay. So I told her, ‘Sabay ka sa amin ni Jake.’ I mean that’s how it started.”
When asked if he already won the heart of Amarah, Cristine’s daughter with ex-husband Ali Khatibi, “I would like to think yes,” he said.
“She’s an angel. I saw her when she was a baby during Tubig at Langis (filming). I’ve always had a soft spot for her. And suddenly, here we are. So, everything happens for a reason, really. So, nakakatuwa.”
Marco would also tease Cristine about her previous comment on not falling in love with a younger guy like him. The former is 28 while the latter is 34. She then said she didn’t want to be regarded as a cougar.
“Actually, that video trended after (we became public). Of course, I would tease her about it (laughs),” he said.
“Kumbaga joke na lang siya right now because that interview (happened), I think, it was five, six years ago. So, it’s no longer valid. Things can change, hearts can be changed also,” Marco continued.
The couple are set to star in Minsan Pa Nating Hagkan Ang Nakaraan, a TV adaptation of Christopher de Leon and Vilma Santos hit movie in 1983. Produced by Viva, it will be aired on TV5.
“At first, actually, when this project was given to us, we weren’t… hindi pa kami public. So, a lot of people were insinuating that us coming out in public was just for a promo because we have a show. But they didn’t know that this project was given to us even before pa,” explained Marco.
Meanwhile, Marco felt “very blessed” to be part of the Singaporean media conglomerate MediaCorp.’s mini-series The Girl He Never Noticed, which just wrapped up its first season. It is an adaptation of the Wattpad hit novel written by Filipina author Neilani Alejandrino (sweetdreamer33).
Marco plays the billionaire Eros Petrakis with Malaysian actress Tess Pang (who portrays Jade) as his leading lady. They filmed in Singapore last year.
He told The STAR, “And I think they really wanted me to do it. They envisioned me for the lead role of Eros Petrakis. I think they told the Singaporean production team. They did their due diligence. They searched my movies. So, Viva sent them clips of my past movies (including Just a Stranger) and other films. They accepted me (for the role) right away.”
He was in Singapore for six weeks. “A lot has happened there. I contracted COVID there but I didn’t have symptoms or whatsoever.”
“Tess is really a great actress,” he said of his co-star. “It was really easy to work with her. Actually, with the whole Singaporean production team, they have different work ethics. So, nakakatuwa and at the same time, I would love to do a season two if there’s (an opportunity).”
On his takeaway from the series and his character, he said, “(Eros) is a typical billionaire na parang feeling niya ang taas-taas ng tingin niya sa sarili niya. But it just goes to show that if you find the right girl for you, you will really change. You change for that person.”
“It’s like the person doesn’t ask you to change but you do. You will change willingly. I think that’s my biggest takeaway from the series. You can have all the money in the world, you can have everything, materialistic-wise, but love will make you change as a person and that’s the highlight of the story,” he added.