Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto have definitely come a long way since their breakout performance as a pair in the Metro Manila Film Festival 2016 top-grossing flick, Vince & Kath & James. For starters, the two are headlining their latest film, Love You to the Stars and Back, with rom-com director Antoinette Jadaone at the helm. And now, JoshLia shippers are given another reason to rejoice as Joshua finally admitted to courting his love team partner.
During a recent press conference, Joshua revealed liking Julia even prior to working with her in VKJ, but it was only in January this year that he took their on-screen romance further by courting the 20-year-old actress.
When asked about the real score between the two, Joshua gamely replied, "Sobra kong nae-enjoy 'yung presence niya and sobra niya akong napapasaya. May mga scenes nga kaming ginawa ni direk na mga heavy scenes na hindi ko magawa kasi masaya talaga ako kasama siya. Napapasaya niya ako nang sobra." He added, "Malalim na ho 'yung pinagsamahan namin. Mas kilala na ho namin ang isa't isa."
While the young actor has boldly declared feelings for Julia, he shared that he still does not have the confidence to ask her to be his girlfriend. "Pwede siyang mag-hindi. Kasi sa ngayon, 'yung trabahong pumapasok sa amin, ang hirap sayangin. Nakakatakot kasi talagang magtanong. Kasi parang lahat naman tayo natatakot tayong ma-reject," he said, to which Julia agreed.
"Siyempre pinayagan ko siya manligaw kasi siyempre may gusto rin naman talaga [ako] sa kanya," she said. "If I'm being very honest, I've learned to prioritize my work but he's become such an important person in my life and it's not like nakakasagabal siya sa trabaho ko," she continued.
She added that her family is open to Joshua becoming a part of her life on- and off-screen. In the same press conference, her mother, Marjorie Barretto, shared, "Kung sino ang gusto ng anak ko, doon ako. Basta happy at protective sa mga anak ko, okay na ako."
Julia also shared that her father, Dennis Padilla, has no qualms about their budding romance. In fact, he looks for Joshua during family events. In a separate interview, Dennis said, "Okay naman at ipinakilala siya sa akin ni Julia. Mabait siya at marespetong lalaki at ako naman ay may tiwala sa kanya so sana naman siya ay maging mabuting lalaki at mabuting manliligaw para sa aking anak."
When asked about how protective he is with his daughter, the La Luna Sangre actor quipped, "Basta 'wag mo lang sasaktan at lolokohin ang aking anak, happy naman ako. Happy naman ako kasi comedian ako eh. Kaso kapag hindi maganda ang mga nangyari nagiging action star ako."
[h/t: ABS-CBN]