Maine Mendoza Recalls The Moment She Confessed Her Feelings To Alden Richards

Love teams are big in the Philippines—we all know that. And the potential for two professional celebrities to fall in love with each other isn't impossible. Just look at KathNiel, LizQuen, JaDine—and now, apparently, AlDub. In this case, though, it's only Maine Mendoza who admitted to falling for her former onscreen partner, Alden Richards.

During an episode of the YouTube vlog series Tamang Panahon, Eat Bulaga hosts Maine, Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola, Paolo Ballesteros, Allan K, and the show's creative head, Jeny Ferre, broke down the 2015 phenomenon that took over the nation.

In the fifth episode, the hosts answered questions from fans—one of which asked whether Maine and Alden ever fell in love during Aldub KalyeSerye. Their love team started when Maine's character, Yaya Dub, caught major feels for Alden, who just happened to be guest-hosting on the noontime show at the time.

Maine admitted that she had a slight crush on Alden IRL. After all, he's one of the most sought-after actors of his generation. "Ako, na-in love talaga ako kay Alden, vocal naman ako. Kahit sino naman yung magtanong sakin, sasagutin ko naman nang diretso," she stated.

But she made it clear that their relationship was one-sided. According to her, she was the only one who caught feelings for her co-host—at least to her knowledge. Maine declared, "Na-in love ako sa kanya pero hindi siya nanligaw. Walang ganon."

Maine didn't hesitate to detail a part of her conversation with Alden at the time. The host-actress revealed that she directly asked Alden about their status, "Tinanong ko siya [direkta], 'Sabihin mo na sakin, ano bang nararamdaman mo for me?' Direkta kong tinanong sa kanya, gusto ko lang malaman."

She assured Alden that she was ready to accept whatever Alden's answer was. But Maine disclosed that Alden's answer was, "'Di ko pwedeng sabihin sa'yo kasi mawawala yung magic.'"

And then that was it. They were the love team of their time: AlDub—nothing more, nothing less. "Pero may closure naman kaming dalawa. Napag-usapan namin lahat," Maine assured in the vlog.

In a 2023 interview with Boy Abunda, Alden reportedly admitted to the public that he also caught feelings for Maine, but no further details were provided by the actor. "Yes po, na-fall po ako [kay Maine.] Hypocrite po ako kung hindi. Yes po, ayokong sabihing alam niya, but I did—I did confess," Alden stated.

Over the years, fans’ intense love for the duo sparked rumors that they were married—or even had a child together. It might sound silly, but for some, it felt very real. Things got even more intense when Maine announced her wedding to Arjo Atayde.

Of course, Alden expressed his happiness for Maine. Having remained friends, Alden said in a 2023 interview with PEP.ph, "Now that she's going to a path na talagang naikukuwento na niya sa akin na talagang gusto niya. Kasi si Maine, very planned ang buhay, very goal-oriented. By the age na ganito, ganito na dapat. So ngayon na nandiyan siya ngayon, of course, with Arjo, siguro yung naibibigay ni Arjo sa kanya is yung talagang love na deserve niya."

Maine and Arjo tied the knot on July 28, 2023. In fact, they recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary. The two are enjoying their married life at the moment.