In the local showbiz scene, Arci Munoz and JM De Guzman are known to have been longtime friends since their college days in the mid-2000s. Yup, these two actually met as Theatre Arts students in UP Diliman! Here's a cute #throwback of them during the ~era of digicams~:
After breaking it big in the entertainment industry, the two were actually paired twice as each other's romantic leads—in the film Last Fool Show and the drama Pamilya Ko, both shown in 2019. So with all of this shared history, why exactly haven't they become a couple IRL? Well, this topic was up for discussion in their recent guesting on the show I Feel U. For Arci, the reason is simple: They're best friends.
"Kasi best friend ko eh. Parang ang hirap kung pupunta kami sa ganung direksyon, ang hirap na ibalik na ang ganitong klaseng relationship namin as friends. Best friend ko ito eh," she said. "Sobrang comfortable kay JM. Parang wala akong maitatago sa kanya. Kapag masama ang loob ko, siguro siya ang unang taong tatawagan ko bukod sa pamilya ko."
Arci did reveal, though, that she had a huge crush on him when they were in college—and that she just assumed he was gay. "Pero nung kabataan namin, crush ko po siya. Nung nasa college kami. Alam naman po niya 'yon tapos feel na feel niya. Umaligid-aligid lang ako noon." Spoken like a true BFF, LOL.
JM also revealed what he appreciates most about Arci: her frankness. "Prangka po siya sa akin. Kung magsalita siya, diretso sa puso. Siguro sa pagkakilala niya sa akin, nase-sense na niya kung bad trip ako kahit malayo pa ako. Nandiyan siya lagi para i-lead ako pabalik sa positibo."
Arci went on to gush over JM by saying how much he means to her: "Hindi niya nakalimutan yung times nung college days namin na halos kami lang din parati ang magksama. Thankful ako sa existence niya kasi napapagaan niya yung buhay ko."
Cute, no? What's even sweeter is that the besties are spending their time off from their artista lives by undergoing training as Philippine Air Force reservists.
Yup, it sure looks like this friendship is for keeps!
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