Belle Mariano, Donny Pangilinan now in ‘courting stage’
Belle Mariano candidly admitted that she and her perennial onscreen partner Donny Pangilinan are now in the “courting stage” of their relationship, as she gushed about the young actor’s gentlemanly traits.
Speaking to Vice Ganda for his vlog which was uploaded on the latter’s YouTube channel on Friday, Mariano appeared to have been put on the spot when asked by the actor-comedian if she has ever said “I love you” to Pangilinan, and vice versa.
“Teh, grabe naman. [Bakit], ‘I love you’ agad? Grabe naman. Wait, pinagpapawisan ako,” she said while laughing. “Donny [Pangilinan], ikaw ang sumagot niyan.” (Sister, that’s too much! Why “I love you” right away? That’s too much. Wait, I’m sweating… Donny Pangilinan, can you answer the question?)
Vice Ganda then prodded her: “So nagliligawan kayo ni Donny?” (So you and Donny are in the courting stage?)
The actress-singer appeared to laugh nervously before admitting that Pangilinan is currently courting her, but that she could not say how long their courtship has been going on.
“Hindi ko alam [gaano katagal ang aming ligawan], ‘di ko masabi. Feeling ko ongoing pa rin [‘yung ligawan namin ni Donny],” she said finally. (I don’t know how long it’s been, but I feel like our courting stage is still ongoing.)
Mariano admitted that Pangilinan makes her feel giddy with excitement with his gentlemanly ways.
“Binibigyan niya ako ng pagkain. Gentleman siya, super selfless, and considerate. Parang never pa niya ako hindi pinagbuksan ng pinto (He always gives me food. He’s a gentleman, super selfless, and considerate. He always makes sure to open the door for me),” she said, counting off her “favorite qualities” of her beau.
During the vlog, Mariano said she is not closing her doors to being paired with other actors in the future, while sharing that she and Pangilinan hope to emerge as filmmakers someday.
“We still want to work with each other [as a loveteam] but of course, I would like to explore more. I would like to be a director someday, and so does he. Actually, we are both open to the idea [of having other onscreen partners in the future],” she said.
“Nagkaroon kami ng conversation na we’re going to be there to support one another. Ayaw namin maging hindrance sa growth ng isa’t isa whether individual or together ‘yung project namin,” she continued. (We used to have a conversation in the past that we will be there to support one another. We don’t want to hinder each other’s growth whether a project is for just one of us, or if we’re together.)
Mariano and Pangilinan are set to star in their first teleserye “Can’t Buy Me Love,” which will premiere sometime in the year.
The singer-actress will portray the role of the rich Filipino-Chinese Caroline, while the actor will star as the hardworking Bingo. Additional details about their co-stars and storyline are yet to be revealed, as of this writing. EDV