Love team
In Philippine media, a love team refers to a pair consists of an actor and actress depicted to the public as a romantic couple. Some of these onscreen pairs have become couples in real life.
Background
The concept of love teams can be traced back to the early years of Philippine cinema in the 1920s. The tandem of Gregorio Fernandez and Mary Walter who starred in silent films in the country during the 1920s is considered as the precursor of the love team concept in Philippine cinema. Other pairings became prominent such as Rogelio dela Rosa and Carmen Rosales in the 1950s, Tirso Cruz III and Nora Aunor in the 1960s and the 1970s, Gabby Concepcion and Sharon Cuneta in the 1980s, Rico Yan and Claudine Barretto, Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal in the 1990s, John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo in the 2000s.In the 21st century, love teams are also known by the portmanteaus of the couple's names. Becoming part of a love team in the Philippine entertainment industry can be a boost to the acting career of two people who are part of the pairing.
The two people in a love team often stars in television series and film with their characters where it is expected that their characters to be romantically attached to each other like in line with their public image as a romantic couple off-screen. There is some organized fan groups supporting love teams. However prospects of an actor or actress involved in a love team, especially the more popular pairings, to star with another actor or actress other than each other is limited. In cases that this happen, there is backlash from supporters of a love team such as the case of Kathryn Bernardo's involvement in 2019 film Hello, Love, Goodbye where her character got paired with the Alden Richard's. Her pairing with Richards was not received well by Kathniel fans who support her being with Daniel Padilla instead. In that year both Bernardo and Padilla made a mutual decision to not be involved in the same film project.
Hardcore fans of love teams wishes for the pairing they support to become a "real-life couple". One example of this, is Gabby Concepcion and Sharon Cuneta, who eventually got married. However their marriage later got annulled.
Reception
Within the entertainment industry
Actress Solenn Heussaff after conversing with people she knows are involved in love teams, said that being in such a pairing is difficult. She remarked that the love teams may "lose a sense of who they are" by trying too hard to portray themselves as romantic couples both on-screen and in real life, which she says isn't good if its forced in the case of the latter. She also points out that love team fans may be limiting the career options of actors involved in a pairing "knowingly or unknowingly". Heussaff states if an actor or actress gets an assignment for a film or television series where they pair with an actor or actress other than each other as their love interest, "someone gets attacked". But she was quick to add that love teams could be beneficial and sometimes those involved in such pairing became romantic couples in reality and urged fans to respect the individuality of the actors and actresses.Notable examples
| Pairing | Notes |
| Tirso Cruz III and Nora Aunor | |
| Gabby Concepcion and Sharon CunetaShaGab | The two first starred in a film together in 1981 in Dear Heart which marked Cuneta's debut as a main film actress. The two who were dubbed as a "super couple" starred in several other films. Cuneta and Concepcion got married in 1984 and they had a daughter. Their short-lived marriage was later annulled but they got married again. |
| Maricel Soriano and William Martinez | |
| Janno Gibbs and Manilyn Reynes | |
| Romnick Sarmenta and Sheryl Cruz | |
| Rico Yan and Claudine Barretto | |
| Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal | |
| Wowie De Guzman and Judy Ann Santos | |
| John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo | |
| Jericho Rosales and Kristine Hermosa | |
| Sam Milby and Toni Gonzaga | |
| Piolo Pascual and Judy Ann Santos | |
| Richard Gutierrez and Angel Locsin | |
| Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera | |
| Hero Angeles and Sandara Park | |
| Gerald Anderson and Kim Chiu | |
| Richard Yap and Jodi Santamaria | |
| Xian Lim and Kim Chiu | |
| Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla | Kathniel was first featured in television on a teleserye called "Growing Up" 2010. After their first teleserye their success continue. Today they are known for being the "Queen and King of hearts." Also they are known to be the most famous love team in Abs-Cbn because of their movie called "The hows of us". Their movie is holding the position of having the highest grossing in Filipino film. Bernardo and Ford finally confirmed their relationship status from the conference of their movie "The hows of us" confirming they are officially a couple for more than five years. |
| Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza | The pairing of Richards and Mendoza was popularized in 2015 for their role in Kalyeserye, a segment of the noon-time variety television show Eat Bulaga! where they portrayed a fictionalized version of themselves. In late-2017, Mendoza clarified to AlDub fans that she and Richards are just friends in real life asking for more freedom in her individual career but nevertheless thanked AlDub fans for their support. |
| Coco Martin and Maja Salvador | |
| James Reid and Nadine Lustre | |
| Marlo Mortel and Janella Salvador | |
| Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil | |
| Elmo Magalona and Janella Salvador | |
| Mccoy de Leon and Elisse Joson | |
| Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto | |
| Maymay Entrata and Edward Barber | |
| Ronnie Alonte and Loisa Andalio | |
| Donny Pangilinan and Kisses Delavin |