For weeks now, rumors of a romance between "Incognito" lead stars Daniel Padilla and Kaila Estrada have been swirling around social media.
In his weekly vlog, showbiz veteran Ogie Diaz made a bold declaration that the two actors are already in a relationship. A video of Padilla, taken during his US concert tour with another co-star Ian Veneracion, also surfaced where he dedicated a song to someone who he called "my love."
In one of the season finale episodes of TFC’s magazine show "Are You G?" Padilla was confronted with the inevitable question, "May jowa ka na ba?" ('jowa' in English translates to ‘romantic partner’). He laughed and said, "Kain muna tayo" (let's eat).
He did not directly answer the question, and instead said, “Huwag na nating i-pressure 'yung sarili natin, huwag na nating ilagay sa ganun, i-showbiz pa 'yun pero you get my point. Lalabas at lalabas, pero ayoko lang na may naghihintay na alam mo 'yun, huwag na. Hayaan na nating mangyari ang mga mangyayari.”
“Huwag niyo na muna kaming kulitin, just let it be. Hayaan na lang nating mangyari ang mga bagay. And again, ayoko siyang maging showbiz eh. Well 'di pa rin naman maiiwasan 'di ba pero may choice pa rin naman ako, 'di ba?”
‘But are you happy?’ we asked.
“Paano ako hindi magiging masaya eh galing lang kami sa isang masayang concert, andito ako ngayon sa Korea with my family, my friends, celebrating life, getting an award, given to me by the people who love me 'di ba? So anong rason para maging malungkot?” he replied.
Padilla also just turned 30, and if there’s one thing in his bucket list, he said, he wants to travel more.
“I just want to travel, dati pa naman nagta-travel na 'ko. Pero hindi nga eh, just to experience travel nang hindi... ako, kasi sometimes feeling ko na-te-taken ko for granted 'yung mga bagay eh kasi masyadong mabilis ang mga nangyayari.”
He continued, “Pero kahapon nung nandun ako sa van before I go down the red carpet (during the Seoul Drama Awards, where he won Outstanding Asian Star), nagkaroon ako ng time to be by myself. Na parang naisip ko lang, saan ba 'ko galing? May show ako for the people, sobrang saya ng ginawa namin, tapos umuwi ako nagimpake ako lumipad to Korea with my mom, with Jordan, kayo, how lucky are we to do that?”
Estrada, for her part, has been silent on the rumored romance.
Her father, John Estrada, was already asked about it but the "Batang Quiapo" star said, ‘It’s not my story to tell.’
Same with her mother Janice de Belen. When the news broke out, we reached out to her for clarification. You may recall months back, in the middle of the "Incognito" run, there was a hush-hush about the romance but de Belen denied it. But this time, when we reached out to her, she said it’s better to ask Kaila.
You can watch the full episode of Daniel Padilla on "Are You G?" here: