Relationship Timeline: Bea Alonzo, Gerald Anderson, and Julia Barretto
Bea says she was gaslighted and ghosted, Gerald redefines ghosting, Julia makes it Instagram official
We all remember the story—Bea Alonzo and Gerald Anderson, one of showbiz's most fawned over couples, seemed to have found their sweet spot a couple of years ago.
After getting together for the first time in 2010 and splitting up, they found their way back to each other in 2016 and soon regained their status as a couple in love by 2018. The romance would be short-lived however, as in 2019, Bea and Gerald would break up for good, and it would be one of the most controversial stories of the year.
That's because there were suspicions that another actress, Julia Barretto, had played a part in the story; she and Gerald were away filming their movie Between Maybes in Japan, and their time together abroad stirred rumors that had planted tension between Gerald and Bea (many were convinced that Gerald had been unfaithful).
After the messy split, Bea finally detailed what she went through, and Gerald responded. It's the first time both Bea and Gerald have been direct about their experiences, and here's what they each had to say:
Bea says she wasn't only ghosted. She was gaslighted, too
For the uninitiated, the term "gaslighting" is used to describe an unhealthy dynamic in relationships. Specifically, it refers to the kind of manipulation where the goal is to make you question yourself, the validity of your thoughts and emotions, and your reality. If, for example, you're convinced that your partner had been unfaithful and you confront them about your doubts, you might be manipulated into thinking that you're imagining situations and that your emotions are but overreactions to something that doesn't exist. The worst instances of gaslighting make victims feel unhinged and confused about what's real and what's not.
For Bea, she says Gerald's gaslighting chipped away at her self-esteem.
She revealed all of this in an interview with G3 San Diego, sharing for the first time what she had gone through when she things ended with Gerald.
She recounts that she was ghosted; Gerald disappeared without a trace, leaving her with no explanations as to his sudden departure from her life. And then she was gaslighted, and that it was this experience that hurt her the most. According to her, it wasn't the breakup itself that was the worst part of her ordeal; it was everything else leading up to that, including the instances where Gerald had made her feel like garbage and worthless.
As unpleasant as it is to return to this time in her life, Bea said it was important for her to share these experiences with other women going through the same thing and who might be in need of guidance.
Gerald says as little as possible and evades questions
The Internet was quick to pounce on the soonest opportunity to question Gerald about the update. Considering that he had also posted a mysterious photo on Instagram showing him going for a walk in a wooded area with an unnamed woman in June, netizens wondered if it was his way of revealing a new relationship.
The opportunity came in his virtual press con for his digital mini-film Love Unlock: Hook Up held on August 11, where an attendee candidly asked him if he was indeed dating Julia Barretto.
Gerald dismissed the inquiry without a yes or no, sharply pointing out that the question had nothing to do with the film. Instead, he mentioned that his character in the film was the kind of person to mind their own business and that others should follow his lead.
Interestingly, Love Unlock: Hook Up also stars Julia. It's her first onscreen project that reunites her with Joshua Garcia, her ex-love teammate that she parted ways with last year, as well as Gerald.
Julia hints on a special someone
Julia, on the other hand, has not been spared from speculation.
When she celebrated her birthday in March 2020, her eagle-eyed followers noticed that she had alluded to a possible new flame in an Instagram post. The series of photos were accompanied by a caption that read, "For my birthday this year I decided to do things differently. A dinner for 10, my family and a loved one," prompting many to think that she was seeing someone new.
There haven't been any more hints from Julia about a budding relationship since then.
What fans were quick to pick up, however, was an interesting real time exchange between her and Joshua Garcia on Twitter as the exes went online to promote Love Unlock. In the two minutes of their conversation, what they said was enough to convince loyal JoshLia supporters that Julia had nothing to do with Bea and Gerald's split.
Here's how it went: Julia and Joshua challenged each other to a game of "What if?" And given their past romantic attachments to each other, it was unavoidable for the direction to head towards reminiscing on their past plus all its should have, would have, could have beens.
JULIA BARRETTO DID NOT CHEAT.
— ً (@bootyqueenjulia) August 13, 2020
the world owes Julia Barretto an apology pic.twitter.com/g7mmi4iv6O
Julia hit back with her own questions. What if Joshua hadn't become jealous? What if he had fought? (For them? For her?)
Taken together, the JoshLia fandom took this as evidence that Julia and Joshia had their own misunderstandings and reasons for going their separate ways—reasons that were unrelated to the Bea-Gerald controversy.
2020, a year of subtle reveals
More than a month after Julia and Joshua made noise on Twitter, former broadcast personality Jay Sonza stirred the pot yet again in September 2020, this time bringing Gerald back into the picture. In a Facebook post, he claimed that Julia was pregnant with none other than Gerald's child and that it was conceived over quarantine.
He went as far as congratulating the actress for her pregnancy, further saying, "Napatunayan nina Visoy (visayan tisoy) Gerald Anderson at anak nina Dennis Padilla at Marjorie na si Julia Barreto na kapuwa hindi sila baog. After months of love lockdown and ESQ (exact sex quadrant) — may nabuo sa sinapupunan ni Julia."
He ended the scandalous Facebook post with his take on the actors' "relationship," writing that even something like a speeding train can be stopped, but a love (like theirs) can't. He jokingly said he would wait for their wedding announcement.
Break muna tayo sa mga kuwentong manila bay beach front, philhealth nakawan, covid19 controversies, unjustified deped...
Posted by Jay Sonza on Sunday, September 20, 2020
On the same day that the rumor spread, Julia herself addressed it with an Instagram post baring her midsection with the caption "FAKE NEWS."
Just a month after in October, it looked like Julia was vacationing in none other than Gerald's very own private beach property, Hayati Resort. Julia's mom Marjorie posted photos of the trip, so did Julia, and yes, Gerald, too—the clincher being they all posted within days of each other, suggesting that they were all on the trip together.
November was another juicy month for Julia-Gerald shippers. The actress was on a hiking trip in Rizal and though she posted just one photo from the day, it was all her fans really needed to connect the dots. Gerald's brother happened to post a video of the same hiking trail, the brief clip showing the exact same spot that Julia was photographed in.
Julia posted a photo on Instagram, something nothing out of the ordinary should it not have been for the letter "G" pendant she was proudly wearing around her neck. It was a small detail, but one that eagle-eyed IG detectives were definitely not going to miss.
Finally, in January, Julia appeared to have posted her first couple photo—sort of.
She was showing off the new puppy she brought home, and the cute little pupper was photographed on her lap in the car on what was presumably the drive home. Julia and her new furry friend were on the passenger's seat and the driver's arm was mysteriously included in the shot, but who the arm belonged to was never mentioned.
Side story: "Paubaya" Music Video, February 2021
Julia and Gerald never officially commented or addressed the rumors swirling around them despite alluding to spending time together on social media. What took attention away from Gerald was something totally unforeseen, however.
Julia and her ex-love team partner and real-life ex-boyfriend Joshua Garcia starred in Moira dela Torre's music video "Paubaya," where they wrote their own lines that they exchanged in-between verses. The exes spoke their apologies to each other and gave and accepted forgiveness, all within the fictional narrative of them acting as a couple that met, fell in love, got engaged, but never got married.
This was the last update of the Julia-Gerald story up until March when Gerald finally came clean about his relationship status.
Tito Boy Tell-All, March 5, 2021
In his interview for Boy Abunda for the Boy Abunda Talk Channel on YouTube, Gerald finally spoke up against allegations about him ghosting Bea, and for the first time, he talked about being with Julia. He also talked about his frustration on the aftermath of his relationship with Bea.
Making It Instagram Official, March 7, 2021
Julia was next to make it official.
On the same weekend, she posted a photo of her with Gerald for his birthday. She called him "my love" in her birthday greeting and said that she was proud of him.
Bea Alonzo has kept away from the issue since it reached its peak in 2019. With Julia and Gerald becoming official, Bea has been rumored to be dating Dominic Roque since 2020. Bea and Dominic have yet to address the rumor.
But last March 6, Bea posted photos from a trip to their farm in Zambales, ending her caption with: "So, here’s to TIME! 🥂Time that is best spent with family, Time that heals all wounds, and TIME AS THE ULTIMATE TRUTH TELLER!" Many netizens immediately believed the last line as Bea's indirect comment to the confirmation of Gerald and Julia's relationship.
