EXCLUSIVE: Real-Life Couple Liza Soberano And Enrique Gil Have Some Sweet Revelations About Each Other
As of this writing, the Gandang Gabi, Vice episode featuring Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil last Sunday is the #1 trending local video on YouTube, with more than 2 million views (it now has almost 3 million views!). While people are intrigued by their Valentine’s movie Alone/Together—which is written and directed by Antoinette Jadaone, and reportedly earned over P21 million on its first day and P61.9 million in just two days—what made this video viral is Liza and Enrique’s confirmation that they have actually been a couple for more than two years.
The confirmation came as a total surprise to everyone, as Enrique had to answer host Vice Ganda’s question truthfully while his hand was strapped to a lie detector device. Vice casually asked, “Kayo na ba?” He laughed and paused for a moment until he finally answered, “Yes!” The live audience went wild.
Then it was Liza’s turn. Vice asked her, “Matagal na kayo?” “Define matagal,” she said. “More than two years?,” Vice asked again. To which, Liza replied quickly, “Oo,” her eyes sparkling with love and happiness. With defeaning screams from the audience, the reel-to-real life couple breathed a sigh of relief, albeit still a little uneasy, upon telling the world the real deal between them.
READ: LizQuen's "Alone/Together" Teaser Has Dropped, And We Can't Stop Analyzing It
On Enrique: Clothes by Zara | On Liza: White cropped tee by Bench
Liza and Enrique have practically been inseparable for about six years, bounded by their LizQuen love team, which started in 2013. To date, the two have already starred in three teleseryes (Forevermore, Dolce Amore, and Bagani) and four movies (Just the Way You Are, Everyday I Love You, My Ex and Whys, and Alone/Together). Despite previous rumors about them breaking up as a love team, this good-looking pair managed to stay strong together. It turns out it was the real romance brewing behind the scenes that was strengthening their chemistry.
The secret to maintaining their solid bond, Enrique says, is respect for each other. For love to flourish, it must first be grounded on respect. In the case of Liza and Enrique, this essential element allows them to give each other space and at the same time grow together. Growing together, though, is something that their characters in Alone/Together weren’t able to do. A heartwarming and heartbreaking love story between Christine and Raf, the movie depicts a young love that didn’t grow old with the individuals involved. He’s a happy-go-lucky person, while she’s a dreamer and an idealist. Christine and Raf’s relationship which started when they were in college couldn’t quite survive the personal struggles and challenges that were hindering their love to bloom.
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On Enrique: Shoes by Yeezy | On Liza: Boots by Off-White
Reunited after eight years, the two now have to go through the pain of having to relive the memories they shared back when they were younger. “Eight years after when we meet again, let’s see if Raf is still the same guy. Maybe he changed, even better. Maybe she changed the world, or maybe through the course of the eight years, the world changed her,” Enrique hints at the twist of the plot. “The point of the story is, people dream and eight years after, when the real world hits you after college, do you still have the same dream? Nakamit mo ba ’yung dream mo? Did you pursue it? If not, why? If not, are you still happy? Contented?”
There have been a lot of fan theories about the movie when the trending teaser and trailer were revealed. Enrique’s favorite? “That I was a ghost, na hindi naman daw ako totoo. That Liza was just imagining I was still there, because I passed away in the course of the movie.” The fans believed this theory even more with the lyrics of the movie’s official soundtrack, Rivermaya's "214" (sung by JM de Guzman): “Am I real? / Do the words I speak before you make you feel / That the love I have for you will see no ending?” “Sadly, I’m not a ghost here,” Enrique says. But there is indeed a twist the audience wouldn’t quite expect.
Watching Alone/Together knowing that its stars are together in real life makes the movie-going experience more entertaining. She says, “It was fun working with him as always. I’m always comfortable working with him, because almost six years na kami magka-trabaho. And I know him very well, so we know how to push each other. We know what triggers us, what triggers our emotions.”
In this exclusive interview with Metro.Style, Liza and Enrique talk about working on Alone/Together and being together as a real-life couple:
On Enrique: Neon sports jackets by Yves Camingue, jogging pants by Zara, and shoes by Fear of God | On Liza: Neon sports jackets by Yves Camingue, mesh hoodie by Bench, black sports bra by Bench body
Alone/Together
What is it about Alone/Together that convinced you to take the project?
Enrique: “It was something about the story. They actually pitched us a couple of stories but for some reason, they didn’t really hit us as hard… We were actually in Australia doing ASAP when we got the call that there’s another script they want to present. They sent us the script. We read it. And when we read it, we thought, ‘Uy, parang okay ito ha.’ It’s different. I think that’s why we kinda liked it. Very real. Ang ganda ng pagkasulat. That’s why we chose it.”
Liza: “Initially, when they gave us the script for us to read, it was just basically the skeleton of the story. There were no dialogues or anything. It wasn’t actually complete. So while I was reading it, I felt really excited and nervous at the same time. I guess that rush of emotions is what really pushed me to say yes to doing the project. Because if when I was reading the skeleton it made me want more, what more when I’m actually shooting the film and what more when the audience watches it?"
What makes Alone/Together the perfect Valentine’s day movie?
E: “The realness of it. It’s not always just about love kasi. It’s more than just love. In real relationships, hindi lang based sa love ’yun, there’s a lot more factors in a relationship. There are problems. I think we tackled a lot of problems here especially with our characters, which are beyond the love we have for each other.”
L: “I think what makes it the perfect Valentine’s day movie is that it tackles a lot of different kinds of love—not just love for a relationship with a partner. It tackles self-love, love for your family, love for your job, love for your career, love for your passion—anything that involves love for something.”
What is your favorite scene in the movie?
E: “I think it was when we started to break up in the story. That’s when things got more interesting. ‘Cause we’ve never done something like this. We thought it would be a good movie for us to make, something new for us. Not the usual rom-com, so sabi namin, ‘Tara, let’s do it!’”
L: “My favorite scene would have to be that one scene in the Sunken Garden, where I was wearing black and then Enrique arrives. That was one of my favorite scenes, because I think that was one of the hardest scenes for me. I was able to pull it off somehow—the satisfaction it gave me when I was able to pull off the scene, I guess that’s why it’s my favorite. Kasi pinaghirapan talaga.”
What is the movie’s main takeaway?
E: “Sacrifice. Love is sacrifice. Love hurts. But it wouldn’t be a great love if not for that. ’Di masarap magmahal kapag ’di masakit e, ganu’n talaga e. Kailangan may sacrifice and you know its worth when it’s gone. It’s a good, good eye-opener to a lot of people na ’wag mo sayangin, kahit mahirap, kahit hindi p’wede, there’s always a way, there’s always a choice. Kalaban mo lang naman talaga ang sarili mo.”
L: “We are more than our mistakes. Yes, we’re human and we mess up sometimes, a lot of times, but that’s not what we should just keep on thinking about. Because if all we look at is our mistakes, we are never going to be able to move on and develop who we are. Once we make a mistake, we have to learn from it and overcome the obstacles or challenges that we get from that mistake, and use that as an inspiration to work harder to achieve our goals and dreams.”
“There will be a lot of realizations that people will get from the film. A lot of lessons, and I feel like it’s a movie that everybody should watch just so they can kind of look into themselves after and reflect”—Liza
On Liza: Sequined top by Yves Camingue | On Enrique: Clothes by Zara and shoes by Fear of God
Officially together
What do you like most about your partner?
E: “Her beautiful face is a given but I really fell in love with her when I found out who she was and the things she had gone through in life.”
L: “I like that he’s family-oriented. He always puts family first before anything else. And he’s a gentleman. He’s funny. He’s very generous.”
What is it about your partner that many people don’t know about?
E: “She’s a very, very responsible girl. She’s an angel. She’s different from any other woman I’ve met. At her age, she’s younger than me, but I feel like she’s like 10 years older than me. She’s so strong. People say that you only get strong from experience, and you only get tougher in life from the hardships you’ve gone through. I think that’s why she’s so tough."
L: “He’s smart. He really loves the marine life and he knows a lot about dinosaurs, crocodiles, sea creatures. He can name anything you ask him. He’s like an encyclopedia. I also call him Mr. Google because he knows a lot of things. He likes to read things and watch videos online that most people aren’t really interested in. Well, everybody knows he’s funny and very animated. He’s like a cartoon sometimes.”
On a bad day, how do you comfort each other?
E: “We just eat.”
L: “I prepare him his favorite meal. He has a lot of favorites. He likes ramen and pasta.”
What is the first song that comes to mind when you think about your partner?
E: “’There’s No Way’ by Lauv. It’s a nice song. I like the lyrics. It has a nice message: there’s no way that it’s not going this way.”
L: “Actually, it’s not a song. It’s probably a genre. Whenever I hear hip-hop or rap, I think of Quen.”
When do you find your partner most attractive?
E: “When she’s having fun. When she’s smiling. That’s the only way I want to see her.”
L: “Probably when he’s laughing. Anyone who’s happy, I think, becomes very attractive.”
What’s something that never fails to make her smile?
E: “When I make patawa. I’m a fun guy to be with and I think that’s why she likes to be with me. 100% mas fun talaga ako sa aming dalawa. Mas makulit kasi ako. When she has a bad day, I just try to make her laugh. Kahit pagkain lang, masaya na kami. Eat and watch funny videos. Simple stuff, but I think my personality just calms her sometimes.”
How is Enrique a good influence to you?
L: “He makes me more jolly. I would say he makes me more fun. Because before we were together, I would really just stay at home. But since we’ve been together, I’ve been more outgoing. I’ve made more friends. I’ve learned a lot more about the world and stuff. Because of him, I learned to travel. He’s really knowledgeable about different countries. So whenever we travel, he would tell me, ‘O, in this country, mayroong ganito, ganyan.” So he’s kind of like my teacher also.”
You both love traveling. What are the places and activities you look forward to exploring together?
E: “Peru, Mexico. We’ve been to Europe together but not all around Europe. Marami pa kaming ’di napuntahan. Sweden, Austria (that’s where my lola was from), Iceland (that’s where my dad’s family is from), Amsterdam (that’s where my family from my dad side is from also). I wanna go around Prague, Cannes, Monte Carlo. Europe pa lang ’yun. May Egypt pa. Africa. Amazon, that’s my number one—it’s my dream to go there. I like snakes, crocodiles, and sharks. I wanna go to Guadalupe Island in Mexico and dive with great white sharks ‘cause they’re only found in that area.”
L: “We like to travel. We’re actually very adventurous. So when we travel, we usually go to themed parks. We do things that are thrilling. I like hiking. He likes snorkeling. We tried surf boarding together. Ziplines. Anything that gives us a good thrill. We’re kind of like adrenaline junkies. We like the feeling of scaring ourselves, so we like going to horror houses also. Places that we want to go to pa would probably have to be anywhere in South America, Africa, Bahamas, and Maldives.”
"Love is sacrifice. Love hurts. But it wouldn’t be a great love if not for that. ’Di masarap magmahal kapag ’di masakit e, ganu’n talaga e. Kailangan may sacrifice and you know its worth when it’s gone."—Enrique
Alone/Together, under the ABS-CBN Films brand Black Sheep, is now showing in 230 cinemas nationwide.
Produced by Grace Libero-Cruz
Photography by Gee Plamenco Jr.
Creative direction by Chookie Cruz
Makeup by Robbie Piñera and hairstyling by Renz Pangilinan (Liza)
Grooming by Posh Torres (Enrique)
Styling by Perry Tabora (Liza) and Ton Lao, assisted by Miguel dela Rosa (Enrique)
Shoot assistant: Cara Tirona
Special thanks to Black Sheep
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