Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes are considered the “golden couple” of the Philippine entertainment industry in recent years. They came together through popular TV series that are very familiar to Vietnamese audiences such as Wild Dance, Mermaid Love Story, Dangerous Relations… Now that they are husband and wife, their happy married life has become the dream of many fans. On the occasion of Marian Rivera’s 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day (August 12) and Dingdong Dantes’ (August 2), let’s look back at their lasting love journey over the past 10 years with ELLE.
Dingdong Dantes first tried his hand at the Philippine entertainment industry when he was just… 2 years old. After a period of acting in commercials and joining a dance group, Dingdong officially entered the film industry with his first role in Shake, Rattle and Roll V (1994), when he was only 14 years old. 3 years later, the TV series TGIS brought Dingdong to the GMA Network – the “Cupid” who would bring him and the love of his life together many years later.
While Dingdong Dantes’ career was soaring with a series of leading roles and a “huge” salary, Marian Rivera only took on her first role in 2005 in the long-running series Kung Mamahalin Mo Lang Ako ( If Only You Love Me ). By 2007, Marian Rivera had a chance to work on television projects for GMA Network. At that time, no one – including insiders – could have expected that this step would not only take Marian’s career to a new level, but also be an important turning point for her private life later on.
Two different pieces find each other
2007 marked the first meeting of Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes – the most beloved on-screen couple in the Philippines, one of the most influential couples in Philippine and Asian showbiz today.
Surpassing many other famous names at that time, talented Marian Rivera was chosen to play the female lead in the TV project Wild Dance – a series remade by GMA Network from the Mexican film of the same name. Meanwhile, Dingdong Dantes – then the number 1 bachelor in the Philippines as voted by Cosmopolitan – was chosen to play the male lead.
Dancing With The Stars has become the most successful primetime drama on Philippine television, an unexpected television phenomenon that competes directly with Korean and Chinese giants domestically and in many Asian countries, including Vietnam. The impressive achievement of Dancing With The Stars is the first peak in the careers of Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes, making their names associated with the titles of “Primetime Queen” and “Primetime King” of Philippine television.
Thanks to the “heat” of their first collaboration, the Marian – Dingdong couple became the target of many other film projects. Their on-screen love continued through many series: Mermaid Love Story (2008), Dangerous Liaisons (2009), Horizon With You (2010) and Mysterious Lover (2012).
When they first started working together, Marian Rivera revealed that she was a bit disappointed when she found Dingdong Dantes to be “snobbish” and “unapproachable”: “We couldn’t find a common voice, not at all!”
However, Dingdong Dantes was the complete opposite. He was moved by his wife, feeling something “special” in Marian from the first touch. “When I held Marian in my arms, she was like clay molded to fit my hands. It was as if… my hand had its own place on her skin.”
In June 2009, after the movie Dangerous Liaisons , Marian and Dingdong became increasingly close, despite their not-so-good first impressions and years of maintaining a purely colleague relationship. The audience caught the two of them sometimes going to the gym, sometimes traveling abroad together, and many intimate gestures caused rumors of the couple’s “fake love in the movie, real love” to spread.
Two months later, on Marian Rivera’s 25th 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day, the couple appeared in public hand in hand, officially confirming that they were dating. Dingdong shared: “We are happy together. We are both open to dating, having dinner together, watching movies… I helped Marian practice for her role in Darna. When she has time, she goes to the gym with me, I will show her what I know.”
In 2010, Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera shared about their special love in an exclusive magazine interview. The relationship between the two progressed slowly. It turns out that first impressions, good or bad, are an important foundation for Marian and Dingdong’s love journey. Thanks to them, the two realized that, despite their differences and contradictions, they were perfect complements to each other.
“Whether we admit it or not, the truth remains: My weaknesses are his strengths; what I lack, he fills. So we have balance ,” Marian Rivera explains about her love.
