If you thought that the love team between James Reid and Nadine Lustre are for Filipino fans only, think again, because Teen Vogue recently featured JaDine in a story about love teams in Philippine entertainment.
The online article, which came out earlier this week, started with, “Welcome to the concept of a ‘love team.’ In the Philippines, fans aren’t squealing over boy bands or just any celebrity; they’re obsessed with this concept in entertainment that is unique to the country’s outlook on romance. A love team completely elevates the portrayal of love in movies, TV, music, and books in a way that westerners don’t even think about (or avoid altogether).”
The article then explains why love teams are prominent here, citing that the country’s monogamous nature bleeds into entertainment.
Teen Vogue also got to interview the two, who talked about how they met:
While you may be discouraged from dating your coworker, the exact opposite was at play for James and Nadine. “The first time we got paired together was for his music video,” Nadine tellsTeen Vogue. (“She was the girl I picked, it was just instinct,” James corroborates.
) But it took two years of working on set as love interests before either copped feelings for one another. “After that music video, nothing really happened…[until] our first movie,” he adds, referencing the filming of Diary ng Panget (Diary of an Ugly Person). “That’s when the JaDine love team started, the fans made the name.”
At first, the duo admits that their pairing was all part of the job. “We never pretended to be together or lied to the fans. We were just friends, but they didn’t think so,” James says. Even though they had no interest of being in a relationship at the time, there was an unbelievable amount of pressure to be the ideal couple. “When you’re in a love team, you have to work together,” James says. Nadine is quick to add that “people hated seeing you with someone else. When they did, fans started talking. There was a lot of drama.”
JaDine attributes their success to their transparency: “James and Nadine say they never tried to be anything they weren’t and this transparency is what set them apart from other love teams. A partnership that started out as a mere example of what the ideal love looks like transformed into a real, undeniable romance that the country fell head over heels for. The two are even nicknamed Team Real, which is also the title of their debut book. (Beyond the couple’s movies and soap operas, they also sing duets to accompany their on-screen projects.) As cliché as it sounds, JaDine has proven that there’s really nothing they can’t do in the name of love. “If you’re in a love team, you get all of the projects together. You’re a package deal,” Nadine says.”
Teen Vogue ended the article with how JaDine can be an inspiration to others:
Whether you’ve been burned before or have yet to find your match, there’s something special about seeing what could be. It makes you realize the kind of relationship you really deserve because just like the most iconic love stories, settling for second best should never be an option. That’s what JaDine — and nearly every other Filipino love team — opens all audiences up to. No matter what point you are in finding “the one,” seeing someone have their own fairytale ending can help you believe that yours is out there, too.
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