MANILA — After introducing their newborn, Janella Salvador and Markus Paterson finally shared on Thursday how their love story started.

The couple had only recently confirmed being together in September 2020, a month before their son Jude was born, despite persistent rumors romantically linking them dating back to mid-2019.

In their joint interview with Star Magic, hosted by their close friend and fellow artist Maja Salvador, Salvador and Paterson revealed that their love story owes to their first acting project together.

In February 2019, Salvador portrayed singer Moira dela Torre in the latter’s life story as featured in “MMK.” Paterson played a former boyfriend of Moira, Timothy, in the episode.

Portraying Moira’s husband Jason Hernandez was Joshua Garcia, who eventually became Salvador’s “love team” partner for a time, notably as seen in “The Killer Bride.”

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“We weren’t close,” Salvador said of Paterson, referring to their time filming of the “MMK” episode.

“We met before, pero ‘hi’ lang,” Paterson agreed. “We never really had an engagement beforehand.”

Paterson described their conversations while on set as “awkward,” admitting that as early as then he was already attracted to Salvador.

After the episode aired, Paterson decided to message Salvador to commend her portrayal. For him, it was a convenient excuse to get in touch with her.

“Sabi ko, ‘DM ko kaya ‘to? Should I shoot my shot?’ Baka naman. So minessage ko. Sabi ko, ‘Good job, ang galing mo,’” he narrated.

“If she doesn’t reply, okay lang. I shot my shot, I’ll be proud,” Paterson said.

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Salvador would rarely open her direct messages on social media, she recounted, but somehow, on that night, felt the urge to check her inbox.

“Cute naman,” was Salvador’s playful reason for replying to Paterson’s message.

The exchange led to more communication in the following days and weeks, and eventually, becoming officially a couple.

Two year since, Salvador and Paterson are now blissful parents to Jude — an undertaking which they described as a “switch” that completely changed their priorities and furthered their maturity.

In a prior interview on “TV Patrol,” the two said they are in “no rush” to get married, as they are focused foremost on raising Jude.

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