MANILA — Rica Peralejo has confirmed that she was once romantically involved with Piolo Pascual, to the point of discussing marriage, but was never an official couple.

The former actress, 39, opened up about her past relationship with Pascual, 44, in her Q&A vlog released on Friday.

Parelajo and Pascual had been reported to have had a brewing romance in 2006, the same year they co-starred in the ABS-CBN drama series “Sa Piling Mo.”

At the time, neither of them went on record to confirm rumors of their supposed relationship. Now, 15 years later, through her vlog, Peralejo has finally set the record straight.

Responding to questions sent by followers through social media, Peralejo answered whether she and Pascual were ever an officially together.

“Hindi ito pa-safe, ha — yes and no,” she said. “Yes, in the sense na ang deep naming dalawa with each other. But we never put a label on ourselves. Never namin binigay iyon sa isa’t isa.”

She recalled: “Hindi rin kami umamin sa public about dating or liking each other. I’m not sure kung umamin siya. Meron ba? Ako, I don’t recall saying — kasi I’ve been asked by several reporters about it — ‘Oo, kami.’”

Peralejo, who was 24 at the time, never got a clear definition of what her relationship with Pascual was, despite them, to her impression, being attracted to each other.

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“What I remember is that hindi ko rin alam kung ano nga ba talaga kami,” she said. “But it was very clear to us that we liked each other a lot. We would talk about the future, like being husband and wife, and all that.”

“But, you know, I did that also with Bernard,” she clarified, mentioning her past boyfriend, actor Bernard Palanca. “Ganoon naman pag may somebody ka na you want to be serious with. Sometimes, you can’t help but move forward with your thoughts na parang, ‘When that day comes…’ and all.”

“I’m not going to say that I was the only one na ganoon sa buhay niya,” Peralejo added.

Despite their romance not progressing, Peralejo noted that Pascual was instrumental in strengthening her faith. She wrote as an annotation in her vlog that Pascual “was actually the first one to invite me to church.”

That church is Victory Christian Fellowship, where Peralejo met her would-be husband, Pastor Joseph Bonifacio.

Perealejo and Bonifacio got married in 2010 after two years as a couple, and now have two children together: Philip, 6, and Manu, 2.

Pascual was last linked with fellow Star Magic artist Shaina Magdayao in 2019, but the latter has since denied having romantic ties with the actor.