MANILA -- Crying and broken heart emojis flooded the comments of Sharlene San Pedro’s birthday greeting to her long-time co-star and close friend Nash Aguas, whom she referred to in the open letter as “bro.”

Dubbed “Nashlene” by their “shippers,” or fans pushing for their romantic pairing, San Pedro and Aguas entered showbiz together in 2004 via “Star Circle Quest.”

As teenagers, they formed a “love team” that drew a large following, but that onscreen tandem was short-lived as they were paired with other stars.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sharlene San Pedro (@sharlenesanpedro1) on Oct 9, 2018 at 4:06am PDT

With San Pedro and Aguas’ onscreen reunion via the horror film “Class of 2018,” fans found reason to rejoice, with some hoping their romance would finally translate into real life.

But it appears, with a simple term of endearment between the two, those hopes were dashed.

“Happy 20th birthday, bro!” San Pedro greeted her co-star on Twitter. “I know sobrang happy ka ngayon (ayi) at ‘yan lang wish ko sa ‘yo for life.”

happy 20th birthday bro!
I know sobrang happy ka ngayon (ayieeee 😜) at yan lang ang wish ko sayo for life. pic.twitter.com/cbDKv1RHvG

— Sharlene San Pedro (@shar_sanpedro) October 10, 2018

Replying to San Pedro’s tweet that included a photo of them together, Aguas wrote: “Salamat sa lahat, bro! Alam mo rin kung ano’ng gusto ko para sa’yo! ‘Lam mo na ‘yun! Thank you.”

The comments to both tweets were mixed, with a number commending Nashlene’s friendship through the years. Several, however, were surprised and even sad, using the crying or broken heart emoji.

salamat sa lahat bro!!! alam mo din naman kung anong gusto ko para sayo! lam mo na yun! thank youuu mehehe https://t.co/3XARNFqzYh

— Aeign Zackrey Nash (@AguasNash01) October 10, 2018

“My Nashlene heart,” tweeted one, with a frowning emoji.

“Bro-zoned?! Bro?!” said another, apparently dismayed.

San Pedro was for a time paired with Jairus Aquino, and Aguas, with Alexa Ilacad. Both tandems have since discontinued, triggering hopes that “Nashlene” would be formed again in their stead.

Aguas is now reportedly courting actress Mika dela Cruz.