The thing about love is, no matter how many stories you hear or advice you get, some lessons only make sense when you experience them firsthand. Yup, love has a funny way of teaching us lessons when we least expect it.

As one of the most iconic love teams of their generation, "Ex Ex Lovers" stars Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal, aka MarJo, played out all kinds of scripted romance on screen. But the most valuable lessons they’ve learned still came from real-life experience.

Jolina has never been the type to openly talk about her past experiences in love, especially when she was younger. But now, in her 40s, she’s become more open about matters of the heart. Jolina admits that she often felt like she was the one giving more in 'relationships', thus getting used to pouring her heart out without expecting the same level of love in return.

But that all changed when she married Mark Escueta, "Hindi ko akalain na mayroon palang magmamahal sa akin nang higit pa sa binibigay ko." With Mark, she found a love that didn’t just match her efforts but even exceeded them in ways she never imagined. "Kaya everyday sobrang grateful ko sa kanya. Hindi ko alam kung unexpected 'yun or talagang hindi ko lang din akalain na mangyayari sa akin."

Meanwhile, Marvin's greatest love lessons didn’t come from romance, but through fatherhood. Raising his twin sons, Santiago and Sebastian, taught him things about love no one else could. "It's something na hindi mo matututunan sa ibang tao, even from your own father, kung pano maging ama sa anak mo," he shared.

Fatherhood, he realized, is constantly evolving. There are moments of frustration, misunderstandings, and even heartaches, but at the end of the day, love always prevails. And that's how he learned what it truly means to love conditionally.

"Dati naririnig ko lang ‘yung term na unconditional love, no'ng nagkaroon ako ng mga anak, doon ko lang naintindihan na 'yun pala 'yun. Kahit minsan nagtatampo ka bilang magulang o minsan nasasaktan ka na nga pero mas nagiging pasensyoso ka at iintindihin mo lalo kung paano sila mahalin pa," he said.  

Love isn’t just something to understand—it’s something to experience. So go ahead, embrace it fully, because the most beautiful lessons come from truly living and feeling it.

_{*Photo credit to Marvin Agustin IG}