The two popular actors broke the sad news of their break-up on their respective Instagram accounts. PHOTO: KATHRYNBENARDO/INSTAGRAM

MANILA – Filipino celebrity couple Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla announced on Nov 30 that they have decided to part ways after more than a decade.

The actors, dubbed Kathniel by fans, broke the news via their Instagram accounts. They had been in a relationship for 11 years.

Bernardo, 27, shared a photograph of them as teenagers, and said it is already a “chapter closed” for her and Padilla, 28.

“I’ve been in show business for almost 21 years, 12 years as one-half of Kathniel, and 11 years as someone who loved Deej (Padilla’s nickname) behind the camera,” Bernardo wrote.

“What Deej and I had was real. It was never for show. We were together not because of the cameras, not because of the fans, not because of the money that comes with a successful love team,” she continued. “We were genuinely in love. We grew up together, dreamed together and saw many of those dreams become a reality.”

The actress paid tribute to her ex, saying their time together has brought her “joy, adventure and the feeling of being home”. She added: “He knew me more than anyone else. He was my first boyfriend. He was my comfort zone. I will always have love for him.”

While the former lovebirds did not give a reason for the split, Bernardo admitted they have been drifting apart despite trying their best to work things out.

She ended her post by asking Kathniel fans, including her 19 million Instagram followers, for their understanding and to give them time to heal.

Padilla kept his post short with two photos, one of them together and a solo shot of Bernardo. “Thank you for dancing with me during my highs, and thank you for singing with me during my lows,” he wrote. “Our lives may drift away, but our love will still ride that tide.”

Bernardo and Padilla first worked together in the youth-oriented series Growing Up in 2011. A year later, they paired up in another drama, Princess And I. The success of the TV series led them to become one of the country’s most-followed power couples on- and off-screen.

Although they started dating towards the end of Princess And I in 2012, they went public with their relationship only in 2018.

They also co-starred in several popular films such as She’s Dating The Gangster (2014), Crazy Beautiful You (2015), Barcelona: A Love Untold (2016) and The Hows Of Us (2018).

Their last project together was the 2022 television series 2 Good 2 Be True.

The news of their break-up drove many fans to tears, with some sharing their heartbreak on TikTok and X, formerly known as Twitter.