‘Hello, Love, Again’ stars Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards | On Kathryn: Gown by Rob Ortega | On Alden: Suit by Saint Laurent, button-down by Simone Rocha, and pants by H&M Photographed by Charisma Lico

It’s been five years since Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards‘ Hello, Love, Goodbye made Filipino film history. When the movie ended its theatrical run, it became the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time, with global ticket sales of P880.6 million.

Many factors came into play for this record-breaking success, but there is no doubt that the chemistry of the two lead stars played a huge role in the unprecedented feat of this collaboration between ABS-CBN and GMA.

A little over five years later, we’re all finally going to see Hello, Love, Again, the sequel to Hello, Love, Goodbye, as it premieres in Philippine cinemas on November 13.

If the teasers and trailers, the mall shows, and their METRO cover shoot are any indication, we can already say that the chemistry between Kathryn and Alden is still on fire, if not burning more intensely. Perhaps it’s because through these years, even over the pandemic, the two have remained friends.

‘Because it started off from something good, I think,’ Alden says when asked how they were able to maintain their friendship after Hello, Love, Goodbye. ‘Kaya, I think, in every relationship naman, it doesn’t really matter kung, you know, mapag–se-separate kayo ng oras or hindi kayo magkikita most of the time. But, I think, the whole group ng Hello, Love, Goodbye really maintained that friendship… may GC [kami] sa isang social media app. And then we see to it na kahit papaano, we get to say hi, hello, kamustahin ‘yung isa’t-isa… Once in a while. And, ‘yun siguro, hindi kami natapos lang as what we call sa industry natin, taping or shooting friends. So, I think that really maintained the friendship namin. Namin ni Kath as well… ‘Yung communication has always been there. So, kaya, ‘yun, cut to today, nagulat lang din kami na gagawin na namin agad ‘yung Hello, Love, Again. And we’re just very happy and excited for this film.’

How this stronger friendship and closeness affected their chemistry in Hello, Love, Again is exciting to see, especially since Kathryn and Alden resonate with the growth of their characters Joy (or Marie) and Ethan.

For Kathryn, filming for Hello, Love, Again alone felt like an opportunity to grow, too, and they can’t wait for everyone to see what they worked so hard on.

‘Like what he [Alden] said, puso. Gawa ‘to lahat sa puso. Kung ano ‘yung mapapanood niyo, kung ano ‘yung makikita n’yo, we gave it our all,’ Kathryn tells Metro.Style. And I hope you see that when you watch the film. So, please, give it a chance, sa lahat ng mga nanood ng first part or sa lahat ng mga first time manonood dito. I think it’s a good story. It’s about the lives of the OFWs [overseas Filipino workers], of course. And the love story of Ethan and Joy. Ang daming pinakita sa movie na ‘to. I’m very happy, personally, with how the movie turned out.’

‘Ngayon pa lang sinasabi ko, iba si Kath dito,’ Alden says, and a giggling Kathryn complimented him back.

While we wait for the release of Hello, Love, Again, let Kathryn and Alden’s METRO cover shoot give a sneak peek (or, be a reminder) of their overflowing chemistry. As these photos show, Alden couldn’t take his eyes off Kathryn, and don’t you just love how her eyes twinkled with him around?