PHOTO: Cosmopolitan Philippines

Anyone who believes that ex-couples can’t ever be in one room together or that they can’t work on one project again would be amazed upon seeing how well Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia are getting along.

It was supposed to be a normal working Wednesday for the Cosmopolitan Philippines team until the two celebrities arrived at the Summit office for an exclusive interview. It’s an understatement to say that they were full of laughter and good vibes that night.

As they sat down with the Cosmo team, they were still going on about reminiscing something about the past—cackling and gushing over a memory they remembered while they were prepping for our talk. It was great to see them in a different light. It was really the other side of their post-couple era that shows how close they are as friends now.

The two officially dated in 2017 and broke up sometime in 2019. Along with adapting to the changing times—their breakup, the pandemic, the transformation of sweetly calling each other “baba” to the casual “Ju” and “Josh” right now—Julia and Joshua have seen so much growth with each other.

“Mas focused kami kasi before so in love namin sa isa’t isa. May mga times na kahit blocking may kulitan kami. Now mas professional. May kulitan pa rin pero pag walang ginagawa,” said Joshua, referring to the difference of working together as a couple before and now that they are just friends.

ICYDK, Joshua and Julia, also known as their love team, JoshLia, had several films together as a couple, namely Love You To The Stars And Back, Unexpectedly Yours, and more.

Julia added, “‘Pag work, work na,” which Joshua agreed with. But despite the “more professional” setup that they have built now as they worked together for their newest film, Un/Happy For You, they never forget to have fun.

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What did Julia and Joshua miss about working with each other?

It was actually about four years since they last had a project together. When asked what they missed about working together, Joshua was straightforward enough to say that it was Julia whom he missed. “Siya mismo, ‘yung presence niya na siya yung ka-eksena ko,” was his answer. After all, most of Joshua’s early days in showbiz were spent with Julia as his love team partner.

For Julia, the off-cam moments were the best. After years of being love team partners, they have reached a certain level of jolliness and comfort in the connection they have (and TBH, it manifested during our quick interview with them!)

“Ang favorite ko really are ‘yung mga off-cam. Kasi ang kulit talaga namin. Nakakamiss talaga ‘yung kulitan. ‘Yung sabaw-ness.’Yung tatawa na siya and alam ko na kung anong tinatawanan nito,” the actress expressed.

When did Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia really ‘move on’ from each other?

To have that much comfort and connection with each other even as exes was such an amusing thing to witness. A bit unbelievable for most people, but it’s really not impossible. This is also perhaps why we got very curious about Joshua and Julia’s thoughts about “moving on” from someone they dearly loved in the past. Because let’s be real: what Julia and Joshua have right now isn’t for everyone.

So, we asked, “When did you finally feel that you’re finally over someone?” It was a question that required them to pause and think deeply.

Joshua took the first shot at answering the question. “Tricky ‘yan,” he first said. ‘Tricky siya kasi akala mo over ka na, pero hindi pa pala. Kasi like ‘nung naghiwalay kami ‘nung time na ‘yun, akala ko okay ako. ‘Yun pala ‘yung nakikita sa labas, I’m just wearing a mask lang na okay ako. Pero parang sa’kin okay ako kasi busy ako at the time,” the actor recalled.

Surprisingly, Joshua seemed emotional, pouring out his feelings. He opened up about his own process of feeling and getting over their breakup.

Continuing his story on how busy he was at the time of their separation, he says, “And then nag-pandemic—boom—’dun ko lahat naramdaman. [shyly laughs] May mga moments ako na nasa CR lang ako na sobrang emo ko ‘nun, hindi ko alam kung saan galing… Mararamdaman mo nalang. Mafi-feel na lang ng katawan mo na, ‘Ah okay na ako. ‘Pag nakikita ko siya sa posts, hindi na siya hinahanap ng puso ko.” (Felt!)

Agreeing and adding her own POV, Julia warmly explained, “Breakups are really a process. For somebody to get to a point where they know that they’ve moved on from someone romantically, I think it’s a very different moment for everyone.”

She added, “It’s not also the next day dahil feeling mo masaya ka, happy ka today, ibig sabihin over ka na ‘dun. Minsan okay ka lang, tapos pag nakita mo parang ‘pag may kirot, ‘di ba ‘pag may kirot, minsan ‘yun pa ‘yung nagiging sign natin. You have to go through it”

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When did Julia find peace after their breakup?

It’s true—breakups hurt as F. But most of the time, it’s what two people need at a certain point in their lives. Moving on from the past relationship was a *process* for Joshua and Julia. But if there’s one thing that Julia underscored in our chat was the beauty of finding peace after a breakup.

Julia looked back, saying, “In general it was just years later and then I see how he is, how he looks because what’s inside will show naman sa labas. I think in the past, before getting into this project, nakita ko sa aura niya, I saw the things that’s going on with his life—you know as sad as it sounds, parang it was necessary na mag-separate kami for him to get to where he is in his life now.”

Julia continues, “So I think it helps when I look back and think to myself, maybe we made the right decision. I mean, I’m just so proud to see the person he’s become today. Parang mas nakaka-find ako ng peace sa naging decision namin to separate ways because he’s everything that I had really hoped for him to be.”

So is there one tried-and-tested moving-on hack for JoshLia?

Well, there’s no cut-and-dry process for moving on. Ask anyone and you won’t get a definite answer. But of course, it’s always a good thing to get insights from people who have experienced it from the get-go. In this case, we asked JoshLia about their moving-on advice, since their film would revolve around Joshua’s character, Juancho, being hung up on Julia’s Zy.

For the couple, they preferred being alone as they moved on. Joshua noted that this may not work for everyone, since there are those who need emotional support and that’s totally okay. It’s just that for him, focusing on what he *personally* thinks and feels helps him a lot.

The same goes for Julia. In her v insightful words, she said, “I find healing in isolation because ang naririnig ko lang are really my own thoughts…because everybody will have a different opinion. It boils down to your mind and your heart. But you have to go through it.”

Julia added that no one truly *gets* a relationship other than the two people involved in it. And that’s an absolute truth for any couple out there. “In other words, ‘yung heart na meron sila for isa’t isa, wala namang makakaintindi ‘nun but just the two of them. There are only two people in a relationship. They’ll never know what it’s like to be in that relationship except the two of you guys,” Julia voiced out.

It was the kind of interview that had us laughing and also nodding our heads as we found every statement from Julia and Joshua agreeable. Their insights gave us confirmation that these two really *went through it.* They had their fair share of heartbreaks, moving on, and finding peace in their past relationship. That’s what made them embrace their present situation—without awkwardness or any remorse—just genuine friendship.