Maris Racal seems to enjoy her soaring popularity on social media, with her Instagram followers now numbering 7 million.

MARIS Racal | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF IG/MARIS RACAL

Her recent post thanking her fans for the milestone was deluged with congratulatory comments.

Not a few think Racal’s screen pairing with Anthony Jennings in Can’t Buy Me Love has propelled her to new heights of popularity. Already, netizens are shipping their TV tandem and asking network executives to give them a solo show.

In an interview, Jennings revealed that he and Racal ad-lib their banter in the series.

KIM Jones and Jericho Rosales have called it quits after five years of marriage. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ABS-CBN BALL

Jericho Rosales, Kim Jones split

What has been talked about in muted conversations is true after all: Actor Jericho Rosales and his model-wife Kim Jones are now separated.

The confirmation did not come from the couple but from someone close to them — Ricco Ocampo, the couple’s godfather.

Per Ocampo’s revelation, Rosales and Jones have been apart since 2019, but were careful enough not to spill the beans on their separation.

In a statement sent to a network news channel, Ocampo said: “While the friendship between the two remains, they have decided it is time to lead separate lives. They are encouraging each other to grow, albeit in different directions. It was a mutual decision, an amicable separation, dealt with grace and maturity by both parties.”

In a previous interview, Rosales seemingly dodged breakup rumors by saying: “People are entitled to think what they think. I mean, ano ang gagawin ko? Tatawa lang ako.”

Rosales and Jones were married on 1 May 2014 at Shangri-La Resort Boracay.

GMA-7 remiss in paying ‘Black Rider’ stuntmen?

When actor Kristoffer Martin congratulated the team of Black Rider on social media, it elicited a comment from a stuntman named Dennis Gliponeo.

Gliponeo said GMA-7 was remiss in paying on time the stuntmen used in the show headlined by Ruru Madrid.

“Sana mabayaran na po kameng mga stuntman. Aug-Oct po kme nag taping. Hanggang ngaun wala parin sahod. Sana ma-actionan nyo naman po. Salamat (I hope you can pay us stuntmen. We started taping from August until October. Until now there has been no salary. Hope you can help us on this. Thanks),” said Gliponeo.

Not surprisingly, netizens were aghast at the claim, with one lambasting GMA:

“Boycott dapat yan palabas na hindi nagbabayad ng stuntman sa tamang oras. Akala ko ba doble ang bayad sa mga commercials…? Akala ko ba number 1 sa ratings? Akala ko ba walang net loss? So bakit hindi mabayaran ng tama un stuntman ng Flop Rider? (Boycott that show that does not pay the stuntmen on time.  I thought the pay for commercials were doubled? I thought they’re number one in ratings? I thought there was no net loss? So why can’t they pay the stuntmen of Flop Rider?)”

Maybe there was just miscommunication somewhere. In all probability, they stuntmen were paid but the payment was given to the casting agent.

This space, of course, is open for GMA-7 or the show’s producers’ clarifications.

Search is on for ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids’

The search is on for the most talented young singers to showcase their vocal prowess in the country as Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids returned for its second season on 29 January. 

Each day, three kiddie hopefuls will compete to become the daily winner and will have the chance to join Jhon Talili as the next grand champion of “Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids.”

On its first episode, Ihron from Southern Leyte won the hearts of judges Roselle Nava, Jason Dy and Elha Nympha, receiving a combined average score of 96.7 percent.

Meanwhile, viewers also tuned in to the special episode of “EXpecially For You” as it featured the story of its own staff, its first LGBTQIA+ couple.

Netizens shared how the program opens discussion on gender expression and sexual orientation. The program’s hashtag #ShowtimeTNTKidsNa eventually trended nationwide.