Barbie Imperial was surprised and flattered that JM de Guzman made an effort to serenade her on her birthday last August 1.
In an interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), Barbie said that she didn’t expect JM would go out of his way to perform a surprise number in between their taping for ABS-CBN afternoon drama series Araw Gabi.
But their co-stars and the production people from the show knew what JM was up to.
Barbie recalled, “Dinner break siya pero yung nangyari kasi, sabi nila on the set na daw. So, nagmadali talaga ako.
“As in lahat sila alam yung surprise.
“'Tapos ayun, nagpapanggap na silang galit, as in nanginginig ako kasi akala ko magti-take na.
“'Tapos biglang pagdating ko sa set, surprise pala.”
JUST FRIENDS?
PEP.ph had a brief exchange of messages with Barbie last night, August 2, following her Instagram post showing a photo of JM playing his guitar while singing his rendition of “When You Say Nothing At All.”
He even had a microphone stand set up, complete with strewn rose petals on the floor, right in the middle of the function room where they were taping Araw Gabi.
How did she feel about JM’s birthday surprise for her?
An elated Barbie said, "Masaya siyempre kasi tagal na walang humaharana sa 'kin tsaka kahit magkaibigan lang kami, grabe yung effort, na-appreciate ko."
Since Barbie and JM became a love team in Araw Gabi, their followers have been trying to match them up in real life.
There was a time when they were promoting their show on PEP.ph Facebook Live last June when JM teased Barbie about her unverified “single status” and whether or not she can entertain potential suitors.
Barbie, however, was still in a relationship with her rumored boyfriend Paul Salas at the time.
FRESH FROM A BREAKUP
Then in July, Barbie and Paul apparently broke up.
It became controversial following her cryptic posts about getting bruises and scratches resulting from what appeared to be a lover’s quarrel.
But Paul’s camp—particularly his father Jim Salas and friend Kristoffer Martin—quashed speculations that Paul had physically hurt Barbie.
Barbie, for her part, refrained from making follow-up statements about the controversy.