Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano. Images: Instagram/@enriquegil17, Screengrab from YouTube/Can I Come In?
Liza Soberano confirmed that she and Enrique Gil have ended their relationship for “almost three years” now, ending the longstanding speculations about their breakup.
Soberano announced their split on the “Can I Come In?” podcast on Thursday, August 14, when she and filmmaker Sarah Bahbah were discussing the Filipino-American actress’ relationship with Gil.
“I’ve been itching to tell people this because I haven’t been very truthful. Quen hasn’t been very truthful. Quen and I broke up,” she said.
“But yeah, we’ve been broken up for almost three years now. And the reason, well, originally the reason why we haven’t said anything about it is because Enrique or Quen asked me not to say anything about it first,” she continued.
The actress admitted that she and Gil didn’t want to announce their split at first because they came from a place “of not wanting it to be real,” saying it might’ve had something to do with the “people pleaser” side of herself.
“I don’t want to speak for him, but I think it was coming from a place of not wanting it to be real. And at the same time, you know, I agreed to that because I also didn’t want it to be real. And this is coming from the people pleaser side of me because I was so afraid that if people found out we weren’t together anymore, my career would go bad, or you know, people just wouldn’t love me anymore,” she said.
“It was me again pretending or putting the things I need to do for myself off to make them happy or make them feel safe. But yeah, me and Quen broke up almost three years ago,” she added.
Soberano admitted that she “genuinely expected” that she and Gil would get married at some point, but it eventually didn’t happen because they “weren’t a match anymore.”
“When I broke up with him, I would say it was such a beautiful breakup because it was still so, so full of love… it was so hard for me to actually break up with him because I love him. I still love him as a person. When I look back at our time together, I see good moments all the time,” she recalled.
Referring to Gil as a “childhood best friend,” the “Forevermore” star became emotional when she admitted her guilt for “not being the one to hold on” to their relationship.
“I carry a lot of guilt for not being the one that held on because that’s what my fans wanted to do. But also, like, I needed to find myself and grow, too… and that’s not to say he is a bad person. He didn’t do anything bad. Nothing bad happened. Our breakup was really good, it was just that we weren’t a match anymore,” she said.
‘Worthy of love’
Soberano said she had already fallen in love with Gil even before they officially became a love team, adding that she “felt special” when the latter was already keeping in contact with her for quite some time.
“Our love story kind of happened actually very organically. It didn’t really start as a manufactured love team first. Like they were feelings before we even were a love team… I heard from people at the studio that he was requesting to work with me specifically,” she recalled.
“We eventually ended up doing a movie together where we weren’t the lead roles, but we were the second leads,” she continued, apparently referring to the 2013 film “She’s The One.” “I played his best friend, and there was a budding romance between the two of us. And I think that’s when, in hindsight, that’s when I fell in love with him. But I was suppressing it the whole time.”
(From left) Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil. Images: Instagram/@lizasoberano, @enriquegil17
The actress also admitted that being in an onscreen partnership felt like a “safety net” away from her childhood trauma.
“I gained a lifelong best friend. My first love. But also it’s when all the violence and abuse stopped because I started also earning more and being able to pay for things by myself.”
“I was able to take myself out of poverty because of the love team,” she continued. “And I was able to do all the things I couldn’t before without people bringing me down. So yeah, the love team was also a safety net, but also like an armor for me.”
Gil has yet to address Soberano’s revelation, as of this writing.
Reports of Soberano and Gil’s breakup have been making rounds since a 2023 unreleased interview of the Philippine Entertainment Portal claimed that they haven’t been together since October 2022. However, neither of the two confirmed nor denied the rumors.
The actor also said he and the actress “are still together” in February 2024, although they decided to put themselves first.
