NETIZENS have a new tandem to ship in the Philippine entertainment scene: Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards, whom they dubbed as “KathDen.”
The tandem name trended on X (formerly Twitter) for several days, after the closeness of the two celebrities during the actress’ 28th birthday celebration was caught on videos and made rounds online. Social media users couldn’t help but get butterflies from their sweet moments, with several of them hoping that “KathDen” would be a new ship that would sail.
But the question is, what’s the real score between Bernardo and Richards? The 32-year-old actor finally addressed this in an interview with GMA’s “24 Oras” and said, “What you see is what you get.”
Richards said that he and Bernardo remained friends after their first collaboration for the film “Hello, Love, Goodbye” in 2019. He also emphasized that one’s personal matters should be kept “personal.”
“Hindi lang din talaga kailangan laging ipamalita sa social media yung mga ganyan but, you know, sometimes yung mga personal things that’s happening, better be personal na lang,” he said, reacting to netizens shipping him with Bernardo.
The actor recalled having fun at Bernardo’s surprise birthday party, which was part of her “post-birthday” celebration with friends and family.
“Masaya naman. Masaya naman yung nagging experience and you can see how happy Kath is right now,” he said.
The “KathDen” ship began when several clips of the two during the actress’ surprise birthday celebration went viral. In one video, the Kapuso star was seen surprising the Kapamilya actress with a big bouquet of red roses and a gift from a French luxury house. Eagle-eyed netizens noticed in the clip the black rings that the two celebrities were wearing on their index fingers.
In another video, Richards could be seen wrapping his arms around Bernardo, while the actress clung to the actor as they posed for photos at the bar area.
Richards was one of Bernardo’s guests on her birthday celebration in Palawan, where they also reunited with their “Hello, Love, Goodbye” co-stars Maymay Entrata, Kakai Bautista, and Lovely Abella.
Meanwhile, Bernardo has yet to comment on her viral interactions with Richards.
The actress is also being shipped with actor Jericho Rosales. They were previously spotted having a late-night jog in Marikina, but Bernardo already shut down romance rumors.
Upcoming projects
Richards is working on his upcoming series “Pulang Araw,” a historical series set during the Japanese occupation and World War II in the Philippines.
GMA Network dropped a teaser in December 2023, featuring fighter jets flying over a field as the sound of warning sirens could be heard in the background. Gunshots could be then heard towards the end of the teaser.
The Kapuso network also released a tribute video featuring Richards for Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor), which was commemorated on Tuesday, April 9.
Joining Richards in the series are Dennis Trillo, Barbie Forteza, David Licauco, and Sanya Lopez.
Meanwhile, Bernardo recently renewed her contract with ABS-CBN. In her interview with her home network, she said that she is looking forward to her upcoming projects this year and expressed her willingness to work with “different leading men or different women” whom she can learn from.
It was announced last year that Bernardo will start in a Japanese period film titled “Elena 1944,” which follows the story of comfort women during the Japanese period. She said that this will push through but it might take some time to prepare for the period film.
