The concept of love teams has been part of the local showbiz industry for generations already. Part of this culture is the practice of having favorite love teams, with fans cheering on for their chosen couple to the point of pitting them against their contemporaries.

Nadine Lustre, who was in a love team with James Reid for quite a while, admitted that she wasn’t in favor of this.

“I didn’t like that there was a competing aspect to it,” she said in Bea Alonzo’s vlog last April 15, 2023, where she submitted herself to a lie detector test.

At the height of JaDine’s popularity they were often compared with Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo’s KathNiel love team and Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil’s LizQuen tandem

All three love teams were popular in their own right, each with their own loyal following and a string of notable projects to their names.

Nadine was asked if she ever felt that she was in a competition with the the other two love teams. While she admitted that she was aware that fans would pit them against each other, it wasn’t something she paid much attention to and she just considered it as part of the job.  

“Nafe-feel ko lang talaga na pinagco-compete kami ng mga tao pero hindi ko siya inisip,” she said. “Parang sa akin back then, hindi ko nagegets bakit may ganoon, so I was more of just doing what I have to do.”

Then until now, it’s a practice that Nadine felt was unnecessary.

“Ayoko [ng competition sa amin]. Parang I was really just doing my own thing,” Nadine explained. “Hindi ko rin gets bakit kailangan may competition. Even until now, nakikita ko siya sa ibang love teams.”

Nadine has nothing against having love teams, per se.

“A love team is a partnership. If you’re in a love team, you pull each other up. It’s really team work,” she explained.

Nadine has been going solo for a while now. Nadine felt that she was already past that stage in her career.

“Feeling ko I’m already past that. When you reach this age, feeling ko wala ng love team," she shared “Alam na ng mga tao kung paano ako sa love stories. I think it’s time for me to do other genres.”

READ: Nadine Lustre says she’s ‘totally past the love team phase’

Similarly, Liza has also gone solo. She shared her realization that being part of a love team may have limited her career opportunities.

“I realized, oh my God ang dami kong hindi nagawa sa career ko. And that’s why everybody takes for granted my talent or acting capabilities because they have only seen me in a love team,” shared Liza.

“A love team is a phenomenon only created and existing in the Philippines, and to box a woman like that is so dangerous actually for their mental health and so for their growth,” she added. “Not just as a professional but as an individual. So I stay away from that.”

READ: Why Liza Soberano doesn’t post pictures of herself with Enrique Gil anymore

All of the three love teams went from on-screen lovers to real-life couples. Of the three, only Kathryn and Daniel continue both on-screen and off-screen relationships. Liza and Enrique have gone on solo career paths already, while Nadine and James have gone their separate ways both on and off screen.

James seemed to confirm his relationship with Filipino-British model Issa Pressman last March 2023, while Nadine has been in a relationship with Filipino-French businessman Christophe Bariou for years now.

READ: James Reid defends Issa Pressman, says he’s the happiest he’s ever been

Nadine admitted that she found it easier to be with someone who was not part of the showbiz industry.

“Kasi walang influence ng ibang tao,” she explained. “Pag nasa showbiz ka kasi, sometimes it gets too loud. It gets too noisy.”

Nadine called Chris her “anchor”, the person who grounds her.

“Si Chris ang anchor ko labas ng showbiz which is something that I need,” said Nadine. “Siya ‘yung [humahatak] sa akin when it gets too crazy.”