MANILA, Philippines – For over three months now, the nation has been following the breakout split-screen love team, Aldub – Alden Richards and Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza. The accidental “lovers” first “saw” each other last July 16 when Maine, the snobby Yaya Dub, went out of her character with a kilig smile upon seeing Alden on the other half of the screen, the latter, amused with her antics.
She was at the barangays while he was at Broadway studio. They wooed each other through the split-screen despite the distance and Lola Nidora’s (Wally Bayola) meddling. Yaya Dub’s candid charm and Alden’s gentlemanly ways, seems like a match made in heaven, so they say, caught the attention of regular viewers and later on created a huge fanbase on social media. Hence, Aldub nation was born.
A plywood fell from the sky
Everyone was rooting for Aldub’s first meeting during the Dabarkads Pa More wildcard segment, making the episode very unforgettable. True enough, Lola Nidora always has something up her sleeve to surprise the audience as she manages to hinder Aldub’s meeting each time. Just when we thought Yaya Dub and Alden will finally get to touch each other’s hands, a plywood fell from the sky, getting in the way.
Since the “plywood episode”, the Aldub nation grew strong in numbers, showing its power in Twitter, as they made each official hashtag the top trending topic, each time. From #ALDUBMostAwaitedDate that started their double-digit million tweet status – 12.1M, to #ALDubEBforLOVE that broke the internet with 25.6M tweets, and finally #ALDubEBTamangPanahon last Saturday which made history as it raked in a massive 39.5M in 24 hours. Surely, Aldub nation is always there to support.
New beginnings
As Lola Nidora promised, she will let the two get to know each other better without her interference when Tamang Panahon comes. And so, it finally arrived last Saturday, an event grander than any Aldub fan could ever imagine. The Philippine Arena was filled with more than 50,000 fans who wanted to witness the much-anticipated Tamang Panahon. Entertaining dance numbers from the EB Dabarkads, grand performances from the lolas – Tinidora (Jose Manalo) and Tidora (Paolo Balesteros), Wally Bayola’s impressive #quickchangepamore act for his characters Duhrizz, Rihanna, and Lola Nidora, leading to the “right time” when Yaya Dub and Alden were finally free from Lola Nidora’s rules.
The meeting itself was magical -— from the lights, the energy from the arena, as anticipation grew till Maine, not Yaya Dub anymore, and Alden finally got to embrace and they sang their theme song, God Gave Me You. With the Twitterverse as witness, one cannot deny the powerful support that the Aldub nation has for their love team. As a new chapter begins for the darling Aldub tandem, fans will continue to rally behind them, showing support and hoping that their on-screen chemistry will bloom off screen.