Gelli de Belen, Cris Villanueva surprised with '2 Good 2 Be True' love team

MANILA, Philippines — In all their years as actors starting way back in the '80s as teen stars, Gelli de Belen and Cris Villanueva did not figure prominently in a love team. It is a surprise to them that now decades after, the actors are in an unexpected pairing named "MarKap" in the fashion of Filipino love teams in the hit nightly show "2 Good 2 Be True." 

Both Cris and Gelli shared that they were suprised with the audience's reception to their characters and their interactions, which prompted showrunners to pair them up. 

"It wasn't part of any plan. It just happened na we had a scene na inaaway ako ni Gelli kasi ayaw kong pagbigyan na nagrereklamo siya sa presinto. So, it started there," Cris revealed at a recent presscon for the show's finale. 

The actor plays police captain Rafael "Kap" Rosales. Gelli, meanwhile, plays Margie Flores-Fajardo, the mother of the show's female protagonist, Ali, played by Kathryn Bernardo. 

Showrunners revealed that they experimented with the two characters' tension and were surprised with their viewers' response. It led them to create more scenes for Kap and Margie after the next cycle of their lock-in taping. The first few months were already shot. 

It was a breath of fresh air for the two actors who have been working with each other in other projects, notably in episodes of the weekly drama anthology, "Maalaala Mo Kaya." There was even an episode where they played characters who were literally after each other's throats.

"Surprised din. Kami sa set, lalo na kami ni Cris. 'Ha? O sige. Paglaruan na natin.' I-enjoy na rin namin because it was fun doing it eh, and it's easy to do it with somebody who is game also. I think that's one of the reasons why it worked e. It was easy because we were comfortable," Gelli said. 

The show is on its final weeks. "2 Good 2 Be True" is seen on ABS-CBN's multiple TV channels as well as streams on Netflix.  — Video from ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube channel. 

WATCH: Gelli de Belen and Cris Villanueva as #MarKap in "2 Good 2 Be True"

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