Celebrity couple AJ Raval and Aljur Abrenica once again found themselves in the spotlight after a TikTok video following a viral trend drew mixed reactions from netizens.
The buzz started when Raval joined the “I Wish I Met You Earlier” trend on TikTok. The video opened with a sweet photo of the couple, captioned: “Him: I wish I met you earlier.”
This was followed by a childhood photo of AJ and a clip of Abrenica from the 2007 Kapuso action-fantasy series “Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan”.
Although Raval later clarified that the post was simply made for fun and as part of a trend, online reactions remained divided.
“Just to clarify, Aljur never actually said that it’s only a TikTok trend. Thank you so much for understanding,” Raval wrote in the comment section of her post.
The contrast between Raval’s childhood photo and Abrenica’s image as a grown actor sparked discussion, particularly about their 10-year age gap.
“Wehh wish nya talaga ‘yan?” one user commented, to which Raval replied, “Hindi po, trend lang po ‘yan ‘I wish I met you earlier’ please search.. Sorry.”
Another user remarked, “Teh hindi lahat ng trend ginagaya ha.”
Some netizens also pointed out that during the time depicted in the throwback clips, Abrenica was still in a relationship with his former partner, Kylie Padilla, with whom he has two children.
“Mas nauna kase si Kylie sayo ‘te,” one user wrote.
“May asawa pa kasi s’ya nun beh,” another added.
“Nagkapamilya po muna kase siya sa una bago kayo nagmeet,” read another comment.
Raval had previously been rumored as a factor in Abrenica and Padilla’s breakup, a claim both sides have denied.
Despite the criticism, several users came to Raval’s defense, reminding others that the video was merely following a trend.
“Ba’t andaming hate comments? Nakikisabay lang naman sa trend e,” one supporter wrote.
“Hide mo na lang ‘to AJ, not everyone will get it,” said another.
One user added, “People here are so mean, ‘yung mismong babaeng involved na nasaktan nga naka move on na and wishing them the best tapos kayo ‘di maka-move on? LOL let’s just be kind to one another, we all made mistakes and stupid decisions.”
Another supporter commented, “Wag mo sila pansinin, kahit ano sabihin nila! Gantong fan ako ng zaido e. Idol ko ‘yan sila, nostalgic ‘tong post mo.”
AJ and Aljur publicly confirmed their relationship in February 2023. The couple has since shared that they are now parenting five children together, three of whom are theirs.
