Erich Gonzales and Daniel Matsunaga (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) -– Weeks after admitting that they are already a couple, Erich Gonzales and Daniel Matsunaga sat down together to talk at length about how they took their friendship to the next level.
Gonzales and Matsunaga said it was when the Japanese-Brazilian model joined the series “Two Wives” in January that they started to get to know each other better.
“Nung una niyang pagpasok [sa show], normal lang. Masaya ako to see him and maging parte siya ng ’Two Wives.’ Walang ilangan at all. Kahit nung una naming kilala sa Palawan, nandoon agad ‘yung connection. I don’t have to pretend na prim and proper ako dapat. Kung ano lang ako, nakita niya kaagad,” Gonzales said.
At that time, Gonzales was still with her non-showbiz boyfriend although their relationship was already on the rocks.
Despite Gonzales and Matsunaga’s growing closeness, the actress decided not to tell the latter about the status of her love life.
“He had nothing to do with it naman so sa akin lang yun. Ang alam niya okay lang ako, okay lang lahat,” she said.
For Matsunaga, working with Gonzales in “Two Wives” was more on just being professional.
“[Gusto ko na siya] pero alam ko yung walls, what I can and what I cannot. Pero that time was really more on being professional. She was there all the time for me. Our friendship really became much stronger there. We got to know each other better. We were there for each other and we started developing a better friendship,” he said.
Gonzales said it was only sometime after she and her non-showbiz boyfriend broke up that she told Matsunaga about it.
“Siyempre hindi ko kaagad [sinabi]. Kailangan ko muna ng time for myself, nag-isip-isip,” she said. “At that time, super close kami sa ‘Two Wives’ tapos after [namin mag-break], medyo [lumayo muna ako]. I cleared my mind muna.”
When he learned about the split, Matsunaga said he did not immediately court Gonzales.
“I always said in every interview na God really has his own timing. It’s not something that you have to rush. I never rushed any relationship. I always waited. I just trust, have faith. It really happens in the right time,” he said.
Although they want to keep it private at first, Gonzales and Matsunaga eventually started showing how much they care for each other through their sweet Instagram posts.
“Para sa akin, if you’re in a relationship, you don’t have to hide it, especially if you have God at the center of your relationship, you don’t have to be afraid of showing love,” Matsunaga said.
Gonzales said it makes her happy when Matsunaga expresses how much he loves her.
“Kapag magkasama kami, lagi niyang tinatanong, ‘Are you okay? Is there anything you need?’ Laging ako muna. He makes sure na komportable ako, na safe ako, na okay lagi. It’s a nice feeling na tini-treat kang ganun. Sobra siyang maalaga. Napakagaan kasama kahit hindi sa akin, kahit yung mga kasamahan namin sa paligid,” she said.
Now that their relationship is out in the open, do they see themselves settling down in the future?
“Let’s just leave everything in God’s hands. Hindi naman natin alam what will happen in the future. Kumbaga, si God lang ang nakakaalam,” Gonzales said. (MNS)