MANILA (2nd UPDATE) -- It's over. Luis Manzano and Jennylyn Mercado have ended their two-year relationship, the actor-host confirmed Friday.
The Philippine Star entertainment editor Ricky Lo in his column on Friday said there was no no third party involved in the breakup, and the two simply "fell out of love."
"The crack in the romance surfaced when, according to a travel agent, Luis has his round-trip ticket drastically changed to solo (minus Jennylyn, that is)," Lo said.
Sought for comment on the report, Manzano, in a text message to ABS-CBN News on Friday afternoon, confirmed the separation. He appealed, however, to be given privacy as to the reason of the break-up.
This was the same message Manzano gave to "KrisTV" head writer, Darla Sauler.
In his blog, Sauler quoted Manzano as saying, "We want to keep things private na lang."
Just last week, Manzano denied that he and Mercado have already called it quits -- as reported by Sauler in his blog on October 9 -- saying the rumor, which began as a blind item, was "not true."
According to Sauler, Manzano insisted that he wasn't lying when he denied the report last week, noting that he and Mercado were even together during that week's Aliw Awards, where the Kapamilya actor was named best male emcee.
Reports of a rocky relationship between the celebrity couple has persisted for several months now. And while Manzano has consistently defended their relationship, last month, he may have been hinting about their future when remarked: "Ang relasyon naman ay dalawa lang yan -- either magkakatuluyan kayo or maghihiwalay kayo. Masyadong 50-50," Manzano said.
According to an article published on showbiz website Push.com on Friday, Manzano supposedly got suspicious when Mercado's name was dragged as the alleged third party in the separation of actor Paolo Contis from his wife, EB Babes dancer Lian Paz.
