Claudine Barretto has held that position for almost thirty years in the Philippines, not because she attracts attention but rather because the people there grew up witnessing her fall in love both on and off screen.
The most recent chapter began on a premiere night when Home Along Da Riles: Da Reunion was released, with crowds gathered outside the theater and cameras rolling. In what began as a standard press appearance, Claudine and her co-star Pepe Herrera welcomed the audience. A kiss followed. Then one more. Then, before the night is out, a full dramatic dip, the kind that usually ends up everywhere online. The same question was being asked by half of the nation by the following morning.
Afterward, neither Claudine nor Pepe made any public statements. Naturally, this increased people’s curiosity.
It’s important to note that the two are romantically involved in the movie, and the chemistry between them on premiere night can readily flow from the promotional playbook. However, viewers who have followed Claudine’s personal life for years noticed something different: a genuine, less staged ease between them. It remains to be seen if that instinct is right.
Shortly after Claudine’s breakup with Milano Sanchez, the brother of broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez, there is conjecture regarding Pepe Herrera. The two had been connected for the majority of 2025, but by December of that year, rumors of a breakup had already started to circulate, and Claudine was posting cryptic messages about her loyalty to herself. She acknowledged that the relationship was over by the middle of 2026. She also denied rumors that she and her ex-boyfriend Mark Anthony Fernandez had reconciled.
The name Mark Anthony has been around since the beginning. During the early years of her career in the 1990s, when she was still a teenager juggling young love and acting, Claudine dated him. The friendship endured despite the breakup, which speaks volumes about them both. She publicly celebrated his birthday in January 2026 with a heartfelt post in which she described him as her first love, her first heartbreak, and someone she would definitely choose again. “A true gentleman,” she wrote. It wasn’t nostalgia disguised as something cozier; rather, it was the kind of reflection that results from actual distance and perspective.
Then there is Rico Yan, whose relationship may have influenced the way a whole generation of Filipinos perceived Claudine. The romantic comedy Got 2 Believe, which debuted in early 2002, was the most prominent example of the four years the two spent together, both on screen and off. Rico unexpectedly passed away from acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis a month later. He was 27 years old. The grief that ensued was widespread and protracted, in part because the movie they had created together continued to exist and play.
Over the years, Claudine has thoughtfully discussed that loss, and in remembrance of him, she adopted his last name, Barretto Yan. That carries a certain amount of weight, which likely explains why the public has never been completely indifferent to her next choice.
There was marriage after Rico. In 2006, she married actor Raymart Santiago; the annulment process started in 2013. She’s got four kids. There was more public scrutiny of that marriage than most people would have liked.
It’s not exactly the drama that makes Claudine’s love life so compelling; rather, it’s the fact that she has lived it honestly in a nation that frequently views its biggest stars as common property. Every breakup and every relationship has been examined. And throughout it all, she has largely maintained her position, sometimes remaining silent, sometimes speaking up, but never completely vanishing.
It’s still unclear what’s truly going on between her and Pepe Herrera at the moment. The kiss was genuine. It was a real dip. Only they know what will happen next.
