There’s something quietly nice about Nadine Lustre right now. As in the way people act when they’ve actually figured out a few things, not in a fake, well-polished way for PR reasons. For a famous person who spent years being watched closely by a famous couple in a relationship, Nadine feels very different now. Feeling better. More at ease. She says that a lot of that is because of Christophe Bariou, the Filipino-French businessman she’s been building a life with in Siargao.
The two have been together for a while now. They haven’t tried to be famous, but no one has been able to keep their relationship a secret. From the start, Nadine herself admitted that there was never really a plan to hide anything. “We hang out all the time. “People are always taking pictures,” she said in a talk. The fact that Christophe moved freely through her world made the whole thing feel natural instead of carefully planned.
Aside from the obvious, the fact that Christophe didn’t know who Nadine was when they met makes the relationship more interesting. In the Philippines, that’s really unusual for someone with her background. It’s possible that the lack of celebrity baggage at the start was exactly what made the connection work. It was her, not the persona, that made him react.
And the way Nadine talks about their daily lives makes it clear that their connection is more than just a shared love of style or the island life. She’s said, “We always have something to talk about.” “Memes are fun for both of us. Funny videos are fun for him to watch, and I love them too. It sounds like she’s talking about the kind of love that most people want but don’t talk about in public: the kind that’s easygoing and doesn’t cause a lot of trouble.
He is a businessman with French roots and ties to the Philippines. Christophe has slowly become more well-known in Nadine’s public life. He made an appearance on the local variety show “It’s Showtime” earlier this year, which was a rare glimpse into her professional life. They were even stopped by Daniel Mac, an American TikTok star who films strangers and asks what kind of car they drive. Even though it’s short, it says something. It’s rare for couples with something to hide to show up with a wine bottle in hand in an impromptu street video.
Also, the two of them have started their own wine brand together. This is the kind of small thing that shows a real partnership, whether it’s romantic or business-related. Getting together to build something is a stronger commitment than just living together.
A few weeks ago, reporters asked Nadine about marriage. She answered directly without being rude. “Wala pa… hindi naman kami nagmamadali,” she said, which means “not yet, and we’re not in a hurry.” And she said that Siargao would be her dream place to get married, with maybe a second ceremony in France for Christophe’s family. It’s a sensible and useful answer. It’s not a dodge or a tease; it’s just the truth about where they stand.
In her upcoming Viu Original series “Love, Siargao,” she will be starring opposite Alden Richards in a love story. She has said that she wants people to see Siargao the way she does, as a warm, community-driven place and not just a beautiful background. Some of that is hard not to see through the lens of her person life. The island is more than just a place to film. That’s where she and Christophe chose to plant their roots.
The boyfriend of Nadine Lustre is not a plot twist or a footnote in a tabloid. During a time in her life where she seems to be truly happy, he has become a steady presence. A sense that this story doesn’t need to be rushed to its next chapter, whether wedding bells sound afterward or not. Let some love stories breathe.
