Ria Atayde has made it clear that she and Joshua Garcia are only friends and that their relationship will remain that way.

In an advanced screening of the iWantTFC Mother’s Day series Miss Piggy, members of the press asked Ria about the ~real score~ between her and Joshua.

“Well, feel ko kasi we laugh about it talaga at this point. It’s Josh. He’s such a dear friend to me and I feel like it’s nice to know that we are as comfortable as we are with one another,”

Instagram/garciajoshuae

According to her, their friendship deepened with every issue and dating rumor thrown at them every time they were seen together.

“Mas na-reassure ako na he’s everything,” she noted. “Rumored boyfriend ko nga daw siya pero mas nare-reassure ako sa lalim ng friendship namin for us to withstand the rumors and all. Whatever people throw at us, parang kampante ako that we could be friends forever.”

Despite this, Ria admitted that she once found Joshua attractive, though their age gap was an issue for her.

“Josh was an attractive guy, he’s just really younger and for me, it’s such a… alam niyo ‘yon? I’m 30 and Josh is what, turning 25 pa lang,” she confessed.

In spite of her ~confession~, Ria says that Joshua and she are better off as friends so she can “keep him forever.”

“I mean I get it, Josh is an amazing guy. Some people are better off as friends kasi that way. Mas secure ka na hindi mo siya mawawala in your life so I guess that’s it na lang rin na we’re better off as friends so at least I know I can keep him forever,” she concluded.

Ria has previously stated that they would even joke about the dating rumors, calling him her “rumored boyfriend.” Joshua, on the other hand, is currently being linked to Ateneo Women’s Basketball player Trina Guytingco, though neither of them have confirmed anything.