Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards have always shared a friendship off-screen, but their bond grew even stronger while working together on their latest project, Hello, Love, Again.

In an interview with ABS-CBN’s On Cue, Alden revealed that filming the sequel gave them a chance to truly connect, something they didn’t have the opportunity to do during the making of their 2019 hit Hello, Love, Goodbye.

He explained that the deeper familiarity they developed during this new project helped make their performances even more effective. “We’ve been talking more, and getting to know each other better.

We became more comfortable with each other, which is how we made this film even better than the first one,” Alden said.

Kathryn echoed his sentiments, noting that the change in their work environment allowed them to become more at ease with one another. She explained, “We’re different from how we were before.

Over the years, we’ve become more comfortable, and now we can talk about anything like friends. It just so happens that we have a movie project together.”

Both agreed that even if Hello, Love, Again hadn’t been made, their friendship would have continued, as it had remained strong since Hello, Love, Goodbye.

Kathryn even shared that her intimate 28th birthday celebration included close friends from the Hello, Love, Goodbye cast, underscoring the lasting connections behind the scenes.

Hello, Love, Again follows the story of Joy (Bernardo) and Ethan (Richards), who reunite in Canada, though the trailer suggests a distance between them as Joy now introduces herself as Marie.

The sequel follows the success of the 2019 film, which became the highest-grossing Philippine film at the time, until it was surpassed by Rewind in January 2024.