Marites, ano'ng latest? A glimpse of why Filipinos love gossips

Marites, ano’ng latest? A glimpse of why Filipinos love gossips

Ever heard of someone being called as “Marites”?

Marites is from the phrase, “Mare, anong latest?” or simply means of asking another person of what is the latest gossip. Filipinos are commonly hooked by issues and revelations. They easily jump into conclusions about simple posts and later on tries to spread unverified information which makes everyone assume and go crazy with their opinions. Most of the Filipinos find intrigues amusing as they love to give unasked straight and sometimes hurtful opinions about other people’s lives.

Other source of the “Marites” meme

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a peculiar incident occurred that led to the emergence of the phrase “Manahimik ka, Marites” (Translation: “Keep quiet, Marites”) as a trending topic online. The incident took place when the Mayor of Manila, Isko Moreno, declared that there would be no liquor ban implemented in the city under the modified enhanced community quarantine. This decision was met with mixed reactions from the public, with many expressing relief and others voicing their concerns about the potential risks associated with alcohol consumption during a health crisis.

Among the critics was a certain individual named Marites, who took to social media to express their opposition to the Mayor’s decision. However, it was a witty comment from a Facebook user that captured the attention of netizens and sparked the viral trend. The user humorously responded to Marites’ comment with the now-famous phrase, “Manahimik ka, Marites!” The comment quickly gained traction, spreading like wildfire across various social media platforms and becoming a popular catchphrase for expressing disagreement or dismissing opposing views.

Back to the main topic…

One of the most favorite topics of Marites’ is love teams. Love teams are formed to give the audience excitement and the feeling of being in love, even if they are not really included in the actors’ on screen relationship. But sometimes, love teams tend to really fall for each other, which makes them officially in a relationship. Just like the Philippines’ hottest box-office love team, partners Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, famously known as ‘Kathniel’ started to be paired in 2011 in the teen show ‘Growing Up.’ Back then, Kathryn was only 16 years old and Daniel was only 17. Though some may see it as unexpected since Daniel was originally paired with actress Julia Montes. But love is really in the air, as Julia confessed in a morning show that she noticed that Daniel seemed to show interest in Julia’s co-star, Kathryn Bernardo.

In 2012, Kathniel’s first television series, ‘Princess and I,’ shot in Bhutan, exceeded everyone’s expectations, and the series’ ratings were really high. This was also the time that Daniel confessed his feelings for Kath by writing ‘I love you’ on tissue paper during their tapings. Later on, Kathryn confessed that she had mutual feelings for his co-actor, Daniel.

In 2013, the box-office hit movie “Must Be Love” by Kathniel came to cinemas. Time passed, and as their love for each other grew, their projects and the number of fans they had also increased.

In 2014, Kathniel starred in a movie where they played the best-selling Wattpad story, “She’s Dating the Gangster,” making them the box-office king and queen for gaining 296 million pesos. There’s no question that when director Cathy Garcia-Molina works with Kathniel, it will undoubtedly be a blockbuster movie.

Movies and series are not the only thing that Kathniel is successful for; in 2017, they made it to the cover of Yes! Magazine that ranks the industry’s 100 most beautiful.

It was in 2018 that was the most memorable year for Kathniels, as the pair made their first kiss in nationwide cinemas in their other box-office hit movie, “The How’s of Us.” It was all dreamy as the pair also revealed the real score between them.

In the year 2019, several rumors about ‘engagement proposals’ surfaced as Kathryn and Daniel were spotted in Japan with Kath’s mom. Fans began to speculate as Kathryn’s mom posted “May nag propose.” However, all of these remained as gossip.

Kathniel’s relationship grew stronger than ever despite Daniel’s cheating issues with actresses Jasmine Curtis-Smith and Barbie Imperial in separate years. They established businesses together and made another comeback television series entitled “2 Good, 2 Be True” in 2022.

All of their fans assume and are hoping that, within the span of a decade, the real-life partners will wed and settle down for good. Not until 2023, when the couple was often seen doing solo projects and attending events separately. Fans have divided opinions about this; some remain positive, and some speculate that Kathniel has already broken up.

November 30, 2023, is the worst nightmare of all Kathniel fans, as the two confirmed their breakup through Instagram posts.

While the whole country is grieving and moving on, Capstone-Intel’s social intelligence report revealed that Kathniel’s breakup garnered a total of 1,669,232 reactions, which, if broken down, would be: 755,479 (45.3%) ‘sad’ reactions, 350,236 (21%) ‘love’ reactions, 303,676 (18.2%) likes, 252,167 (15.1%) ‘haha’ reactions, 6,496 (0.4%) ‘wow’ reactions, and 1,199 (0.1%) ‘angry’ reactions.