AMA-Con: The Compilation

Serrated Edge: Chapter 2

Only two years ago, RJ and Maine announced their official status as a couple very much in love. It was every fan's and marketer's dream.

Suddenly, after a few months, they fell apart. No one seemed to know why.

They couldn't get along on set.

The resentment between them was thick and clear during events.

They were impossible to work with. Production teams and directors avoided working with them. As a result, their movies were one giant flop after another.

Their projects barely broke even.

Their teleserye couldn't beat the other shows in the same time slot.

Endorsement deals were lost and rescinded.

New ones backed out or terminated earlier than planned.

Barely three years as the hottest personalities in the market and now they stood on the precipice of losing everything.

Then the women. They started coming out of the woodwork, claiming RJ had slept with them. Somehow, he ever bothered denying the rumors. In fact, he flirted even more, even getting involved in more than one leaked video. He seemed to revel in the notoriety, so hell-bent was he on shedding his good-boy image as quickly as possible.

At about the same time, Maine imploded. Rumors of her hitting the bottle ran rampant in showbiz circles. Unlike other rumors, however, this one was true. What was once a distraction for her quickly turned into a dangerous habit. There were loud whispers of her being caught drunk on set and in promotional events. After a particularly embarrassing hosting stint for a soda company, her parents whisked her away to the States for a "family visit." It was, in fact, her first admission into rehab.

It was a disastrous time for both of them and their PR machines.

When management realized they could no longer keep them in check, they finally allowed them to go on TV and publicly admit what many people suspected all along: RJ and Maine, TV's perfect couple, had indeed broken up.

They grew apart, they reasoned. They were just different people now.

That was probably the last truth they told.