The heart and soul of his FPJ’s Batang Quiapo character Tanggol may have been broken after the tragic demise of the greatest love of his life, Mokang (Lovi Poe), but it’s a totally different story for actor-director Coco Martin who is probably living his best life in the past years together with his cherished partner, actress Julia Montes.

Looking back on the timeline of their togetherness on and off cam, it can be recalled that the first time that they worked together was in the classic series Walang Hanggan, which pre-production started in 2011 and was aired the following year from January to October. Despite the 13-year age gap between them – Coco was already 30 while Julia was only 17 – but onscreen chemistry was truly palpable, making the launch of their “CocoJul” team-up a huge success.

Although their loveteam was just new then, the two were already beleaguered with questions regarding the brewing romance between them, which they both denied and implied that they were still in the phase of enjoying each other’s company. Coco was delighted to be her guide as she took on her first-ever lead role in a romance-drama series, while Julia imparted that Coco gave her a lot of valuable pieces of advice on career and personal life.

However, little did a lot of people know that their friendship actually started even before Walang Hanggan as they already knew each other when she was only 14 and both of them were still auditioning for other media companies. In an interview, Coco admitted that he attempted to woo her when she was around that age but got rejected.

In 2013, Coco was chosen by Julia to be her escort at her 18th birthday celebration in March. Prior to that, he clarified that he wasn’t courting her yet because he wanted their friendship to become stronger and for her to be able to enjoy her youth first. After all, he’s confident that the years he had to spend waiting would eventually pay off, as he had a strong feeling that they would be each other’s endgame in the future.

After Walang Hanggan, they worked again together in the 2013 movie “A Moment In Time”, then went on to do separate projects before and after starring in the 2014 teleserye Ikaw Lamang and in the “Yamishita’s Treasures” episode of Wansapantaym in 2015. Their much-awaited onscreen reunion happened in 2021 when Julia appeared in his long-running show, FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, as Mara Silang, the penultimate love interest of his now-iconic character Cardo Dalisay.

Even though they neither confirmed nor denied the real deal between them in the past years, their ardent shippers and avid showbiz onlookers have already known it all along since they’d been spotted several times openly going out together, such as going on vacations here and abroad, as well as attending gatherings with family and friends.

Among those rare occasions was when they finally made their public debut at the ABS-CBN Ball 2023, where they delighted everyone as they walked down the red carpet hand in hand and in complementing black ensembles.

Besides, Julia has also never missed a chance to dedicate an Instagram post for Coco on his birthday every year, as well as show her support for him by sharing the promotional materials of every project that he does with her millions of followers.

Coco and Julia may not have shared much about their relationship over the years, but we’re delighted that they’re able to keep their love for each other strong and burning amidst everything that they had to go through together and individually. Stay strong, happy, and in love, CocoJul!

Go through some of the sweetest moments while conquering the world together that they’d shared on social media in recent years.