Can we really, fully blame fans for crashing out about dating rumors?
Whether your sources of gossip are daily tabloids, r/ChikaPH, Deuxmoi, or X (formerly Twitter), chances are that the top headlines almost always involve who’s dating whom. Blind items and insiders will spill who’s broken up and why, and fans will piece sightings and “evidence” together to determine if a new celebrity couple is on the rise.
The past few months have been extra rife with dating rumors embroiling different famous people, accompanied by similarly intense levels of vitriol, albeit in varying channels and mediums.
Immense fixation gone bad
During the first half of December 2025, the X app was on fire upon alleged evidence that BTS Jungkook and Aespa Winter were in a relationship. While the latter’s company, SM Entertainment, sought out legal action, fans took the lack of an explicit denial as proof that the rumors were true—leading to viral hate posts and protest trucks sent to both parties’ labels.
Threats of physical harm and stalking almost feel like a thing of generations past, but K-pop idols in particular still get immense scrutiny from fans and antis alike when they’re “caught” dating.
Then, toward the holiday season, Katseye fans were quick to notice that at least half of the girl group’s members spent their break time with their respective beaus, with Lara Raj allegedly dating a solo musician and Daniela Avanzini dating a designer. Meanwhile, Filipino member Sophia Laforteza has been linked to Leon Barretto of the famed Barretto clan, which was further fueled by Laforteza joining the Barrettos’ year-end vacation in Hong Kong.
The information overload sparked conversations within the fandom about the immense fixation on the girl group’s dating lives, which felt ironic due to Katseye’s mission of breaking out of the K-pop mold that looks down on relationship news.
From love teams to fandom fallouts
Speaking of which, fandoms of Philippine-based entertainers have also gotten their hefty doses of dating rumors and consequent fandom fallouts. In particular, all eyes have been on many of the winners of “Pinoy Big Brother’s” first Celebrity Collab season.
Fresh off the promotional run of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) movie “Love You So Bad,” stars Bianca De Vera and Dustin Yu of the “DustBia” tandem found themselves in hot water after the two of them took a trip to Thailand. Fans of the “WillCa” loveteam (comprised of De Vera and actor Will Ashley) took this as the leading lady finally “choosing a side.”
This private vacation sparked discussions of betrayal and disappointment, lamenting the huge potential of the WillCa tandem and condemning the existence of the DustBia pairing—something that’s been going on since the first PBB Collab season.
Shortly after this fallout, Will Ashley was also on the receiving end of hate due to his own personal Hong Kong vacation with Big Winner Mika Salamanca. Fans initially believed the photos were fabricated, but they were later on confirmed to be real. Salamanca, who won the Big Winner title with Brent Manalo, faced immense backlash, both from WillCa fans for “ruining” the love team and MikBrent fans who felt that she led them on into believing she was dating Manalo instead.
Dubbed one of the biggest tandems from “PBB Celebrity Collab” with high potential to be a leading love team for the new generation, WillCa’s private lives have invited harsh criticism for their professional careers. The Philippines, after all, is no stranger to the negative effects of love team culture, with Liza Soberano’s unfiltered statements about its toxicity making waves once more.
Soberano initially received backlash and got labeled as “ungrateful” for her comments, but in light of recent situations, people have started apologizing to her and saying that she’s been right all along. Things have changed since the proclaimed golden age of love teams, as there are tandems that stay “team reel” rather than “team real” and find success regardless.
Protective or projecting?
It’s easy to blame fans for their intense, almost violent reactions toward their idols’ private lives. But anyone familiar with modern celebrity culture would know that fandoms are behind any public figure’s success, so it’s difficult to fully invalidate their sentiments. Sometimes, fan criticism of their favorite celebrities’ dating stems from concern and protectiveness.
After all, no one wants the people they love to be caught up in questionable age gaps, associated with misogynists, or jeopardized career-wise due to the mixed reactions to romantic relationships of any form. Of course, toxicity and selfishness remain rampant regardless, which should be called out as much as possible.
However, when the entertainment industry itself recognizes and exploits the power of parasocialism, violent fan reactions become par for the course.
In essence, what creates the fanfare about celebrity dating rumors is its state of going against everything celebrity culture stands for. With K-pop, it’s commonplace for idols to say that they consider their fans their significant others, and their companies continuously rack up prices for experiences such as fan-signings and paid messaging services for more proximity.
Among love team fandoms, actors are trained and expected to act like they’re really dating their on-screen partners, and “insiders” hiding behind anonymous accounts give seemingly credible tips to validate certain ships. Parasocialism becomes greenlit, enabled, and assisted as the industry reaffirms how being single is the gold standard for public figures.
Upon investing so much time and money into other people, emotional crises become standard, but it’s simply easier to chalk everything up to fans being the only problem. Companies and artists alike expect unconditional support and limitless fan labor in the name of love, and fans are scrutinized for letting go or building resentment, the same way they’re criticized for investing that much into celebrities.
Ultimately, the best way to go about fanhood is to keep support conditional. You don’t owe your favorite public figures unwavering love and support the same way they don’t owe you their private lives. Being a fan should make you happy above all else, and you’re entitled and encouraged to pull the plug when you need to—as long as you’re not actively harming anyone in the process.
After all, if your faves can live well without you, you can and should live well without them, too.
