Bagong Umaga stars Yves Flores and Barbie Imperial delivered good news to the show’s avid fans. They’re extended! In this edition of Kapamilya Chat, the tandem also discussed their characters, working with each other, and some V-Day fantasies.

The interview would take off from Yves and Barbie sharing the lessons learned from the preceding year. He was reminded that materialistic pursuits are superficial. What matters more is the love shared with family and being prepared for the future. He’s also grateful to start the New Year with work, knowing how challenging it’s been to most Filipinos.

“Mas importante talaga ‘yung family mo, mag-ipon ka, mag-invest ka kasi hindi mo masasabi kung anong susunod na mangyayari sa’yo. Dapat lagi tayong prepared sa mga darating na araw, hindi ‘yung meron ka ngayon tapos uubusin mo lahat tapos next day, next month, wala ka nang mailalabas,” shared Yves.

For Barbie’s part, she realized that moments are fleeting and life can really get surprising at times. While she’s grateful for work, she also learned to balance it with her time for family, “You’ll never know, baka bukas ‘yung mahal mo sa buhay natamaan na ng COVID at kulang na ‘yung oras mo na mabibigay sa kanila. So, something I learned, ‘yung binibigay ko na effort sa work ko, pareho na din sa binibigay ko sa mahal ko sa buhay.”

In Bagong Umaga, Barbie portrays the multifaceted role of Cai, the kontrabida with deep emotional baggage and battles. Barbie thought it’d be easy since she’s used to playing a bad girl on TV. But she was surprised at how emotionally demanding the role is. There’s so much more to Cai than the spoiled, ‘maldita’ demeanor, and she would have to be the most difficult character Barbie ever acted.

The lock-in setup is also a test of sanity for her because, for one, she’s far from her family. Still, at the end of the day, the positive feedback from satisfied viewers is worth the hard work.

On the other hand, Yves breathes life to Dodong, the happy-go-lucky adopted son of the Magbanua family. What makes Dodong different from his other characters is his quiet strength. Dodong looks unassuming on the outside but everyone would be stunned and prompted to listen once he speaks up his mind.

Yves and Barbie would admit that the positive reception about their love team is unexpected, considering that fans haven’t yet gotten over his team-up with Jerome Ponce in A Soldier’s Heart. But they’re happy to see each fandom helping each other. Even Yves-Jerome lovers are supportive of the former’s team-up with Barbie.

While it’s their first time to share the screen, their friendship helped in building onscreen rapport. Barbie revealed, “Kilala ko na si Yves matagal na pero never pa kami nagkatrabaho. Sabi nga niya natarayan ko daw siya pero hindi ko maalala ‘yung part na ‘yun. Hindi ko in-expect na makulit si Yves na tao. Parang ang seryosong tao niya, pero sobrang ingay niya, ang lala ng kulit niya. He’s a great person, mabait na kaibigan.”

At first, Yves perceived Barbie as “mataray” but this eventually changed over the days. He now looks at her as happy-go-lucky. He described her as, “Kalog, one of the boys. Madali siya patawanin, tumatawa nga siya mag-isa. Nakatingin siya sa akin parang hinihintay niya kung may gagawin ako tapos ‘pag may ginawa ako, tawa siya nang tawa.”

Bagong Umaga has been treating viewers to a series of explosive revelations, adding layers of conflict on Dodong and Cai’s friendship. Yves and Barbie feel sad to deprive their fans of kilig moments since the characters are dealing with the truth that Cai is the real daughter of the couple who adopted Dodong. Nonetheless, they promised viewers will have so much more to look forward to in Dodong and Cai’ story.