The love team madness just got stronger with the entrance of fresh pairs to watch out for in the new-gen series He’s Into Her. Included in its roster of young stars are former Pinoy Big Brother housemates Rhys Eugenio and Kaori Oinuma or shipped by fans as KaoRhys! Let’s get to know these rising stars’ journey to PBB and showbiz in these videos! 

We have known Kaori as the housemate with an extremely adorable personality and looks that can pass for a K-drama heroine. But, not everyone knows that Kaori’s life before PBB was simple and difficult. Together with her mom, she lived in a small apartment in Japan until high school. She also had to work as a caregiver at a young age. Kaori’s main goal was to help her family, thus the thought of joining showbiz. And the more she gets exposed to acting, the more she falls in love with the craft.

Law of attraction worked its magic for Kaori. She tweeted about her wish to be Kuya’s housemate around 2016 and it manifested after two years! When Kaori learned about the PBB auditions in Japan in 2018, she decided to give it a shot.

Trying her luck, Kaori and her mom went to the train station without prior seat booking (which is mandatory in Japan) and arrived there only to be told non-reserved seats can no way be accommodated. It was like an early test of grit for Kaori. But, destiny has amazing ways of solving the hurdles. A passenger cancelled his seat, giving Kaori the ticket to pursue her dreams, even if she had to travel alone to the auditions.

“Sa Tokyo ‘yung audition, bumiyahe ako mag-isa, mga 8 hours ‘yung biyahe. Parang mararamdaman ng puso mo kung para sa’yo, eh. So parang ‘yun ang naramdaman ko. Binigyan ako ng mga signs – nakapag-audition ako, may nag-cancel na passenger para lang magkaroon ako ng upuan sa train. Doon nag-umpisa hanggang sa nakapasok ako sa PBB,” she recalled.

Kaori made it to their batch’s Big 4. Her return to the outside world has been exciting as she had guestings left and right. Kaori didn’t have to wait that long for her first-ever series, the Sunday thriller Parasite Island. “Yun yung mismong pagkalabas ko ng PBB tapos wala pa akong experience sa acting at workshops pero sinabak agad ako. Grabe din ‘yung experience kasi nagtiwala agad sila sa akin at grateful ako doon.”

She also guested in Maalaala Mo Kaya and Home Sweetie Home. Last year, in the middle of the pandemic, Kaori landed her first lead role via digital series “The Four Bad Boys and Me.”

This 2021, Kaori will be part of He’s Into Her, a TV adaptation of the best-selling novel with the same title. Kaori said they were asked to audition for the series right after exiting the PBB house. As a fan of the book which she started reading even before she became a housemate, Kaori was thrilled when told about the auditions.    

Auditions are not a new thing for Kaori’s loveteam partner Rhys, the handsome and charming guy from the United States. Rhys went to the Philippines in 2017 to pursue a career in modelling until he auditioned for PBB in 2018, and the rest is history.

His biggest motivation to be an actor is to make his grandparents proud. “I’ve always wanted my Lola and Lolo to be able to watch me on TV or in the movies, so they can show up sa ibang friends nila na proud sila sa apo nila.” Besides, he wants to challenge himself. He’s also fascinated with acting which used to be one of his barkada’s favorite bonding activities.

Kaori and Rhys dream big about their showbiz careers without failing to enjoy the process. For Rhys, doing action movies ala “Fast and Furious” and James Bond films is a big part of his acting bucket list. He wants to work with Enrique Gil, James Reid, Jericho Rosales, Dingdong Dantes, Liza Soberano and Sharon Cuneta.

Kaori loves doing romance and comedy projects. But she wishes to also explore drama and action in the future. For now, she still wants to sharpen her acting skills. A big JaDine fan, she wishes to work with James Reid and Nadine Lustre. She also dreams to act alongside Bea Alonzo and John Lloyd Cruz, Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil, and Sarah Geronimo.

The Kapamilya beauty considers “Hello Love Goodbye” as her favorite Star Cinema film because of Alden Richards and Kathryn Bernardo’s sterling performance, and the story that’s totally relatable to Filipinos living overseas.  Rhys, on the other hand, said “Seven Sundays” is the ultimate Star Cinema flick for him.

Show Kaori and Rhys some love by watching He’s Into Her premiering on Sunday, May 30 at 8:45 p.m. on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, and A2Z.