Sam and Alden: A date to remember
It all started with a poll three weeks ago in Yahoo! Philippines OMG!: “Do you think Alden Richards should ask Sam Pinto out on a date?,” the online poll asked.
Sixty-six percent of the 2,120 Yahoo users who voted said the promising young actor should ask Sam out on a date.
Alden did just that last July 17 in GMA 7’s “Showbiz Central.” A day after, Sam accepted Alden’s invitation: “Of course. It's a friendly date, so why not? That's a yes!”
The date finally took place last Aug. 4, aboard the upper deck of a cruise ship that took them around Manila Bay. The “Tween Hearts Class of 2011” stars enjoyed a candlelit dinner from Barbara’s Restaurant under the scenic Manila Bay sunset and night sky.
“She's really looking forward na masu-surprise ko sya. So I hope na both of us have fun,” he told Yahoo! Philippines OMG! hours before the date.
“I wanted the date with Sam to be special, so I tapped this website called Sweet Deals that specializes on romantic dates.”
For her part, Sam said during the ‘Tween Hearts’ press conference that she's “too Ate” for the 18-year-old Alden. Sam, who has a very mature and sexy image of late, is 21.
What she saw on her date with Alden took Sam by surprise.
“Akala ko dinner lang. Kasi wala talagang nagsasabi sa akin kung ano ang mangyayari today. Ang sabi nga sa akin Mall of Asia. Sabi ko, 'ano naman gagawin namin sa MOA?' Nung papunta na dito, parang, ah, medyo nagka-hint na,” she said.
Although the two were obviously tentative at first, Sam and Alden eventually grew at ease with other. They talked about a number of things: their favorite television channel, favorite cheapest candy, how they handle the press and manage intrigues and negative issues.
Thus, what began as a “school boy crush” on Sam ended as a pleasantly surprising date for both of them.
“Sabi ko sa kanya di ba, surprise so totoong nasurprise nya ako. Kasi ineexpect ko lang mga dinner-dinner lang talaga, ordinary date. Ito, extraordinary. Happy naman. Very happy,” Sam said.
“We got to know each other really good... Parang, it's a date to remember talaga,” Alden added.
Although both are stars of the “Tween Hearts” movie, Sam and Alden didn't have the chance to hang out with each other during the film's shooting. Alden's partner in the movie is “Alakdana” star Louise delos Reyes. Sam’s scenes were mostly with Elmo Magalona.
Their date, therefore, is the first time for the two promising showbiz stars to spend time with each other intimately.
Discoveries
Alden was amused at how Sam hardly exerts any effort in keeping in shape.
“Si Sam po pala before didn't know how to speak well in Tagalog at first. Even though she was born and raised here in the Philippines, parang she had definitely been coping with the language since her atmosphere was English-speaking,” he added.
“It was also nice to talk to someone new and different. Like I said, we don't know each other talaga. Malalaman mo rin na iba't ibang childhood, opinyon, utak ng mga tao. It was nice. Something new talaga,” Sam shared.
Asked to rate the date, Sam said: “Sige, 10 na lang. I had so much fun, really.”
Next level
In an interview with Yahoo! Philippines OMG! after their cruise date, Alden felt his effort paid off.
“I didn't anticipate na it's gonna be this fun. Kasi before, there's a lot of pressure nga po na I asked Sam Pinto on a date. And whenever she's around I really felt shy. Hiyang hiya po talaga ako kasi I asked her out on national television po e. pero it turned out to be a successful and fun. And I got to know more about Sam Pinto,” he said.
Alden added, “Nag-step up na po ako ng one level into knowing her personally kasi since before nga, I just see her. Pero now I think this will be a start of a really good friendship.”
Does he still consider it a “friendly date,” now that they got to know so much about each other?
“It's still a friendly date,” he said. “Hectic yung schedules e. We have a lot of schedules. But we'll see. We don't know e. Everyday naman everything changes.
Sam, on the other hand, said she no longer finds herself a bit old for Alden. After all, there is only a three year difference between the two of them.
“Nagmumukha lang akong Ate dahil sa image niya at sa image ko. Ako, masyado akong nagpapasexy... Parang di naman masyadong Ate. Siguro dahil lang sa image,” she shared.
Sam agrees with Alden that the date remains a friendly one. “Pero it was actually fun, nagulat ako,” she said.
“We just go to know each other so magma-maintain muna as friends.”
Is she open to going out with Alden again? “Yes, of course!” Sam quickly replied.
