Barbie Forteza and Jak Roberto’s relationship: A timeline

MANILA, Philippines – Reel-to-real couple Barbie Forteza and Jak Roberto have officially parted ways after seven years. 

Barbie announced their breakup via Instagram on Thursday, January 2. 

“Having you in my life was the happiest I had ever been. Seven wonderful years. A lot of laughs, a lot of ramen, and so much love. Your love was exceptional. But sometimes, good things fall apart so better things can come together,” she wrote, adding that she hopes Jak can find the love he deserves. 

The Pulang Araw actress then asked that everyone help her and Jak “put this matter to rest.” 

Throughout their seven years together, the two Kapuso stars had come to be known as “JakBie,” and stood as one of the Filipino public’s favorite real-life celebrity couples. 

With that, here’s a timeline charting Barbie and Jak’s time as a couple, as told by their onscreen projects, public appearances, and social media posts together. 

June 2014 to January 2016: The Half Sisters

Barbie and Jak played characters Diana and Ambo, respectively, in the show The Half Sisters. Barbie had a lead role, while Jak’s was a guest role. The show’s first episode aired in June 2014, while its last one aired in January 2016. 

January 2017: Meant to Be

In 2017, Barbie and Jak starred alongside each other in the teleserye, Meant to Be. The show, which aired from January to June 2017, follows Billie, who has four men fighting over her love after they all rescue her from being hit by a car. Barbie played the role of Billie, while Jak played Andoy, one of the four guys. 

June 2017: Cast of Meant to Be goes to Singapore

In June 2017, the cast of Meant to Be went to Singapore together. Barbie posted several solo photos of herself, as well as a shot of her alongside the show’s four leading men. 

Meanwhile, Jak shared a photo of just him and Barbie, captioned, “Dati sa Starr’s, ngayon sa univers-al na Billie (Before, we were at Starr’s, now, we’re at Univers-al, Billie).” 

July 2017: Barbie soft-launches relationship with Jak

On July 31, 2017, Barbie posted photos of herself celebrating her 20th birthday. In the second photo of the post, she is seen holding hands with a mystery individual. 

“Mas happy pa sa happy, 20th (Happier than happy, 20th)!” Barbie captioned her post. 

August 2017: JakBie confirms relationship 

Weeks after Barbie’s Instagram post, she and Jak confirmed that they were indeed in a relationship. 

Asked by PEP.ph why they kept their relationship private at first, Jak said, “Kasi ‘pag maraming nakakaalam, ang daming ine-expect sa inyo… Ayaw namin ng gano’n (Because when many people know about it, they expect so much from you… We don’t want that).” 

From then on, the couple had begun to show their affection for each other more often on social media, usually posting pictures with each other even if there was no special occasion. 

September 2017: Pepito Manaloto

Barbie and Jak made a guest appearance in the long-running Filipino sitcom, Pepito Manaloto: Ang Tunay na Kuwento. Barbie portrayed Kat Kat, while Jak portrayed Erik. This was one of their first on-screen appearances together after confirming their relationship to the public. 

December 2017: Barbie posts birthday greeting for Jak

On Instagram, Barbie shared a clip of her surprising Jak with a cake for his 25th birthday in between takes on set.

January 2018: Magpakailanman

In January 2018, the reel-to-real couple starred together in an episode of GMA’s Magpakailanman, where Melinda (Barbie) works to lose weight so she can win over her longtime crush, Adrian (Jak). 

February 2018: First Valentine’s Day celebration 

Come February 14, 2018, Jak posted a Valentine’s Day greeting for Barbie on Instagram, sharing lighthearted photos and videos of her. 

“To the coziest, bungisngis (giggly) and prettiest girl na nakilala ko (that I met). Happy Valentine’s Day,” he wrote. 

July and December 2018: Birthday greetings

In 2018, the pair penned short messages and compiled photos and videos for each other’s birthdays. For Barbie’s 21st birthday, Jak shared photos of him and Barbie on the beach, captioning his post, “Happy birthday, beautiful.”

Meanwhile, for Jak’s birthday, Barbie posted a video compilation of photos of her and Jak, which included shots from some of their dates and onscreen project shoots, among others. “Happy birthday, mahal ko (my love),” she wrote.

December 2018: Christmas

Jak and Barbie celebrated Christmas 2018 together with each other’s families.

January 2019: New Year

A few days later, the pair came together again to ring in the New Year with each other’s families.

February 2019: Kara Mia

In February 2019, Barbie took on one of the lead roles in the hit teleserye, Kara Mia. Jak, meanwhile, played the role of Boni, who later becomes Kara’s love interest in the show. Kara Mia aired until June 2019.

July 2019: Jak starts his YouTube channel

In July 2019, Jak started posting on his YouTube channel, with his first video being his second anniversary celebration with Barbie.

Since then, he’s regularly posted vlogs with Barbie — giving viewers a glimpse of what they do together as a couple.

May 2020: Barbie and Jak celebrate their 3rd anniversary

In May 2020, Barbie and Jak celebrated their third anniversary under the COVID-19 lockdown. Jak posted a vlog of him and Barbie celebrating the occasion over video call through a couple’s question challenge.

January 2021: New Year’s celebration

Jak and Barbie celebrated the beginning of 2021 together, nearly four years into their relationship.

March 2021: Thoughts on settling down

In March 2021, PEP.ph asked Jak and Barbie if they had plans to get married soon.

“Well, nothing’s final, but we speak about it from time to time,” Barbie told PEP.ph. “We both agreed that we would save and prepare for it financially first before we really start planning.”

January 2022: New Year

The couple once again welcomed the new year together.

May 2022: 5th anniversary

In May 2022, Barbie and Jak celebrated their 5th anniversary together.

“Happy 5th Anniversary to my travel buddy, to my food trip buddy, movie buddy, to my very supportive and sexiest girlfriend ever! Thank you so much sa pag motivate at pagpush mo sakin na kaya kong gawin ang lahat (for motivating and pushing me to believe that I can do everything)! More travels, food trip and cozy years to us! Mahal na mahal kita (I love you so much),” Jak wrote on Instagram.

“I used to dream of fairytales and having a prince charming one day but you have made me love my reality. With you, I’ve had challenges that helped me become the best version of myself. You are no prince charming, but a man with the biggest heart to accept everything about me. Both good and bad. You are the man I never expected but you are the man that I’ve always needed. I love you,” Barbie wrote in her letter to Jak.

October 2022: Barbie stars in Maria Clara at Ibarra, signals start of ‘BarDa’

Barbie landed the role of Maria Clara, or Klay, in the hit historical show Maria Clara at Ibarra in October 2022. She starred alongside David Licauco, who played the role of Fidel. From there, Barbie and David’s onscreen partnership became a hit among viewers, later making the pair known as “BarDa.”

September 2023: BarDa in Maging Sino Ka Man

With the new love team capturing the hearts of the public, they landed the leading roles in Maging Sino Ka Man, with Barbie playing Monique, and David playing Carding.

May 2024: BarDa in That Kind of Love

Barbie and David starred in their first movie together in May 2024, That Kind of Love, which sees Adam de Dios fall in love with matchmaker Mila Maharlika in her quest to help him find true love.

July 2024: BarDa in Pulang Araw

David and Barbie starred alongside each other in a new show, Pulang Araw, as Hiroshi Tanaka and Adelina Dela Cruz.

July 2024: JakBie going strong

In early July, Barbie shared in an episode of Fast Talk with Boy Abunda that she felt guilty towards Jak, as she had to set him aside when her love team with David started gaining traction.

“Nakaramdam ako ng konting guilt towards him because I have to admit, hindi naman ito parang bago, I had to set him aside kasi nag-pick up ang BarDa,” she said.

(I feel a bit of guilt towards him because I have to admit, this isn’t something new, but I had to set him aside because BarDa started picking up.)

Later that month, the pair attended the GMA Gala together. In a short ambush interview with the then-couple, MEGA Entertainment asked, “What makes your relationship bling?”

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“I think [it’s] Jak’s maturity and his being understanding, and I guess the fun that we’ve been having for the past seven years and counting,” Barbie answered, with Jak adding that it’s his great cooking that has allowed their relationship to last so long.

December 2024: Barbie’s birthday greeting for Jak

Barbie posted a birthday greeting for Jak on December 2024, sharing how proud she was of all his accomplishments. This is Barbie’s last post with Jak before she announced their breakup.

January 2025: Barbie announces breakup with Jak

On January 2, 2025, Barbie announced her breakup with Jak on Instagram, sharing the same photos she posted when she first teased her relationship with the actor.

Barbie bid Jak a “beautiful goodbye,” telling him to take care.

Jak has yet to comment on their breakup. – Rappler.com