Maine Mendoza umaming crush pala si Alden bago pa man nabuo ang 'ALDUB'

MANILA, Philippines — Maine Mendoza reveals she took a real interest in Alden after she found out he had a crush on her, too.

"Naging tunay na crush ko na talaga siya at ini-stalk ko na siya nang magdamag," she writes in her book Yup, I am That Girl. "Kasi ba naman akala ko crush niya rin ako, e! Hay life!".

Maine Mendoza reveals in her new book, Yup, I am That Girl, a bit more of what transpired that fateful day of July 16, 2015.

Remember how she was caught off guard on live TV when Alden Richards popped up onscreen during the "Kalyeserye" segment of Eat Bulaga!, the GMA noontime show?

The episode had gone down in showbiz history as the Phenomenal birth of AlDub, in her book's chapter titled "#Hugot" Maine discloses for the first time that someone had told her about Alden's crush on her, too. That was after she had said she found him cute.


Maine Mendoza recalls an incident, a few days after she joined Eat Bulaga! as the character "Yaya Dub".

She was waiting on location in a barangay and watching the show's "That's My Bae" portion hosted by Alden Richards. It was then that the show's assistant director, Pat Plaza, caught her smiling.

"Ang totoo niyan ay hindi ko talaga alam kung bakit ako nakangiti," Maine writes.

"Siguro ay nag-joke si Alden Richards 'tapos benta. Haha!"

Since then, Maine says Direk Pat had started teasing her about liking Alden Richards.

Maine continues her story

"Habang naliligo ako nang matiwasay noong July 15, 2015, nag-text sa akin si Ate Pat at sinabing..."

Screenshots of Maine's I message conversation with Direk Pat then follow in the book. Direk Pat was pressing Maine who her crush was.

The young comedienne answer, "Hahaha! Waley! Non-showbiz hahahaha si Alden cute though hahahahaha."

After several exchanges, Direk Pat dropped the bomb.

"E kasi nalaman ko... CRUSH KA DIN NI ALDENNNNNN!!"

 The Dubsmash queen then lost it while in the shower and replied in all caps.

"WEEEEHHHGGG HINDI NGAAAAAAAA"

As Maine tells it in the book, the conversation continued, with Maine sending two photos of herself in the shower—all right, only her head was showing—but complete with the contorted facial expressions she was to become known for.

The last message on the screenshots was of Maine saying, "Beast mode huhuhu" Maine goes on to write about how this exchange changed the way she saw Alden Richards.

"Naging tunay na crush ko na talaga siya at ini-stalk ko na siya nang magdamag."

"Kasi ba naman akala ko crush niya rin ako,  e! Hay life!"

But Maine recognizes the importance of the AlDub Phenomenon in her life. She writes: "Eat Bulaga, AlDub, and AlDub Nation brought me to where I am today."

On heartbreak and Moving On. In the book, the young host-actress and now author also writes about having fallen once for the wrong person and experiencing the inevitable heartbreak.

"I realize that you can never get used to being hurt, because admit it or not, you do not get hurt the same way twice," she writes.

 Maine Mendoza also dishes out advice on moving on: "I might not be a love guru, but I think there are some things I can share with you that might help you move on."