Maris Racal, Anthony Jennings, Jam Villanueva Controversy: A Timeline

The controversy surrounding Maris Racal, Anthony Jennings, and Jam Villanueva has been the talk of the town after Jam shared screenshots of alleged conversations involving Maris and her ex-boyfriend, Anthony.

The situation quickly escalated, sparking memes, cheating-related hugots, and heated discussions among fans and netizens. With all the buzz about this controversy, here’s a timeline of Maris and Anthony’s love team, popularly known as MaThon, and how it intersects with the latter’s past relationship with Jam.

October 2023: The beginning of MaThon love team

The rise of Maris and Anthony’s love team began when they played Irene and Snoop in the hit series “Can’t Buy Me Love,” starring Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano.

Their undeniable chemistry quickly captivated fans, referring to them as SnoRene. Many viewers adored their witty exchanges and hilarious scenes, which went viral online. The series ran until May 2024, and their love team continued to gain popularity.

 

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Both were in relationships at the time: Maris with Rico Blanco and Anthony with Jam.

July 2024: Maris and Rico’s breakup

On July 12, Maris announced that she parted ways with Rico. In a press conference, she got emotional as she confirmed their breakup.

“I’m so scared ‘cause if I announce it, then it’s real. But yeah, Rico and I are over,” she said. “Loneliest, emptiest weeks I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

Without detailing the reason behind their split, the actress emphasized that their decision to part ways was mutual, describing it as a “very polite separation.” Maris also clarified that Anthony wasn’t involved in their breakup.

“Anthony is out of the picture. It’s just me and Rico. Mainly me, I’m the issue,” she noted.

Maris and Rico made their relationship public in 2021.

September 2024: Maris celebrated her 27th birthday with Anthony

Maris celebrated her 27th birthday with Anthony during a work trip. She shared a photo of her onscreen partner giving her a mini birthday cake while they were on a plane together.

“It was my birthday, I was stuck on a plane, and I was feeling the blues haha. TY (thank you),” she captioned her now-expired Instagram Story.

October 2024: Anthony and Jam’s breakup rumors circulated

Anthony and his then-non-showbiz girlfriend, Jam, were hounded by breakup rumors after eagle-eyed netizens noticed the latter’s TikTok reposts about pain, betrayal, cheating, and women’s intuition.

Some of her reposts expressed sentiments, such as “Girl instinct is always finding out everything,” “I will never forget your conversation with the girl you told me not to worry about,” and “Finding out what they did behind my back.”

Netizens assumed that her reposts alluded to Anthony and Maris.

November 2024: The Maris, Anthony, Jam controversy intensified

The breakup rumors between Anthony and Jam intensified. This time, Jam’s cryptic posts hinted at an ex and a workmate crossing work boundaries.

During a question-and-answer session on Instagram Stories on November 1, someone asked why her anger seemed to be directed only at the woman her ex had cheated with.

Without naming anyone, the question read: “Sis, bakit yung galit mo parang kay Ate Girl lang? Di ba dapat mas galit ka sa ex mo? Char (Why does your anger seem to be directed solely at the girl? Shouldn’t you be angrier with your ex?).”

She answered, “Honey, do you even read what I’m saying about men who cheat? Or maybe you just wanna take and absorb lang what you can and ano yung pasok sa tolerance niyo (what’s within your tolerance)?”

“They are just the same, the one who cheated and the one who tells and does inappropriate things to her workmate na di naman kasama sa trabaho (which are not part of their work),” she added, without dropping names.

Jam reiterated that she respects their work boundaries, but they crossed the line, “I respected their work and industry and I know the boundaries, and they completely went beyond that.”

Prior to this, Anthony and Maris dressed up as Cross Sanford and Eye Rodriguez from “Diary ng Panget” and danced to “Paligoy-ligoy.”

The two were also spotted wearing matching shoes during filming, leading netizens to speculate that they were “couple shoes.” However, Maris denied the claim and called it a coincidence.

“Nagkataon lang talaga na same kami ng shoes. Natawa na lang ako sa nangyari kasi nagkataon lang talaga na yun ang suot naming shoes (It’s just a coincidence that we have the same shoes. I found it funny because it really was a coincidence that we both wore them on the same day),” she told the press in an interview.

December 2024: Anthony and Jam’s breakup

After months of speculations, Anthony officially confirmed that he and Jam had broken up. Although the details about their relationship were private, the two have been together for almost seven years. He revealed that they parted ways months ago due to “personal issues.”

“Ako yung may pagkukulang dun. Problema ko yun and dapat ko yun ayusin mag-isa (I was the one who had shortcomings. That’s my problem and I should fix it on my own),” he said during a press conference for his film, “Incognito.”

Anthony also stressed that he and Maris are just friends, urging the public not to involve his “Can’t Buy Me Love” co-star in the issue.

“Nadadamay si Maris, magkaibigan lang po kami. Sana matigil na yung mga ganoong issues (Maris is getting dragged, we’re just friends. I hope these issues will stop).”

A few days later, Jam broke her silence about their split, uploading screenshots of private conversations between Maris and Anthony on her Instagram Stories.

“I’m grateful that Anthony finally chose to speak the truth because I had been carrying the weight of it all on my own for so long. It’s painful to be attacked by others when all I ever wanted was to protect my personal life—and to protect him out of respect,” she wrote.

“When Maris came into the picture, I was genuinely happy for you both. I even chose to be supportive, despite the red flags I couldn’t ignore. I respected your craft. I believed in you both. But betrayal like this cuts deep.”

Her post began with screenshots of conversations between the “Can’t Buy Me Love” co-stars dated June, where Maris asked if they could delete their exchanged messages.

Jam shared that Anthony explained his closeness with Maris, including their messages, as part of “method acting,” which Jam said she respected.

However, as their relationship progressed, Jam alleged she became suspicious, especially after noticing intimate exchanges between the two actors and Anthony lying about his whereabouts.

She posted more screenshots of Anthony and Maris’ conversations from July to October, including call and FaceTime video logs. Jam noted that Anthony reassured her their relationship was fine and they would sort things out.

Going back to Maris’ 27th birthday celebration with Anthony in September, Jam emphasized that it fueled her suspicions. She then shared sweet photos of Anthony and Maris from the said celebration in Italy, which she said shattered her heart into pieces.

“This is the other side of the story—the photos that she posted in her story, where people started attacking me, saying that the photo was just ‘fan service’ and that I was overreacting. I even asked Anthony about it, and he brushed it off, saying it was nothing,” she continued.

Jam stressed she ended her relationship with Anthony peacefully, admitting she was “hurt” and “devastated.” She even penned a message to the actor, reiterating she will always treasure and remember the memories they’ve shared.

Jam concluded her post by encouraging women, particularly those in similar situations, to prioritize themselves and protect their peace of mind.

As of writing, both Anthony and Maris have yet to address the controversy.

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