The future partners of one of the ocuntry's emerging loveteams snubbed each other. Jolina saw Marvin and muttered to herself,"What a big snob this guy is!"
The next time they saw each other was at backstage during a telecast of ABS-CBN's A.S.A.P., where Jolina and Marvin were waiting for their turn to go onstage.
"Marvin didn't notice me at first," Jolina recalls. "So my impression of him was that he was really snobbish. Then he went up to me and started talking."
The details of that first full-length conversation with Marvin remains vivid in Jolina's mind. "He told me he saw me in UP because he wanted to try out in the Theater Arts program there." I told myself, "This guy is just pulling my leg," narrates Jolina.
But no sooner had he gone on talking than she realized Marvin is not such a cold fish, after all. Jolina found a warm, engaging person she can strike up an interesting conversation with.
The two became even closer at the shooting of Star Drama Presents Judy Ann, where MAJ spent hours talking to each other.
The relationship gained greater strength when the two went to Baguio for the shooting of Labs Kita ... Okey Ka Lang?
The cool mountain air and the extra time together must have made MAJ realize they have so many things in common. One is a love for sentimental music. Another is partiality to dance.
Still another is a fertile imagination that can cook up a variety of movie scenes that bring out the creative side in each of them.
"We're both frustrated directors," Marvin chuckles.
But the stars of Labs Kita, are also two separte individuals whose personalities differ.
They may be of the same age, but MAJ are not necessarily similar in the way they view certain things. As the family breadwinner (his father is behind bars), Marvin shouldered responsibility at an early age, and is therefore the more serious of the two.
Enter JM, daughter of a former San Miguel executive who has never known want. Like most girls her age, she is fashion-conscious, light-hearted, carefree - the perfect foil to the 20-going-on-40 Marvin.
For the first time in his life, Marvin knew how it was to be his age. Jolina introduced him to the lighter side of life: chatting on the phone for hours on end, daydreaming, etc., things he didn't do before.
"Jolina made me feel younger," Marvin admits.
He'd wake up Jolina and tell her it's time to rise and shine.
Jolina, on the other hand, learned something about being less self-centered from Marvin.
"From him, I learned that not all people will adjust to you. That you should stop being selfish." relates Jolina.
The two have gotten along so well Marvin now knows more about a woman's changing moods from his close association with Jolina. Thus, he understands her even more.
"But this does not mean I'll let all her mistakes go unnoticed. I point them out to her. This way, she learns a thing or two from them," insists Marvin.
Just how serious are they about each other at this point?
MAJ agree they feel something special for each other, but refuse to use the word "commitment" to describe the relationship. Mutual Understanding, or M.U., is more like it.
Marvin admits he will feel jealous if he sees Jolina seeing somebody else.
"I love Jolina," he declares unabashedly.
The object of his affection, on the other hand, reveals it is Marvin she automatically thinks of whenever a problem bugs her. She calls him up at night, just to kill time and beat her insomia. They talk for as long as five hours about virtually everything under the sun, including their favorite cable TV probrams, Cinemax and MTV Asia.
And, just like all couples with eyes only for each other, MAJ have a theme song, the tender, mellow ditty Is It Okay?
Oh yes, they've touched the topic of marriage. Both want to get married in historic Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan. Marvin wants the honeymoon in Mexico, but Jolina objects.
"I don't like tacos!" she shrieks.
"Oh, I'll make you the biggest taco there is," Marvin, a former bartender in a QC nightspot before he was discovered for the movies, replies.
Exchanging gifts is common practice between them.
"I buy him anything I find cute," Jolina reveals.
Of all the things Jolina has given Marvin, the latter treasures the pair of boxer shorts with designs of people on them most.
"Jolina said she gave it to me so I will feel that many people are watching over me," relates Marvin.
Jolina, on the other hand, thinks the most memorable gift Marvin gave her was a white gold necklace that goes well with almost all her outfits, be they for formal or informal occasions.
They have their ups and downs as a couple, of course. Jolina complains of times when Marvin rides on her foul moods. And it doesn't help the situation any.
Those petty misunderstandings, however, cannot destroy, even weaken the Jolina-Marvin bond. It is so strong it can withsatand a lot of pressures from within and outside.
As Marvin says," Our relationship is not bound only professional ties. We don't feel obliged to talk to each other. We don't let our work get in the way of our friendship."
Both realize the possibility of going their own separate ways as performers lurk in the horizon. After all, Marvin has done one film minus Jolina, Ipaglaban Mo, based on the popular ABS-CBN weekly drama series.
When that day comes, MAJ will gladly give way for the other's professional growth. And the two vow they will remain as close as ever, even if their careers force them to go their separate ways.
"We can't appear cute before the cameras forever," Jolina reasons out.
Marvin agrees: "Oh yes, We can't be a loveteam forever. The need for change is there."
As for now, MAJ know they are a team. A strong team whose main come-on is the naturalness of their rapport, their chemistry on and off screen.
"Everybody needs someone the right way. Jolina and I help each other. Our relationship is not one way," says Marvin.
Jolina admires Marvin for his sense of responsibility toward his family. Marvin looks up to Jolina for her sheer talent as a performer, and the support she gives, especially when his detractors accuse him of displeasing the latter's parents.
"I know Jolina is a bigger star than I am," Marvin concedes. "I owe her a lot."
Another screen teamup is waiting for them, whether Labs Kita makes it big at the box-office or not.
MAJ may just be undergoing a phase in their budding showbiz careers. But they sure are making the most of it, enjoying every minute of their partnership, using it to inspire and better the other person.
Minutes before she went on stage to render the theme song of Labs Kita (which incidentally is now out on casette and CD formats), Jolina felt nervous about performing live before members of the critical movie press.
It was Marvin who gave her the courage to perform live, accompanied by piano music playing softly backstage.
"I told her she can do it," Marvin syas. And Jolina did it alright, thanks to Marvin's power of persuasion.
It is this looking out for the other that makes MAJ click. What you see is what you get. They do not pretend to be what they are not. This honesty is what will see them through as a team, on screen and off.