Marco Gumabao (Facebook)

Hunk actor Marco Gumabao has officially admitted that he and fellow Viva star, Cristine Reyes, are in a "special" relationship, and they are exclusively dating.

Marco made the statement about Cristine after a media conference organized by Viva TV for his latest sitcom "Kurdapya" on TV5 recently. This is after various online reports spotted them together in Siargao and a mall in Makati.

"What we have now is special. I can say ayoko muna magsabi ng mga label-label na ganyan. For me, the label puts a lot of pressure on your relationship. Basta ako, kaming dalawa, happy kami. We're not seeing other people also,"  the 28-year-old Marco revealed.

(What we have now is special. I can say I don't want to put any labels. For me, labels put a lot of pressure on your relationship. As long as I, the two of us, are happy. We're also not seeing other people.)

Marco also called Cristine "very girlfriend material and wife material. Sobrang bait, wala syang arte."

Asked about what he likes in a woman, Marco made an analogy about the dual roles played by Yassi Pressman in "Kurdapya," the twins Kuring and Daphne who are opposites when it comes to their character.

"Mas pipiliin ko ang babaeng walang hassle, hindi pa-diva, yung masayang kasama kahit saan," he remarked.

(I would choose a girl who's not a hassle to be with, not feeling like a diva, fun to be with anywhere.)

Cristine Reyes (Facebook)

Marco recalled that he first met Christine during his first series with ABS-CBN, "Tubig at Langis" way back in 2016. They became friends since then and last worked together in the Darryl Yap starrer also produced by Viva, "Martyr or Murderer."

Marco stressed that he and Christine have nothing to hide, as they're both single.

"Kami siguro ni Cristine, kaya siguro nagki-click rin kami kasi outside of work, outside the cameras, we're just two normal people who enjoy going out, eating out,  like going to public places, going to the mall. Hindi kami yung nagtatago, yung nagmama-mask tapos naka shades. If people see us, then people see us. And hindi kami nagtatago at hindi rin namin binabalandra kumbaga," he said.

"The reason why I am private when it comes to my love life is because kapag nalaman ng tao na you're dating this woman,  maraming makikigulo, maraming eepal , maraming maninira. Yun yong ayoko and at the same time happy naman kami sa tahimik na buhay," Marco pointed out.

"Wala naman kaming dinedeny ni Cristine. Of course napagusapan na namin ito, di ba? And we're not denying anything. Unang-una, wala kaming tinatapakan. We're both single,  mas masarap lang na private and walang nakiki-ano," he added.

He also commented that their six-year age gap and her child with ex-husband Ali Khatibi were of no issue. " She's not the first woman naman to be a single parent at wala namang masama," Marco closed.

Aside from "Kurdapya," the actor is paired with actress-beauty queen Kylie Versoza in "Baby Boy, Baby Girl" presently showing in theaters.