Dennis Trillo and Tom Rodriguez, the male lead stars of the GMA network’s controversial primetime series, “My Husband’s Lover” have become a popular topic on social networking sites and blogs lately because of their portrayal as gay lovers in the said primetime series.
In “My Husband’s Lover,” Dennis plays as Eric, an openly gay man who has had an affair with Vincent, a closet bisexual portrayed by Tom Rodriguez. Eric and Vincent’s high school romance ended when Eric had to migrate to the United States. Years later, Eric returns to the Philippines and hopes to reignite his failed romance with Vincent only to find out that his ex-lover is now married to a woman – Lally (Carla Abellana).
Vincent struggles to wipe out any trace of his romance with Eric and start life anew with Lally but despite his efforts, it seems that fate has a different plan for him and his ex-love Eric. The more Vincent tries to avoid Eric, the more they are brought together by chance, usually in very awkward situations.
In Monday night’s episode (June 17), Vincent introduced Eric to Lally as his long lost “friend.” Although the meeting with Vincent’s wife deeply broke his heart, Eric tried to conceal his emotions and pretended to have moved on from his feelings for Vincent. Lally, on the other hand, was unaware of the fact that there was an emotional tension between her husband and Eric at that point.
What’s interesting about the show is that it presents to the audience a concept that is new – at least in the Philippine TV arena – yet timely. It also does not take sides in the issue of homosexuality or homosexual relationships. Instead, it portrays the matter as something that exists in the real world and in a way that is tasteful and non-offensive to either those who are for or those who are against it. In short, it is not pornography presented in the guise of art but pure drama that revolves around – not homosexuality – but the feeling of “love” in general regardless of sexual orientation.
“My Husband’s Lover” was a risky move for GMA but after two weeks of consistently winning in the ratings and trending on Twitter, it seems that the network has already won in its gamble.
Also, despite of the homosexual/bisexual theme of the series, the program seems to appeal also to (straight) female and male audience groups. In fact, the show is discussed not only in parlors but also in gyms, coffee shops and in offices.
The series also stars Kuh Ledesma, Roi Vinzon, Glydel Mercado, Chanda Romero, Karel Marquez, Bettina Carlos, Victor Basa and Kevin Santos.
Catch the intriguing and thought-provoking story of “My Husband’s Lover” airing weeknights after “Mundo Mo’y Akin” (approx. 9:30pm) on GMA-7.