Just when you think you’ve figured out where a love story is going, Always Yours, Never Mine asks you to wait a little longer. Directed by Cathy Garcia-Sampana, the new romance-drama film starring Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia follows two people who continue to find each other across 30 years, even as they become different versions of themselves.
At its heart, the film asks: What if love could find its way through time—and through all the changes that come with it?
MEGA sat down with the two stars, who shared what it was like to navigate their characters through different stages of life, return to the set with Cathy Garcia-Sampana, and grow as actors along the way.
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The Right Time, Eventually
Across 30 years, Apollo (Joshua Garcia) and Luna (Julia Barretto) seem to always find each other. We see them in different stages and seasons of their lives, constantly wondering if this might finally be the right time for them to be together.
“It’s actually a life story,” writer Vanessa R. Valdez said at the press conference. “It’s about how we love our lives, the choices we make, and even the choices we don’t make.”
For Barretto, the title itself already gives away the film’s central question.
“I think the title itself kind of explains where the story is going,” Barretto told MEGA. “It’s about two people who just can’t get their timing right because they’re ever-changing, and each time that they find each other again. It’s why I find it so exhilarating because you just don’t know when it’s going to happen.”
And that uncertainty is what keeps the audience waiting. As Barretto describes it, the film constantly has you asking: When will it finally happen?
Or perhaps the bigger question is: Will it ever happen?
The Cathy Garcia-Sampana Method
Because Always Yours, Never Mine spans 30 years, Barretto and Garcia have to move through different ages, experiences, and versions of their characters. For Garcia, that meant taking on a character much older than himself.
“I portrayed a 49-year-old,” he shared with a laugh.
But the film’s maturation isn’t only about age. It’s also about how Apollo and Luna—and the actors playing them—change emotionally and mentally as the story moves forward.
Much of that transformation came through working with director Cathy Garcia-Sampana, whom the pair had worked with before. For Barretto, this marks their second project together following Unexpectedly Yours (2017). For Garcia, it is his third collaboration with Garcia-Sampana, following Unexpectedly Yours and Meet, Greet, & Bye (2025).
“Cathy has really brought out something in us that we didn’t know was there, which we’re so grateful that she didn’t settle or give up on us. How was she different in Meet, Greet, & Bye?” Barretto asked her co-star.
“Actually, she’s the same—how she motivates me and kung paano niya ako dinadala sa character ko (how she brings me into my character),” Garcia answered.
That same commitment carried over from their previous collaborations. In Meet, Greet, & Bye, Garcia famously came to set unbathed to fully embody his character’s circumstances—as per Director Cathy’s orders. This time, the challenge was different, but the commitment remained.
“Wild,” Barretto described working with Garcia-Sampana. “She’s like a teacher. There’s really something new.”
“Kailangan hindi ka pumuntang prepared,” Garcia chimed in. “Kasi pagdating mo sa set, scratch lahat ng preparations mo.” (You have to come to set unprepared because once you get there, all your preparations go out the window.)
Barretto nodded at that. “You don’t know what she’s going to ask you.”
“I think she’s one of the greatest teachers. There was really something we were learning every single day.”
– Julia Barretto on working with Director Cathy Garcia-Sampana
The Work Behind the Romance
After working together for several years, Barretto and Garcia may already know each other well as scene partners—but Always Yours, Never Mine presented a different kind of challenge.
“We’re so challenged in this movie,” Barretto said with a laugh.
“May mga times na I don’t know what to do,” Garcia admitted with a smile. (There are times when I don’t know what to do.)
The pair found themselves constantly questioning their choices on set, wondering whether they were approaching a scene correctly or simply getting through it.
“Especially when you’re diving into a new [kind] of character, getting to know a new person you have to become—that’s so challenging on its own,” Barretto explained. “Honestly, also the timing of when to be there for each other.”
That sentiment mirrors the relationship between Apollo and Luna, who are constantly figuring out when to reach for each other and when to let each other grow on their own.
But the most difficult part may have been keeping up with the film’s constantly shifting timelines.
“Kaka-live lang namin sa chapter na ’yun, we had to already be in a different timeline,” the two agreed. (We had just lived through that chapter, and we already had to be in a different timeline.)
From 18-year-olds to characters in their 20s, 30s, and eventually 40s, the actors had to repeatedly shed one version of their characters and discover another. It meant approaching Apollo and Luna almost as new people each time they returned to them.
A Rebirth on Set
“Working with Director Cathy changed me for sure,” Barretto shared. “You really come out of the set a different person as an actor. To have her as a mentor for the duration of the movie, it’s life-changing as an actor. You have to have so much humility that you’re willing to restart. It’s like a rebirth. You have to scratch everything you’ve learned, be willing to learn new things, be a new actor, and be taught by her.”
Garcia, deep in thought, agreed.
“Tinanggal niya mga bad habits namin. ’Pag galing ka kasing series o teleserye, may habits ka na sobrang teleserye—reaksyon, pagbato mo ng mga linya, ’yun ’yung mga tinatanggal niya.” (She took away our bad habits. When you come from a series or teleserye, you develop habits that feel very teleserye—the reactions, the way you deliver your lines. Those are the things she removes.)
But beyond the technical side of acting, Garcia found that stepping into Apollo became personal.
“Portraying Apollo changed me,” he said. “Personally”
He also noticed a distinct difference in working with a female director this time around. “Iba pa rin talaga ang touch ng isang babaeng director. Ang lambot ng pelikula.” (There’s really something different about the touch of a female director. The film feels softer.)
When Love Meets Choice
As Always Yours, Never Mine moves through Apollo and Luna’s lives, its story ultimately becomes about more than whether the two will end up together. Love is part of it, but so are timing, circumstance, and the choices that shape an entire life.
“Because of your choices, are you happy with your life?” Barretto asked.
It’s a question that sits at the heart of the film. Because not every love story follows the same path, and romance may only be one part of what makes a life feel fulfilled.
“We’re also so focused on the love story, we’re forgetting the general theme of the whole material,” the actress pointed out. “Like what she [Vanessa Valdez] said earlier, there are choices that we make and we don’t make that establish our whole life in the end.”
And if Apollo and Luna’s story is ultimately about the choices that bring—or keep—them apart, there was one thing MEGA couldn’t resist asking: Are their characters happy in the end?
“Yes,” the two answered.
Always Yours, Never Mine opens in cinemas nationwide on September 30, 2026.
Featured Image and Photos: STAR CINEMA
Frequently Asked Questions
Always Yours, Never Mine follows Apollo (Joshua Garcia) and Luna (Julia Barretto) as they repeatedly find each other across 30 years, exploring how love, timing, and life choices shape who they become.
Always Yours, Never Mine, directed by Cathy Garcia-Sampana, opens in cinemas nationwide on September 30, 2026.
Yes. This is Barretto’s second project with Garcia-Sampana after Unexpectedly Yours (2017), and Garcia’s third, following Unexpectedly Yours and Meet, Greet, & Bye (2025).
The actors portrayed their characters across decades, from 18-year-olds to their 20s, 30s, and eventually their 40s, with Garcia noting he played a 49-year-old version of Apollo.
Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia confirmed to MEGA that their characters are happy by the end of the film, though the story centers as much on life choices as it does on romance.
