7 out of 10 Filipino viewers watched The Legal Wife finale behind a legitimate dramatic sensation

True to form, it was a dramatic ending for the Filipinos' five-month "love affair" with ABS-CBN’s phenomenal hit primetime drama “The Legal Wife”. The show broke ratings records last June 13 after more than half of the Philippine TV viewing population watched its finale. Dubbed as ‘End of an Affair,’ it hit an audience share of 68% in combined urban and rural homes nationwide.

After consistently slaying its rival shows on the same time slot, trending on social media and remaining a sizzling water cooler topic throughout its entire run, “The Legal Wife's" finale soared remarkably high despite its late primetime slot, with a national TV rating of 36.2% according to TV audience measurement data from multinational market research group Kantar Media. Its ratings more than quadrupled its rival program’s rating of only 8.8%, making it also the most watched program in the Philippines last Friday.

“The Legal Wife” captivated the audience with its compelling plot about a woman named Monica who struggled to save her marriage and fought for her rights as the legal wife after her husband Adrian cheated on her with her own best friend Nicole.

Viewers, especially female teens and up, were emotionally hooked on the show as events unfolded that lead to Adrian's marital infidelity and how it threatened to destroy his marriage and family. They sympathized and identified with the feisty Monica, relating with her hurts, rallying behind her when she physically expresses rage towards her best friend, and finding a voice for some of their hidden resentment and anger. The show also effectively tapped into everyone's fear of betrayal from a person one loves and trusts, personified by the characters of Adrian and Nicole.

Apart from the controversially relatable theme and the anticipation for confrontations between the main characters, viewers were also awed by the exemplary acting prowess of its top-caliber cast led by International Emmy nominated actress Angel Locsin of “She-Wolf” as Monica, Asian superstar Jericho Rosales of “The Promise” as Adrian and sought-after Filipina actress Maja Salvador as Nicole.

In the finale, Monica, Adrian and Nicole ended with forgiveness and with hopes of starting anew in life and in love. This elicited mixed reactions from the audience, especially in the online world, thus the hashtag #TheLegalWifeFinale trended worldwide and nationwide via micro-blogging site Twitter.

“The Legal Wife” first aired on Philippine primetime TV last January 27 and since then the drama became part of Filipinos’ everyday routine. Fans would stay up until 9:15 PM just to watch the show while some would catch up online via video-on-demand website iWantTV. While netizens post their thoughts real time via social media, others would surely talk about it the next day in the office, in school, or wherever they may be.

Owing to its emotional tension, courage and realism, "The Legal Wife" was a remarkable TV affair to remember forever.