Christophe Bariou revealed his first impression of his longtime girlfriend, Nadine Lustre.

In his newly established broadcast channel on Instagram, “Food for Thought,” the Filipino-French businessman said that although he finds Nadine “cute,” the latter’s “hard work” and “purpose-driven” drew him to her.

“Yes, she was cute, but what immediately stood out was how, even on holiday with friends, as soon as she arrived she was hard at work on her laptop while the others relaxed by the pool with cocktails,” he wrote.

Christophe added, “She came across as someone very purpose-driven and (maybe a little too) hardworking.”

Initially, he didn’t want to pursue Nadine because of her celebrity status. “I initially thought, ‘Never mind, no way, I don’t want drama.’ (Always been trying to stay low key),” he said.

“But after talking to her one-on-one, I realized we had a lot in common, and she was surprisingly down-to-earth.”

2022, Nadine revealed that Christophe didn’t know that she was an actress when they first met in July 2021. She clarified, though, that it’s because her beau is not into Filipino showbiz.

“He’s so ignorant when it comes to that so he doesn’t know anything. He didn’t know who I was,” Nadine recalled.

The two were introduced to each other when their common friend invited them to a villa in Siargao. They started cozying up to each other when both of them flew back to Manila after that trip.

“We just never stopped talking and I think that’s one of the things that I love about our dynamics. We always have something to talk about,” she continued. “It’s funny how in sync we are. We like the same things. [We’re like] two peas in a pod.”

‘We’re kind of good influence with each other’

Meanwhile, in August 2023, Lustre and Bariou talked about their romance for the first time, saying that the key to their healthy relationship is their similarities in interests and values.

“I guess we both complement each other and like enhance each other, and that’s what is really cool,” said Christophe. “I think that’s the thing that matters the most in the relationship, it’s we’re both I think way better persons when we’re together,” he added.

Nadine seconded, “Yeah, we both help each other out, we’re kind of good influence with each other.”

Nadine went “Instagram official” with Christophe in January 2022, months after they sparked dating rumors in August 2021.