I'm genuinely curious: do new fans of Thai BL/GL not research the history of their imaginary couples?
Because I keep seeing newer BounPrem fans having an existential crisis over Boun going on holiday with his friends and BounPrem being generally private after work rather than regularly performing public acts of fanservice, and this is baffling to me as an older fan both in the sense of age and years in fandom. Like, both of those things are completely normal to BounPrem?
Boun's traveled with his friends in winter literally every year he's been able to leave the country. And BounPrem have gotten more private the older and more established they got, which is healthy because it means they value their relationship over the job. Like, if all your imaginary couple does together is visible on the internet, that means they are spending zero time off camera together developing a non-work-related bond or enjoying each other's company. That's why I'm glad KristSingto took three years apart—they became closer off-camera because no one was monetizing them. They just genuinely liked each other and wanted to spend time together, even without being paid to do it.
BounPrem have never taken time apart professionally, so it makes sense that they got more private over the years. Boun literally said at the showcase that they spend most of their rest time at home together, so that's when they get to unwind without finding new ways to React on the spot to fans yelling, "BOUN CAN I HAVE PREM???" for the seven millionth time. (We need a new joke, y'all.)
In fairness, I don't think the change in the industry post-2022(ish) is obvious if you got here after that. Take the oldest pairs at GMMTV as examples: KristSingto and BounPrem began when they were cast in a series together and then their success in those series gave them a foundation. TayNew were working together as TV hosts iirc before they were cast in the Kiss series. EarthMix knew each other privately and Earth asked Mix to audition for Tale of a Thousand Stars. (OffGun I actually don't know for sure but I think they also had their start cast in Puppy Honey.)
BL imaginary couples weren't profitable back then unless you were in a very small fraction with a big name or you did a TON of sponsored work. So there were fewer of them who planned to last long-term and less competition overall. They got to have fun with each other with a mainly domestic Thai audience who are generally a LOT more chill and respect their privacy. (Generally!)
Post-2022, it's a thriving market aiming for money from overseas fans and companies, and there's Big Money to be made from the Thai government, too, so a ton of new actors flowed in wanting a piece of it. GMMTV nowadays seems to view their imaginary couples as Brands first, so BL and GL pairs are put together with the goal of keeping them together long-term so they can be Marketable and Stable like the VERY few who lasted—like BounPrem.
They're the ideal. They built themselves up from the third-tier side couple in UWMA (below Cooheart and Kao) to one of the strongest imaginary couples in the industry. So BounPrem don't have to play the game the same way the newer couples do. They have a committed fanbase domestically and abroad, and it's been growing for the past seven years. Boun doesn't have to hold Prem over his head and yell his love for him every seven seconds in a din of the other seven hundred new Brands vying for attention with various "I LOVE MY PARTNER" Moments.
Basically: if your imaginary couple has been together for over five years consistently getting work and they're quieter now when they're not working that's a good thing.
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