Michelle Gumabao: No special treatment from BF in the gym

Bb. Pilipinas Globe 2018 Michelle Gumabao has said that she does not receive any special treatment from her boyfriend athlete Aldo Panlilio when she trains in the gym.

"Pag nasa gym kami hindi talaga. Pag nasa gym, he calls me Michelle. I'm not love, I'm not babe. Michelle!" said Gumabao during an interview on "Tonight With Boy Abunda" on ABS CBN.

"That's how he is in the gym, he's very strict. So in the gym, we're not girlfriend and boyfriend. We're coach and athlete," said the athlete-turned-beauty queen from Quezon City.

Gumabao, 25, said that she is in a relationship with Panlilio for almost two years now. Her boyfriend is the head strength and conditioning coach of Phoenix Fuelmasters basketball team.

But Gumabao said that she has no qualms about it. "I got better through it because other coaches they baby you. They always think 'Okay ka lang ba Michelle? May trabaho ka pa mamaya.' Not Aldo."

The former member of the De La Salle University Lady Spikers women's volleyball team also clarified reports that she was almost disqualified from Bb. Pilipinas 2018 pageant due to a wet pictorial.

"It was about my picture. When I graduated college, this was around 2013. It was a very controversial photo shoot. It was the first time ever to happen in the Philippines. This was at the same time Toby's launched their women empowerment campaign," Gumabao said. She was referring to the the images that showed her in action shots as if in a volleyball match. In one photo, she appeared to be completely naked with splashes of water concealing parts of her body.

"Even before screening, they ask you about these things. And I was very upfront about it. Sabi ko I have these pictures, these are the original pictures. You see that I have a nude underwear on. Then edited na lang yung splash ng water. So they knew about it ever since," Gumabao said.

But she pointed out that she has restrictions when it comes to nudity. "I have restrictions. I do have restrictions. As long as in the context of sports, as long as I am not selling my body."

Gumabao recalled how she decided to join the Bb. Pilipinas 2018 pageant.

"Inside the court I am really different. A lot of people are making hirit on the side. Pag ini-interview kasi ako pagdating sa volleyball, pag sumasagot ako ever since ganun na talaga. So I'm very bonggacious. So sabi nila 'mag beauty pageant ka, mag beauty pageant ka.' So laging sagot ko no! no! Hindi yan para sa akin;

"Last year, I had lunch and na open up naman nila sa akin yung topic na 'Michelle baka gusto mong mag Binibini.' So pinakilala po nila ako kay Jonas (Gaffud), and Tita Isabelle (Rivas) that's how she got involved also because she also helped my cousin before Kristine Floirendo to win Miss World;

"And then sila po yung tumulong sa akin. All of them, it was really a joint family effort for me to join Bb. Pilipinas because it was really a tough decision.

How did she prepare for Bb. Pilipinas 2018 contest?

"Mentally po talaga. Binibini for me was a big risk. And I prepared by consulting my family first because being the bread winner of the family, it's hard to make decisions just based on your own dreams;

"So being in Binibining Pilipinas, it was a huge investment. Time, you have to leave from your work, you have to take a leave from your life and focus. I'm coaching, I'm hosting. I have to stop everything for two and a half months," she said.

Gumabao, camp director of the Alaska Volleyball Powercamp, said that she is excited about the training the Bb. Pilipinas has to offer for the reigning queens.

"For Miss Globe I wanna know more about the pageant. Know more what they want in a woman, who they find beautiful, how they find beautiful. I'm gonna talk to Nelda (Ibe) because she's our Miss Globe Philippines 2017. She was so nice enough that we will meet, we're gonna talk about Miss Globe and of course, Binibini training, They have a lot in store for us for the next few months so I'm so excited to jump into that," she said. - ROBERT REQUINTINA