Sam Milby and Catriona Gray. Image: Jolo Luarca via Instagram/@samuelmilby
Months after confirming her engagement to Sam Milby, Catriona Gray revealed that their wedding will take place sometime by “next year” as they want to enjoy the bliss of being an engaged couple.
Gray spoke about making the most out of her time as an engaged woman during an interview with celebrity doctor Vicki Belo, which was uploaded on the latter’s YouTube channel on Thursday, May 18.
“Oh gosh, mga next year,” she said in response to Belo, who asked her about the exact date of their wedding.
“I just want to enjoy this season. It’s a once in a lifetime season, so we just want to enjoy it and take our time,” she added.
During the interview, the Miss Universe 2018 titleholder admitted that while she and Milby knew each other “for a long time,” she didn’t fall in love with the singer-actor at first sight even if they had a “lot of mutual friends.”
“We had a lot of mutual friends. And when I did [Binibining Pilipinas], my stylist was also his stylist. So, we had a lot of common friends. But it wasn’t until the end of 2018 where I had gone to Japan with Erickson [Raymundo] who is my mentor, [and] who happens to be Sam’s manager,” she said.
“So, we were like, ‘Oh, have you gone to church?’ ‘Let’s go to church.’ I went with Erickson… and that’s where I met Sam again there. And we just happened to run in similar circles,” Gray continued. She, however, didn’t indicate the moment where they crossed paths for the first time.
God-centered relationship
Gray also said that she and Milby share a relationship that is God-centered, where she noted that being with a Christian partner made her realize the importance of “guard[ing] her heart.”
“At first, before I was Christian, I didn’t understand what it means to be Christian. I didn’t understand the rules and boundaries that are meant to be put in place for young Christian couples, but when I grew up, I realized that they’re there to protect you and guide you because it really does guard your heart in the most amazing way,” she said.
The former beauty queen admitted that she was “so guarded and apprehensive” when she met Milby for the first time, but it was “gentle” personality that made her fall in love with him.
“I felt like I was so guarded and apprehensive when I first met Sam. But he is just such a gentle and patient person that he really made me feel safe with him,” she said. “I never felt that he wanted to use who I was. [Since] I’m a [type of] public figure [who is] Miss Universe, there’s this kind of hesitancy if this person likes me for me, or do they just want to be associated with me, but he always made me feel safe.”
Gray also shared that the singer-actor “really made an effort” to know her family and friends during the course of their relationship.
“He never made me feel that he was trying to use [who I am] to his advantage, or anything. And we have such similar values, one being our faith. Two, we’re both super family-oriented that he really made an effort with my family and friends,” she said.
The “Raise Your Flag” singer then revealed that while Milby didn’t win the affections of her parents right away, he eventually won over them completely.
“Right away? Um, they’re a bit more, just wanting to know more about him a bit more, but once they got to know him, they really love him. So with our engagement, they’re really so happy. My dad was tearing up because he’s so happy,” she added.
When asked about having kids in the future, Gray admitted that she wanted to have “maybe two children” but she’s leaning towards having “one boy and one girl” or “two girls” when the time comes. EDV
“Because I’m so close to my mom, and I really love our relationship together. So my heart would just burst when I have a little girl,” she explained.
Gray and Milby confirmed their engagement in February 2023, although they remain tight-lipped about the details of their wedding.
The couple went public with their relationship in May 2020, which happened to fall on the exact date of the singer-actor’s 36th birthday. EDV