Celebrity couple Rabiya Mateo and Jeric Gonzales. Image: Instagram/@rabiyamateo
After his girlfriend, beauty queen-actress Rabiya Mateo, surprised him at the airport earlier this month, Kapuso actor Jeric Gonzales returned the favor when he recently surprised Mateo at the airport and asked her to be his date for the upcoming GMA Gala.
But Gonzales’ romantic gesture soon became a comedy of errors when Mateo appeared to have mistakenly assumed that he was there to propose marriage!
On Instagram on Sunday, the couple both shared separate videos of their airport rendezvous, leading to Gonzales handing her a bouquet of white blooms. A flustered Mateo — who just landed in Manila after a judging stint in a beauty contest in South Cotabato — could be seen laughing upon spotting him with the flowers, and then she scuttled back towards a companion.
The “Start-Up PH” actor then rolled out a piece of purple cartolina paper in which the following words were scribbled: “Will you be my GMA Gala date, Rabiya?” The Miss Universe Philippines titleholder then went back to his side and finally said “yes” to his “proposal” before sharing a hug.
In his post’s caption, the actor thanked his girlfriend for accepting his proposal to be his date for the Kapuso gala night set for July 22. “She said Yes!!! Thank you sa pagpayag na maging date ko (for agreeing to be my date) on GMA Gala, I love you @rabiyamateo [heart emoji],” said the actor, who jokingly shared how he was finally able to get back at Mateo with a surprise — also “with cartolina” — of his own.
Mateo also took to Instagram to share about her boyfriend’s surprise, uploading snaps from and a video of their sweet encounter. She would simply caption her post writing, “And I said ‘YES’ [heart emoji] Thank you and I love you @jericgonzales07.”
“Di mo pa sinasagot,” Gonzales pointed out in the video, to which Mateo said, “Oo naman.”
Among those who witnessed and recorded the gala night proposal was reigning Miss Universe Philippines Michelle Dee, who was one of the hosts of Mutya ng South Cotabato 2023.
On her Instagram Stories, the beauty queen-entrepreneur shared a clip from the pair’s interaction and wrote, “Edi sana all [crying face emoji],” as to say that she hopes the same happens for everybody.
Screenshot of Michelle Dee’s Instagram Story
Several followers including Kapuso stars also reacted to the actor’s proposal including Mateo’s “Royal Blood” co-star Lianne Valentin, who commented on her post, “[K]ilig to the bonez ang beshy ko!!! (My best friend felt thrilled to the bones!!!) [emojis].” Yasmien Kurdi and Shaira Diaz, who both have previously worked with Gonzales, also left reactions on Mateo’s post.
Screenshots from Rabiya Mateo’s Instagram page
The couple confirmed their relationship in March 2022, but after a few months would unfollow each other on Instagram, leaving people the impression that they have called it quits.
Following the break-up controversy, the pair remained “good friends,” but in February this year, would draw out talks that they’ve gotten back together after a romantic post-Valentine’s exchange on Instagram. EDV