Marco Gumabao reveals Cristine Reyes gets upset at ‘cougar’ remark

Marco Gumabao and Cristine Reyes | Images: Instagram/@cristinereyes, @gumabaomarco

Marco Gumabao recalled an old interview with his girlfriend, Cristine Reyes, in which she made a “cougar” remark about dating him and revealed that Reyes got upset at the time when people were bringing back her statement when they started dating for real.

Sitting down on Fast Talk with Boy Abunda, the couple talked about Reyes’ previous statement in 2019, “Ano ako cougar? (What am I, a cougar?)” when asked about Gumabao if he would be more of a “tropa” (friend) or a “jowa” (boyfriend).

“When I posted a photo na kami na during that time so nagresurface ‘yung interview mo with her, the ‘cougar’ and everything so all her friends were messaging her naiinis siya, napipikon talaga siya,” Gumabao revealed. 

(When I posted a photo to announce that we are officially together, your old interview with her resurfaced, with the ‘cougar’ remark and everything, so all her friends were messaging her, and she got really upset.)

Despite teasing his now-girlfriend, Gumabao justified that things like that happen when people say things that they usually regret in the end.

“Alam mo ‘yung pag nakikita mo ‘yung itchura niya napipikon siya kapag sinesend ng mga tao ‘yon or kapag inaasar siya. Para kasing kinain niya ‘yung sinabi niya pero okay lang naman ‘yon. Ganon naman minsan, we say things na binabawi natin.” 

(You know the look on her face when people send a screenshot of that interview or when she gets teased about it, as it appears to be that she ate her own words, but that’s really okay. Sometimes we say things that we eventually revoke.)

Reyes emphasized that she is now more careful with the words she says out loud, yet although she noted that if she were asked the same question in the same year, she would still be answering the same thing.

“Kaya sobrang careful nako magsalita kasi baka bumalik ulit sakin. Kasi naman nung na ‘yon talaga namang way younger si Marco sakin. Feeling ko nung time na ‘yon kung tatanungin mo ako I think same answer pa rin,”

(I’m now more careful with the things I say because they eventually get me in the end. At the time, [I felt] Marco was way younger than I. Based on my feeling at that time, if you were to ask me the same question, I would still give the same answer.)

The two started dating early in 2023 and announced their relationship to the public in April of the same year. Reyes also confirmed that she and her former partner, Ali Khatibi, has been officially annulled.