Mariel and Robin Padilla hold back-to-back birthday and welcome-home party for BB Gandanghari | Image: Instagram/@marieltpadilla
Celebrity couple Mariel and Robin Padilla treated BB Gandanghari, formerly known as actor Rustom Padilla, to a surprise birthday and welcome home party.
Mariel took to Instagram to share photos from the party, where celebrity guests including Pops Fernandez, Nadia Montenegro, Marjorie Barretto and Tirso Cruz III graced the occasion.
“Happiest birthday [gandangharibb] Welcome home!!!” she wrote in her Instagram post.
On her own Instagram page, BB Gandanghari, born as Rustom before becoming a trans woman, thanked the couple for the party.
“#Homecoming: a moment of love, joy, and peace amongst family and friends. Thank you [Robinhood Padilla] and [Mariel Padilla] for this wonderful welcome. I love you both. My heart is full,” she wrote in the caption.
In one of the videos she posted, the actress was captured dancing and partying with the rest of the guests as she also delivered a speech.
“This is the happiest moment in my life. No exaggeration. This is the best, biggest party I’ve ever had. And it’s the only surprise I’ve ever had in my life. I never thought I would ever have a surprise,” she expressed.
BB Gandanghari is now based in Los Angeles after she moved there to pursue her Hollywood dream — a journey that she admitted has been “challenging.” She officially became an American citizen in 2022.
The 57-year-old actress is enrolled as a student at the Los Angeles Film School in California, where she is pursuing a second degree. In her Instagram post in February, she shared that she was named Student of the Month.
BB Gandanghari first came out as a member of the LGBTQIA community during his stint as a celebrity housemate on “Pinoy Big Brother” in 2006. Three years later, she made it known that she was transitioning to a female.
After moving to the US, the actress requested to have a Los Angeles court legally recognize her gender as female and officially have her name changed from Rustom to BB Gandanghari; her petition was granted in 2016.
In 2019, BB Gandanghari began undergoing hormone replacement therapy as part of her transition to becoming a woman.