Leren Bautista clarifies ‘laundry’ posts with Ricci Rivero: ‘We’re just making fun’

(From left) Leren Bautista, Ricci Rivero. Image: Facebook/The UAAP

Leren Bautista again caught the ire of netizens after teasing her boyfriend Ricci Rivero that she should do his laundry, an apparent shade at his ex, actress Andrea Brillantes.

During a brief chat with Ogie Diaz on his vlog last Sunday, Nov. 26, Bautista clarified that her posts were meant to be a joke between her and Rivero in a way to either amuse their followers.

Among her posts were a picture of a laundry basket filled with soiled clothes, but which they adorned like a Christmas tree with a red star on top. She also posted a picture of Rivero during a game, which she captioned: “Wag ka maglaba, ako na (Don’t do the laundry, I’ll do it).”

Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@lerenmaebautista

Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@lerenmaebautista

“‘Yung post na ‘yun, yung Christmas tree post na ‘yun, we’re just making fun of us na lang. Kasi nga, diba, parang na-quote na rin na si [Ricci] ay hindi naglalaba. So, parang kami, ‘Sige, let’s just make fun of it na lang,’” she said.

(That post, that Christmas tree post, we’re just making fun of us. Remember, somebody was quoted saying Ricci doesn’t like doing the laundry? So, for us, we chose to make fun of it instead.)

The remarks were then speculated to be an apparent dig at Brillantes, who revealed last July that an unnamed ex-partner’s inability to do the laundry for a year helped her move on. While the actress didn’t reveal her ex’s identity, it was widely speculated to be Rivero.

The beauty queen-turned-Los Baños councilor then said they opted to view the term “laundry” as a joke, instead of focusing on the negative remarks of bashers regarding her relationship with Rivero.

“Kasi kawawa din naman siya since ganun nga ‘yung tingin ng tao sa kanya na parang hindi nga daw siya naglalaba. Ang sabi ko, ‘Sige ano, gawin na lang nating light yung pagne-negative na ginagawa ng mga tao sa kanya. ‘Yun lang naman yun,” she said.

(Because people see him as someone who doesn’t do the laundry. I said, “Let’s just make the situation light, instead of dwelling on the negative remarks against us.” That’s it.)

When asked about the backlash after the confirmation of their romance, Bautista said she and Rivero opted to focus on their respective careers as a way of showing who they are.

“We’re really focusing on our careers, our work. So, ‘yun lang, we want to stay positive na lang. Kasi ang hirap din if we put focus on the negative. Sabi ko sa kanya, ‘mas ipakita na lang namin kung sino kami with our work (Because it’s hard if we put focus on the negative. I told him, let’s just show who we are through our work),’” she said.

Rivero confirmed his relationship with Bautista last October, while asserting that the latter was not the third party touted to be the cause of his split with Brillantes.