The parents of Ricci Rivero gave their blessing to his new relationship with Leren Mae Bautista.
On the basketball player’s “hard launch” post on Instagram, where he confirmed his romance with the beauty queen-turned-politician, his father Ruzcko hoped for God to bless the couple.
“We love you and we will always be here praying for you guys,” Ruck said. “Take care of each other, love each other, respect each other, and always put God in the center of your relationship.”
Ricci’s mother Abigail, meanwhile, appeared to have alluded to her son’s previous relationship with actress Andrea Brillantes, saying, “Walang niloko at walang nanloko.”
“[S]adyang hindi lang sila ang gustong magkatuluyan ng tadhana,” Abigail said, without naming anyone.
She noted some relationships work out while others don’t, and that “God will end a relationship if it’s TOXIC.”
“If you’re in a toxic environment, you do not need to ‘get used to it for a long time’ or ‘just get over it,’” Abigail said, adding, “God wants you to remove yourself from these situations.”
She then talked about a “healthy relationship,” in which “there is oneness of goals, purpose, VALUES & BELIEFS.”
“Keep your relationship healthy by LISTENING, talking, accepting, managing conflict, making time for each other, and praying together,” she told Rivero and Bautista. “May Father God almighty bless you both!”
Ricci confirmed his relationship with Leren on Oct. 21, writing a heartfelt letter about finding “the right one.”
“Hindi tayo magtatago dahil walang dapat ikahiya. Walang nang-agaw at walang inagaw,” he said. “Walang bibitaw dahil masaya tayong magkahawak kamay.”
He promised to “never again live a life manipulated by someone’s fantasy” without naming anyone.
Ricci’s previous relationship with Andrea started in April 2022. They confirmed their breakup in June this year.
A month before that, Ricci spent his birthday with Leren in Los Baños in Laguna, where she’s a councilor, and distributed food packs to constituents.
This sparked dating rumors between them, but Leren denied this and said it was an outreach activity that’s “not an indication of a romantic relationship between them.”
In the coming weeks, Ricci and Leren would be spotted together in several locations, holding hands in public, jogging in the park, and watching a basketball game.
Andrea, meanwhile, made a cryptic post following the “hard launch” post with the lyrics of Kali Uchis’s Hasta Canto, which read: “Whatever makes you feel better / Paint me as the villain if that makes you feel better.”
