Former Bb. Pilipinas Grand International Samantha Lo goes Instagram official with partner Jannica Rubin
She once proved that beauty can come with brains and now, former beauty queen Samantha Lo is out to tell the world that love knows no gender.
On Jan. 18, the Binibining Pilipinas Grand International 2019 took to Instagram to announce her relationship with her partner Jannica Rubin.
The Instagram reel shared by Lo shows the couple slow dancing as musician Sam Hashimoto plays a love song in the background. Lo and Rubin can also be seen sharing kisses in between.
The beauty queen's revelation came in time for her girlfriend's birthday, as written in her post's caption.
"Happy birthday little pea @jaaaanniiii"
Lo has been mentioning her girlfriend on Instagram posts since September 2020 and has been a proud ally of the LGBTQ+ community since she was crowned four years ago.
The beauty queen was present along with Bb. Pilipinas 2019 titleholders when the organization held a press conference in that year to announce its campaign for Pride Month. At that time, Bb. Pilipinas Supranational 2019 Resham Saeed led the ladies in showing their support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Lo, for her part, expressed her love for the rainbow community by saying, "I just want to say thank you for coming, supporting the Pride Walk today and supporting Rae... But like what Aya (Bb. Pilipinas 2019 first runner-up) said, love is love.”
Five months after the event, on Nov. 27, Lo resigned from her role as Binbining Pilipinas Grand International following controversies that began when she competed in the Miss Grand International Pageant in Valenzuela.
Prior to arriving in the country, Lo was detained in Paris due to issues with her passport, which was reportedly secured through illegal means.
In 2020, the beauty queen was named the female champion of that year's Century Tuna Superbods competition. Lo celebrated her win with an Instagram post thanking her family and Rubin, who she said was the key to her victory.
"I learned that real victory starts with the people you surround yourself with; because titles come and go but who will be waiting for you outside of those doors after you have passed that title on?" her caption read.
"That’s how I stayed strong, no matter what kind of pandemic 2020 has to bring I know that I will stand tall because this is the kind of love that surrounds me," Lo continued. "Do yourself one right, fill your life with love because we all deserve that."