Andrea Brillantes says 'Happy Independence Day to me' amid reported breakup with Ricci Rivero
Andrea Brillantes, whose relationship with basketball star Ricci Rivero had reportedly ended, seemingly took a swipe at the matter last Independence Day.
During a guest appearance in the June 12 episode of It's Showtime!, the actress did an opening number in drag. Host Vice Ganda then commended her performance.
“Happy Independence Day,” Vice said, to which Brillantes cheekily responded, "I know, happy Independence Day to me and to all of us."
Vice then noted how they're already free from the "nega" (negativity) and pain.
"Ako lang ito," Brillantes said.
Vice's co-host Jhong Hilario then said Brillantes brought gifts to the audience, as she noted, "Ganoon po ako magmahal."
Later in the show, Vice asked Brillantes to whom she will pass a ball she had caught in one of their segments.
“Bola, what’s that?" Brillantes jokingly said. "Ayoko na!”
For days, social media was abuzz with rumors of Rivero and Brillantes breaking up, especially that Rivero was seen in the Instagram Story of Leren Mae Bautista, a former beauty queen who's now a municipal councilor in Los Baños in Laguna.
Rivero also spent his birthday with Bautista in Los Baños last May 25, distributing food packs to constituents. Brillantes wasn't seen together with him that day, much less posted about him.
Netizens were quick to speculate that they've already called it quits, while alleging Rivero of cheating on Brillantes.
But Rivero in a June 9 tweet addressed the rumors, saying he owns up to the "mistake" of not making his relationship status public. He didn't explicitly mention Andrea or their assumed breakup.
He asked the public to stop creating their "own versions" of the story and "dragging other characters into these false accusations."
Brillantes, meanwhile, kept tight-lipped about the issue and was just posting photos of herself, including ones in Spain.
Bautista, for her part, on June 12 dismissed claims of "romantic involvement" with Rivero, saying they're "entirely false and have no basis in reality."
Bautista said Rivero's visit, which is part of an "outreach activity," is "not an indication of a romantic relationship between them."
Rivero and Brillantes became official on April 9 last year, when he asked for her hand in court after the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons won against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
They went viral last March with Brillantes' “promposal” to Rivero during K-pop supergroup BLACKPINK's concert at the Philippine Arena.
