Trigger warning: Physical abuse
Miss Multinational Philippines 2021 Shaila Rebortera claimed being asked to apologize after supposedly sustaining bruises from her former partner.
Shaila previously shared pictures of herself marked with bruises on her arms and legs on her social media accounts. She also tagged her then-partner Rob Gomez, an actor, on her posts.
After her posts drew attention online, the beauty queen quickly deleted them.
Days later, Shaila shared an update about her life with Rob.
On August 13, she claimed that “his” mother asked her to say sorry hours after she posted the pictures of her injuries. She did not mention Rob’s name in her post.
“After over a year of being silent about the abuse, I’m happy I was able to speak my truth. Just hours after the photos of the bruises were uploaded, his mother asked for me to say sorry in exchange for being able to stay with them. I decided to leave,” Shaila said.
Shaila then claimed that other girls have also reached out to her to tell her about the alleged abuse they experienced from the same person.
She was also informed about the alleged cheating incidents during their relationship.
At that time, the British-Filipina model claimed that “he was keeping our relationship and our baby ‘private’ for his career.”
“I feel sick hearing about all these now,” Shaila said.
“Nonetheless, I am grateful to everyone who has shown me support and has helped me get back on my feet. To those who messaged me to let me know I’m not alone, thank you,” she added.
“I know I should have spoken sooner, but the next best time is now,” the Cebuana model said.
Beauty queens and models rallied behind her in the comments section of her post.
“Sending love and prayers to you and your baby Doc @shailarebortera. We love you and support you!” Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomez said.
“Proud of you Shy! Love you!” Steffi Aberasturi, Miss Universe Philippines 2021 runner-up, commented.
“It breaks my heart to see this knowing that you are way beyond those people who caused you this. It takes courage to step out of faith and I admire you for doing so. Know that God sees everything and there’s always room for these kinds of people,” Lea Macapagal, former candidate of Miss World Philippines 2021, also expressed.
As of writing, Rob has not yet addressed the issue.
These claims and posts came shortly after Shaila revealed to the public she had a child with Rob. Their daughter’s name is Amelia.
She posted the series of photos of her with Amelia on Instagram on August 4.