Filipino Basketball Star Ricci Rivero has faced various reactions from netizens regarding the alleged excuses he made in relation to the allegations of cheating on Filipino actress Andrea Brillantes.
Rivero further addressed this issue on ‘Fast Talk With Boy Abunda.’
During the GMA show’s episode on June 26, Rivero finally broke his silence regarding the allegations of infidelity while he was in a relationship with Brillantes.
Rivero admitted that he and his family received backlash following the controversy. It was because of this that Rivero decided to sit in a one-on-one interview.
“First of all Tito Boy, ito ‘yung main reason kung bakit po ako mag-speak-up. It’s because of my family kasi kung ako lang Tito Boy, wala naman pong problema sa akin e, ‘di ba? Sanay naman po ako na maraming ginagawang kuwento [tungkol sa akin], maraming accusations and everything, kung ako, kaya ko namang tanggapin e, kasi alam ko namang hindi totoo. Pero kapag sa family ko, siguro it’s time for me to step-up and kailangan ko po silang protektahan dito sa mga issues na ganito.
“So ‘yung akin Tito Boy, kung ako okay lang pero ‘wag naman ‘yung pamilya ko,” Rivero said.
He then revealed the reason behind the breakup with the Filipino actress. In April, they initially decided to take a break from each other, but in May, the temporary separation turned into a permanent breakup.
“April this year we took a break, we took a little break from each other. Siguro parang kailangan lang ng breather something like that. Tapos ‘yung breakup was first week ng May talaga totally,” Rivero said.
Rivero also mentioned that they were already facing problems before the breakup.
“Kasi Tito Boy, babalikan ko lang po, before anything else marami na rin po kaming sinusubukang ayusin na problema, personally. Hindi naman siya may mali kasing ganito or may kasalanan or whatsoever, siguro doon lang sa the way we are sa isa’t isa rin,” he said.
“Marami naman siyang puwedeng factors ‘di ba? It could be both ‘yung maturity namin pareho, puwedeng ganon, puwedeng whatever reason lang. So may mga inaayos kami na sa akin normal naman para sa isang relationship,” he added.
Rivero explained that Brillantes saw a girl when she visited him. The girl, according to Rivero, happened to be his friend’s partner. This incident compounded the reasons for their breakup.
“Tito Boy ‘yung cause ng breakup, ‘yung speculations niya na kumakalat sa social media na may nakita siyang girl doon sa place ko. Pero ilang beses na rin naming pinag-usapan ‘to. As in sobrang daming beses na sinabi ko sa kanya with all the evidences I have kasi may mga conversation even with my friends ‘di ba? Na hindi po sa akin ‘yung girl, may papuntang friend ako ng midnight or madaling araw tapos hindi ko naman alam na may kasama siya, tapos ‘yun ‘yung inabutan niya that time,” Rivero explained.
The reaction of netizens to the issue was filled with disappointment towards Rivero.
One netizen shared a personal experience, drawing parallelism between Rivero’s explanation and how her own ex-partner tried to make excuses by claiming the girl in question was not his girlfriend. She jokingly added that she still has not taken revenge against her ex.
https://twitter.com/Ml7008749/status/1673560238241267712?s=20&fbclid=IwAR1KLHOZ3P2U55wLnRRIl2AW9FNex2Bk7HmzJ2gKXpDUf6R8e_zXiU1V_xQ
Another netizen made a sarcastic tweet, expressing indifference towards Rivero and Brillantes’ breakup and suggesting that Tito Boy should ask if Rivero was able to finish his thesis.
tito boy wala kaming pakielam sa break up nila, ang tanungin nyo po ay kung natapos ba nya thesis nya??? charot 1/16 https://t.co/P7ig3Jirqs
— St. Gabe (@gabebalita) June 27, 2023
Another netizen criticized Rivero’s response and said it was a typical excuse used by cheaters.
Despite the negative reactions and doubts expressed by netizens towards Rivero, the basketball star still stands by his words.
Notably, Ricci and Andrea’s relationship became official in April 2022. Recently this June, Ricci confirmed their breakup through a Twitter post. Another episode of Rivero’s interview on the same show will be available for viewing soon.
