Long before ‘Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition’ brought Bianca de Vera and Esnyr Ranollo together on television, the two had already built a friendship that goes back more than five years.
During the recent ‘Star Magic Spotlight’ press conference, Bianca looked back on their journey and revealed that she and Esnyr had known each other even before either of them entered showbiz.
“Nakakatuwa kasi ang haba na rin pala talaga ng journey natin as friends. Kasi actually, Esnyr and I met before pa kami both naging artista. Like, matagal na talaga. More than five years ago,” Bianca shared.
Their friendship, however, started under rather unexpected circumstances.
According to Esnyr, they first crossed paths at a club when they were younger and still exploring life outside showbiz.
“Sometimes, noong mga bata pa kami, we wanted to explore, ganyan,” he recalled.
One particular encounter that night would eventually become an unforgettable moment in their friendship.
Esnyr shared that a foreign man approached Bianca and attempted to convince her to leave with him.
“Tapos, may isang afam doon sa Palace na nag-hit up sa kanya,” he recalled.
The content creator-turned-celebrity admitted that both of them became nervous when the stranger started approaching Bianca aggressively.
“Tapos natatakot kaming dalawa. Kasi parang, ‘Hey, baby girl, wanna go with me?’ Ganyan-ganyan siya,” Esnyr said.
At the time, Esnyr and Bianca were not yet particularly close, leaving him unsure about how he should respond.
But after noticing that Bianca was already uncomfortable with the situation, Esnyr decided to step in.
His solution? Pretend to be Bianca’s boyfriend.
“Tapos nakita ko kay Bianca na uncomfortable na talaga siya. Kaya nag-step up ako doon. Naglalakihan ako. Sabi ko, ‘Babe, let’s go,’” Esnyr recalled.
Bianca revealed that Esnyr even confronted the man and confidently claimed that she was with him.
“Hinamon niya pa ‘yung lalaki. Sabi niya, ‘Oh, she’s with me, bro,’” Bianca recalled.
For Bianca, that moment became one of the experiences that cemented their friendship.
“So doon talaga nag-strengthen ‘yung bond namin. Hinding-hindi ko ‘yun makakalimutan,” she said.
The actress even joked that the encounter marked the birth of “Bogart,” one of Esnyr’s popular male characters from his viral social media skits.
“At doon na ipinanganak si Bogart,” Bianca quipped.
Esnyr agreed, joking that rescuing Bianca from a random foreigner was certainly not something he expected himself to do.
“Grabe, wala ‘yun sa bingo card na isi-save ko si Bianca from a random na afam,” he said.
What started as an unexpected encounter eventually grew into a friendship that survived their respective journeys into showbiz.
“Parang mas naging close po kami ni Bianca. And years later, we’re here,” Esnyr said.
Years after that memorable night, Bianca and Esnyr would eventually find themselves sharing a much bigger stage as celebrity housemates on ‘Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition,’ allowing viewers to witness a friendship that had already been years in the making.
