Mikey Bustos and boyfriend RJ Garcia actually met in an elevator

In an episode on Tonight with Arnold Clavio, YouTuber Mikey Bustos shared the story of how he and his boyfriend — and longtime friend and manager,  too — RJ Garcia met.

When he first moved to the Philippines, Mikey first stayed in a Mandaluyong hotel where RJ was his neighbor.

"We met in an elevator and I said 'oh he's like me'  parang I could smell blood," Mikey said.

He then approached RJ and "then I said, 'hey let's go out for a beer.' He said yes and then we went out, and the rest is history."

Since then, the two of them started to making videos on YouTube. They have been together for almost 7 years.

Coming out

According to Mikey, they first announced the news to their family and friends before coming out to the greater public.

"Pero inside we feel like those closest to us already knew," RJ added. "[Of course,] it's different when you vocalize it and make it official."

RJ said he chose to hide the relationship because he felt protective of Mikey, who had become popular in the country.

"Sobrang protective ako kay Mikey, siyempre celebrity si Mikee tapos I worked with him," he said.

The couple decided to reveal their relationship on Easter Sunday to "represent new life."

"We felt like it's time for a new life and we thought it was a very poetic date to make it official," Mikey said.

Mikey and RJ felt overwhelmed and happy for all the support they didn't expect to receive from the LGBTQIA+ community.

"We are new to the LGBTQIA+ and we didn't know how supportive the community was. There was so much love that came in for us on social media," he said.

The Filipino-Canadian vlogger came out last April through an Instagram post.