Gabbi Garcia looks back on failed 'Pinoy Big Brother' audition: 'I was really frustrated'

Gabbi Garcia looked back at her humble beginnings in showbiz in an episode of Luis Manzano’s online interview series, “Luis Listens.”

Before she was known as the Kapuso It Girl, Gabbi said she enjoyed performing in front of an audience ever since she was a kid. She isn’t part of a showbiz family, so she went through the whole process of lining up at auditions and castings.

“Common notion ng mga tao about me [would be that] I got it easy sa pagpasok sa showbiz kasi bigla nalang ako nag-appear out of nowhere. So akala nila may connection ganyan, pero hindi talaga,” Gabbi told Luis.

“I did the whole process: auditions, pila, callback. Nag-audition pa ‘ko sa ‘PBB,’” she added. “Ano lang ako nun, like 13 years old.”

Gabbi recalled that she saw the auditions for the reality show on TV, and she and her mom lined up to apply at the SM Mall of Asia.

She even had to stay in the line overnight.

“Nag-start ako pumila, mga morning. And then, I finished 5 a.m. Nakaharap ko sila Direk Lauren [Dyogi] ng mga 5 a.m. na.”

However, Gabbi did not make it to the show.

“Parang umabot ako dun sa Bahay ni Kuya, parang third callback and then hindi na ko natawag.”

She admitted that it was hard for her back then.

“That time kasi, I was really frustrated. When I was younger, nag-mo-modelling na ‘ko. The usual, nag-te-TV [shoot].”

When GMA and ABS-CBN finally collaborated for "Unbreak My Heart," Gabbi told the bosses, “I actually met you guys when I was younger before, because I auditioned for ‘PBB.’”

“Unbreak My Heart” is the historic collaboration of GMA Network and ABS-CBN. Gabbi starred alongside Jodi Sta. Maria, Joshua Garcia, and Richard Yap.

Gabbi was also one of the stars of the megaserye “Mga Lihim ni Urduja.”

She is set to return as Alena in the upcoming series “Sang’gre.”

Recently, she was named the first Filipina global ambassador for international shoes and accessories brand Aldo. In November, she launched her own beauty brand, Five Beauty. —Nika Roque/JCB, GMA Integrated News