Carlos Yulo breaks silence on rift with mother; finances, relationship with girlfriend among issues

Carlos Yulo on Tuesday afternoon broke his silence and addressed the rift between him and his mother Angelica in a lengthy TikTok video posted just days after his double gold medal feat at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Among the issues the 24-year-old Filipino gymnast spoke about was the management of finances, including the incentives he received after capturing two medals in the World Championships in November 2022 in the UK.

Yulo, who bagged one silver and one bronze in the said tournament, shared the ‘six-digit’ incentive went into a bank account of his that his mother managed and said he didn't know it was received until he asked about it when he flew back to the Philippines in December of the same year.

"May mga gusto lang po akong i-clarify doon sa mga interviews at mga sagot ng nanay ko sa mga interviews niya po. Unang-una po, ‘yung 70k na incentives na sinasabi niya from World Championships 2021, unang-una 2022 po ‘yun at hindi lang po 70k ‘yung na-receive ko po doon, alam ko six digits po ‘yun dahil dalawa po ‘yung nakuha kong medalya," Yulo said in a TikTok video.

"Hindi ko pa po malalaman na na-receive na niya po ‘yung incentives ko kung hindi ko pa po hinanap," he said.

[There's just something I want to clarify about the responses of my mother in interviews. First of all, the 70k in incentives that she said was from World Championships 2021, that was from 2022, and it isn't just 70k that I received. To my knowledge, that should be six digits because I was able to win two medals... I wouldn't have even known that she already received the incentives if I didn't look for it.]

Yulo said he's not really after the incentive, but stressed he just wants to know where it all went.

"Never ko na po na-receive ‘yung incentives ko po na ‘yun at never ko na rin hiningi ‘yun sa kanila. Binigay ko na at wala na po ‘yun sa akin. Ang sa akin lang naman, gusto ko lang malaman kung saan napunta 'yung incentives. ‘Yung principle po kasi dito ay wala sa liit o laki ng amount po ng incentives na ginalaw niya, kundi po sa pagtago at paggalaw niya nang wala akong consent."

[I was never able to receive those incentives and I never asked it from them. I gave it and it's not an issue for me. But on my part, I just want to know where it went. The principle here is not how small or large the amount of the incentives that she used, but how it was hidden and used without my consent.]

Relationship with girlfriend

Yulo also defended his relationship with partner Chloe San Jose from what he was believed to be judgement from his mother. He admitted that the issues with his mother began when he started dating Chloe and addressed some events in the video.

"At ‘yung about sa red flag daw po si Chloe. Hinusgahan niya po agad si Chloe sa pananamit at sa pag-akto po niya. Magkaiba po ng kinalakihan. Unang-una, lumaki si Chloe sa Australia. At ayun ‘yung nakagisnan niyang culture," Yulo said.

"At ‘yung about sa ‘mauubos ‘yung anak ko’ na sabi po ng mama ko. Unang-una po, si Chloe ay may sariling income. Lahat ng nakikita niyong gamit o ‘yung pag-travel niya kung saan-saan, galing po ‘yun sa pinagpaguran niya."

[And about how Chloe is supposedly a red flag. She judged Chloe for the way she dressed and behaved. She had a different upbringing. First of all, Chloe grew up in Australia and that is the culture that she knows... And about how my mama said 'my son will have nothing left'. Chloe has her own income. All of the things you see or the traveling that she does to different places, that all comes from her hard work.]

Despite their rift, Yulo was willing to acknowledge the fact that his mother remains proud of him.

"May recent interview po kayo na cino-congratulate niyo po ako. Kung genuine po talaga kayo, Ma, maraming salamat po and ina-acknowledge ko po 'yung pagco-congratulate niyo sa akin."

[You had a recent interview where you congratulated me. If you are really genuine, Ma, thank you very much and I acknowledge you congratulating me.]

READ MORE | Carlos Yulo’s message to mom: 'Napatawad ko na kayo a long time ago'

He also said he had forgiven his mother and expressed hope that she would heal.

On Monday, Yulo's mother Angelica denied in a 24 Oras report that she had taken money from her son's accounts. Despite their rift, she said she was happy for her son's achievement in Paris.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News