(From left) Herlene Budol and Rob Gomez. Images: Instagram/@herlene_budol, @robgomez.23
More than a year after Herlene Budol was embroiled in a text scandal with Rob Gomez, Budol revealed that she sought professional help in dealing with the controversy.
The controversy stemmed from screenshots posted on Gomez’s Instagram page in December 2023 about his alleged intimate conversations with Budol. The two were co-stars in the GMA series “Magandang Dilag.” Gomez, who was then in a relationship with another beauty queen, Shaila Rebortera, later on claimed he was not the one who posted the screenshots, and that there was nothing going on between him and Budol.
Budol finally addressed the issue at the media con for her upcoming drama “Binibining Marikit,” saying she had to seek the help of a psychiatrist to help her cope with the backlash of the cheating controversy.
“Ever since pumutok po ‘yung issue na ‘yun, sabi ko, ‘ah okay.’ Kasi hindi naman ‘yun mawawala. Nagpa-doktor… nagpa-psychiatrist na po ako para mas ma-process ko siya nang maayos, na bakit may mga gan’ung klaseng tao na kailangan kang hilahin pababa kapag alam nilang itinataas ka ng Panginoon?” she said.
(Ever since that issue broke out, I said, “Oh, okay.” Those kinds of issues won’t go away. I asked the help of a doctor, a psychiatrist, to help me process this properly. I wondered why there are people who wanted to drag you down knowing that the Lord is raising you up.)
Rob Gomez and Herlene Budol. Image: Instagram/@herlene_budol
Budol shared that she asked a psychiatrist’s help in understanding why some people left hurtful remarks at the time, while clarifying that she has since “moved on.”
“Nagpa-help po ako para mas matanggap ko ‘yung sinasabi sa’kin ng mga tao. Mabigat po ang paratang sa’kin. Mahirap ang naging sitwasyon ko n’un. Ang hirap mag-move on sa ganu’ng sitwasyon. Alam naman po ng Panginoon kung ano ang tama at mali,” she said.
“Naka-move on na ako,” she added.
(I asked help to accept why people were saying hurtful words towards me. It was a tough situation at the time. It was hard to move on. The Lord knows what is right or wrong. I have since moved on.)
Without mentioning Gomez’s name, Budol said she felt that she wasn’t defended by the former at the height of the controversy, an experience she did not want to go through again.
“Hindi maiiwasan na ma-in love sa ka-partner kaya parang ayokong magsalita nang tapos. Pero ayoko rin po maulit ‘yung trauma na naibigay sa akin ng last co-actor ko, ang bigat na parang hindi niya ako naipagtanggol, na walang boses na nagsalita,” she said.
(You can’t stop yourself from falling in love with a co-star, this is why I don’t want to preempt myself. But I don’t want to experience the trauma my last co-actor dealt me. It was painful that he didn’t defend me and never made me feel that I have the voice to speak up for myself.)
Budol then touched on her “Binibining Marikit” leading men Tony Labrusca and Kevin Dasom, saying they are both “gentlemen.”
“Pero dito po sa ‘Binibining Marikit,’ nakikita ko na sa kanilang dalawa, with or without issue, ipagtatanggol po nila ako dahil sobrang gentleman [nila]. Sobrang blessed po ako na sila ‘yung kapartner ko,” she said.