Leren Bautista on ‘romantic involvement’ with Ricci Rivero: ‘Entirely false’ 

MANILA, Philippines – Beauty queen-turned-politician Leren Bautista broke her silence on her “alleged romantic involvement” with basketball player Ricci Rivero, saying that the claims have “no basis in reality.” 

The official statement was released on Monday, June 12, via the office of the Los Baños municipal councilor. “We want to make it clear that these claims are entirely false and have no basis in reality,” Bautista’s camp said. 

Bautista and Rivero sparked dating rumors after the athlete spent his birthday with Bautista at an outreach event in Los Baños. The councilor even greeted him in a post on May 26. 

Rivero also shared an Instagram story of himself taken by the Binibining Pilipinas Globe 2019 titleholder. He later deleted the post, prompting netizens to tag Bautista as the third party between Rivero and actress Andrea Brillantes. 

Rivero on June 9 had already hinted on his split with Brillantes, saying that it was his mistake to not make his relationship status public, and requested followers to “stop creating your own versions and dragging other characters into these false accusations.” 

Bautista’s office addressed these instances, saying that the outreach activity with Rivero “is not an indication of a romantic relationship between them.”

The statement also mentioned that a video from Rivero’s belated birthday celebration, which had gone viral, was “taken down due to concerns about potential misinterpretation by viewers.” 

They ended the statement by asking the public to “refrain from creating malicious and insinuating comments on social media.” 

As of writing, Brillantes has yet to address her relationship with Rivero. Rivero and Brillantes made it official on April 9, 2022 when the athlete publicly asked her to be his girlfriend  – Rappler.com