With 69 Instagram stories, model Clint Bondad lit up social media on Thursday, with Twitter users scrambling to unlock what they thought were anagrams about his ex, Catriona Gray and the former Miss Universe’s current flame, actor Sam Milby.
And with a countdown clock that he posted ticking to the wee hours of Friday past midnight, Bondad, now bearded in his most recent photos, gave fans and spectators alike a break from the four-month-long COVID-19 quarantine. At least until his next stream of posts.
Bondad’s stories, which jump from hacking to colored pills with screenshots of Instagram conversations in between, show how ex-lovers' troubles can be made public through screenshots, mangled photos and status updates.
“P.S. I create Queens,” Bondad said in one story. Gray of course is the Philippines fourth Miss Universe, who won the crown in 2018 on pure grit, recovering from her heartbreaking Miss World loss two years prior.
Bondad was in the audience at Bangkok’s Impact Arena when Gray was crowned, but they were not photographed together on stage, unlike her other supporters. He even wore a suit to match the color of her Mak Tumang lava gown and held a fan that resembled her Christmas lantern-inspired national costume. Their breakup would be confirmed months into Gray's reign.
Gray’s ex posted a photo of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. One Twitter user claimed to have cracked the anagram: Mona Lisa sounds like Mon Elisa, French for “My Elisa.” Elisa is Gray’s second name.
“Careful who you go to bed with,” Bondad said in another story.
Bondad’s demeanor contrasted with that of Gray's, whose public persona is one that gives hope to those who are feeling discouraged. In her final walk as Miss Universe, Gray said: “To everyone with a dream, know that your dreams are valid and on your path, you are never denied and only redirected.”
