Michelle Dee happy to inspire Klarisse de Guzman to come out

As a fellow queer, Michelle Dee was happy and proud to have inspired Klarisse de Guzman to come out.

In the latest episode of the show aired Wednesday, De Guzman identified herself as bisexual and revealed that she has a girlfriend of four years who is taking care of her mother.

Asked what made her decide to come out, De Guzman said she saw Dee as a sign to reveal the truth.

"Ang tagal ko na pong iniisip kung kailan po ang tamang panahon para ikwento ko po rito sa mga tao rito sa bahay and actually nung nakita ko po si Michelle Dee, parang naisip ko na is this a sign," the OPM singer said.

"Until nung nalaman ko 'yung task, buo na po sa dibdib ko na, I think ito na, this is it at ayun na, nagawa ko and I'm so proud and I'm so happy of myself that I'm finally out," she added.

Dee resonated with De Guzman's story, and recounted the day she came out as bisexual while representing the Philippines in the Miss Universe pageant in 2023.

"Besides na kinilig ako for her, I feel so proud that I'm able to stand as an inspiration and a source of strength to disclose something as big as that. Alam ko po 'yung fear. Napagdaanan ko po 'yung fear na ang hirap din magpakatotoo nang ganoon dahil sa industriya kung nasaan tayo," the beauty queen said.

She said that she never planned to come out at the time, because she wanted her autism advocacy to shine.

"I didn't want to use queer baiting. Ayoko nu'n," she added. "And I didn't planned to come out before Miss Universe nagkataon na 'yung mga bashers ko, nahanap na nila 'yung mga high school photos ko, 'yung matagal kong tinago so medyo napilitan na ako and to take control of the whole story dahil ang dami nang iniimbento ng mga tao."

Dee added that she's glad that others draw strength from her story to express themselves.

"Through my story, through my experiences, nakapagbigay ako ng lakas ng loob to come out. Mas masaya po ako na after she was able to do that parang sabi niya na ang gaan sa pakiramdam na finally after four years po, nagawa niya," she said.

"She felt nung una niya po akong nakita, it was a sign ng universe na gagawin niya. That's what I wanted to do naman, moments like this that validate all the years of hard work. As long as I can inspire one person, I guess, I can sleep well at night. Sobrang nakakatuwa po," she added.

Other housemates like Esnyr and Kira Balinger also expressed their support for de Guzman.

"You're really my mom and I'm really my son," Esnyr said.

Kuya stressed that in his house, anyone can be who they want to be.

"Klarisse, labis din kitang ipinagmamalaki. Alam ko na isang bagay ito na mahalaga sa 'yo. Matagal mo ring itinago dahil sa duda at takot pero sa wakas nahanap mo na ang lakas ng loob na ipagmalaki ang totoo," he said.

"Huwag kang mag-alala, Klarisse, suportado kita at gusto kong malaman mo na dito sa bahay ko, lagi kang malaya. Be free, maging malaya mula ngayon hanggang sa dulo."

De Guzman thanked Big Brother, saying, "Hindi ko makakalimutan 'tong araw na 'to, Kuya, dahil ito po 'yung araw na nagpakatotoo ako at naging malaya po ako."

"Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition" airs new episodes on GMA Network at 10 p.m. weekdays and at 6:15 p.m. on weekends. —JCB, GMA Integrated News