Filipino Olympic champion Carlos Yulo offers mother forgiveness amid rift, asks her to move on

Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo (R) and his girlfriend, content creator Chloe San Jose. Photo from Yulo's Facebook

According to The Manila Times, flanked by his girlfriend, content creator Chloe San Jose, Carlos expressed his forgiveness towards his mother and emphasized the need for healing and celebration of his Olympic success.

"My message to you now is to heal, move on, and you know, I’ve forgiven you a long time ago already," he stated in the video, which was released on Tuesday.

"I pray that you are safe and in good condition over there. Let’s stop this and celebrate the sacrifices, achievements, and hard work of every Filipino athlete here in the Olympics."

The gymnast also defended his girlfriend against his mother’s criticisms.

"She [Angelica] judges Chloe by the way she acts and dresses," he said. "First of all, Chloe was in Australia and grew up in that culture. And it’s very different from how people dress or talk in the Philippines."

He also refuted Angelica’s suspicions that San Jose was financially exploiting him, asserting that his girlfriend had her own income. He added that everything people see her using and all her travels are funded by her own hard work, and there had even been instances where San Jose had to support him financially.

According to Inquirer, the gymnast also mentioned that his mother had embezzled his earnings in the video.

"Apart from the incentives, my mom also had access to my bank account and my monthly allowances for gymnastics," he said. "When I finally got control of that bank account, I found out she had been draining it. I have the bank statements showing the withdrawals she made."

He further disclosed discrepancies in how his mother reported his incentives versus the actual amount he should have received. He pointed out that his mother claimed to have received an incentive of 70,000 pesos (US$1,221) from the 2021 World Championships, but these incentives were actually from the 2022 event, where he won two medals. He clarified that the amount he should have received was actually in the six figures, not just 70,000 pesos, reflecting the two medals he secured.

He mentioned that he only discovered these incentives after conducting his own investigation and clarified that he had neither received nor requested them.

However, he emphasized that although he had relinquished them, he was keen to know their whereabouts.

The video followed an interview aired Monday night, where Angelica acknowledged that she didn’t have a good relationship with her son, attributing it to San Jose, who she labeled a "red flag." She also charged that the content creator exploited her son.

Responding to Carlos’s video, Angelica said during a press conference on Wednesday: "Son, I am sorry."

"I understand some may think I’m only speaking now because of your success," she said, as quoted by the New York Post. "I ask for your forgiveness as a concerned mother. You are mature enough to make your own decisions. Our door is always open, regardless of your financial status."

She expressed hope for resolving these issues within the family and explained her actions were motivated by concern over potential future financial difficulties for her son.

At 24, Carlos is celebrated as the most accomplished Filipino gymnast in history, according to Forbes. He became the second Filipino ever to win an Olympic gold medal and the first to clinch multiple gold medals at the games after triumphing in men’s floor and vault events at this year’s Paris Olympics.

He is slated to receive several honors from the Philippine government, including a three-bedroom condo valued at 32 million pesos in Manila, according to Fortune magazine.