Filipino Olympic champion Carlos Yulo’s homecoming marred by feud with mother

Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo. Photo from Carlos' Instagram

After winning two gold medals at this year’s Paris Olympics, Carlos Yulo returned to his home country on Tuesday to a hero’s welcome, as reported by the Associated Press. The celebration included a nationally televised tribute by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., complete with donors pledging over US$1 million in cash and gifts, including a resort house and lifetime free lunch buffets. Many admirers thronged the streets, eager for handshakes and selfies with the gymnast and other athletes.

However, the celebrations were overshadowed by a highly publicized feud between Carlos and his mother, which, according to the South China Morning Post, attracted nearly as much attention as his gymnastic achievements.

According to The Filipino Times, the feud gained public recognition on Aug. 1, when Angelica reposted a news item on her Facebook page supporting a Japanese gymnast who competed against Carlos, expressing her cheers for Japan.

Further scrutiny of Angelica’s Facebook profile revealed previous instances of tension between her and Carlos. For example, in June, Angelica made a post about her children but omitted Carlos, mentioning in the comments that she had blocked him, which prevented his inclusion.

On Aug. 4, an interview that Angelica gave to Bombo Radyo aired, in which she accused Carlos’ girlfriend, content creator Chloe San Jose, of exploiting her son and creating a wedge between her and Carlos. She also touched upon financial disputes, revealing that she had deposited Carlos’ incentive money into a bank account that was later frozen, stating that she had planned to withdraw it after a two-year period to avoid penalties. However, she admitted to using only a "portion" of Carlos’ funds, which she described as minimal compared to his total earnings.

Two days after Angelica’s interview, Carlos responded via a TikTok video, where he appeared alongside San Jose. As quoted by Inquirer, he disclosed: "Apart from the incentives, my mom also had access to my bank account and my monthly allowances for gymnastics."

He said upon gaining control of his bank account, he discovered she had drained it and had bank statements showing her withdrawals.

Carlos also revealed that his mother failed to inform him about the full amount of incentives from the 2022 World Championships, instead reporting a lesser amount from a 2021 competition. Despite these revelations, he declared he had forgiven his mother "a long time ago already."

He defended San Jose against his mother’s criticisms.

"She [Angelica] judges Chloe by the way she acts and dresses," he remarked, as quoted by The Manila Times. "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 noted that San Jose had "her own income" and had supported him financially on several occasions.

The next day, Aug. 7, Angelica held a press conference expressing her remorse and described herself as a concerned mother looking out for her children’s future. According to the New York Post, she said during the event: "Son, I am sorry. I understand some may think I’m only speaking now because of your success"

"I ask for your forgiveness as a concerned mother," she continued. "You are mature enough to make your own decisions. Our door is always open, regardless of your financial status."

She expressed hope to resolve these issues within the family, explaining her actions were motivated by concerns over Carlos’ potential future financial difficulties.

"Our disputes should be not made public because they do not know the whole story," she said, as reported by the South China Morning Post. "I am not a perfect mother and God knows you are not a perfect son. There is no perfect family."

At 24, Carlos is celebrated as the most accomplished Filipino gymnast in history, according to Forbes. He is 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, as reported by Fortune magazine.