Pageant fandom went abuzz with reports that global music icon Ricky Martin has followed recently-proclaimed Mister International Kirk Bondad on Instagram. But the winner from the Philippines revealed that it was him who followed the star just recently.
Responding to INQUIRER Entertainment’s question about Martin, the German-Filipino model and content creator said the Puerto Rican superstar has been following him way before the fans took note.
‘I just started following him back. Actually I was at the airport and I realized I don’t follow him,’ Bondad said at his homecoming press conference at the Holiday Inn Express at the Newport Complex in Pasay City on Monday evening, Sept. 29.
‘I know he started following me a little bit over a year ago, and we chatted a little bit. So it’s only now that people happen to get notice of that. And honestly I’m very surprised about that,’ he said.
Internet sleuths uncovered Bondad’s social media credentials after he topped the 17th Mister International contest in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sept. 25, revealing Martin’s connection to the pageant king.
‘I checked him out, and he’s super into fitness, so who knows maybe one day we will hang out and workout, or something. It’s funny, definitely something that I did not expect to get viral after this competition,’ he shared.
INQUIRER Entertainment also asked Bondad about his chemistry with second runner-up Choi Seung Ho from Korea, something many pageant fans noticed, leading to many shipping them, branding them #KirkSeung.
‘Alphabetically speaking, we have been always near each other at the placing of rehearsals or whatever, because ‘P’ and ‘K’ are close to each other in alphabetical order. So it was just naturally inclined that we will spend more time together,’ Bondad explained.
He also shared that the Korean delegate was only one of the few delegates who frequented the gym like he did, so it came out naturally for the two of them to bond further during workouts.
Bondad’s Indonesian roommate Oliver Prasetyo also formed the 2025 Mister International ‘F4’ with the two of them plus Choi and Thailand’s Kanapol Treesongkiat. ‘At that time I didn’t know what it means. But it meant a lot, and it also got viral. So automatically we were also doing content. So we were just naturally, organically building chemistry more,’ he said.
The new king also said he is open to doing a BL (boys’ love) project with Choi, after the Korean actor responded positively to fans’ clamor for a collaboration between the two hunks.
But Bondad said he is also pushing for Choi to fly to the Philippines and work with him. ‘Because Bench is the official sponsor for Mister Korea International, so I want them to bring Seung Ho here and do some shooting with me, because I know there is a lot of demand, and we wanna please them,’ he said.
Bondad is the second delegate fielded by the Mister Pilipinas Worldwide organization to bring home an international title. Last year, Dom Corilla posted the Philippines’ first-ever Mister Global victory. /edv