MAINE MENDOZA TALAGA NAMANG PINAG USAPAN NG MGA NETIZENS MATAPOS MAPANSIN ANG KANYANG BILBIL!

In a different society where body shaming is considered as an acceptable behavior, where beauty is determined by high-end magazines, curated Instagram personalities, and celebrities who look like they were born perfect, it is very rare to find someone who is not afraid to show her flaws. Instead, she embraces them and shows everyone that “Hey, it’s okay not to be perfect. Nobody is.” (Except maybe Barbie dolls.)

This is precisely what Maine Mendoza, the star of the Bench Under The Stars 30th Anniversary Fashion Show, showed the world. After her catwalk, a lot of netizens and celebrities praised her for her toned physique. Indeed, she looked stunning in her terno cropped top and skirt, which bared her lean and toned abs. However, after seeing several tweets and posts from fans and news sites praising her for her abs, she fearlessly replied to them in her signature funny way that she is, indeed, not perfect.



First, she thanked her fans who supported her during the show, saying it was unreal. And then she apologized for her “malaking tiyan.”



A lot of people might probably consider this as false humility, or fishing for compliments even, but when she tweeted a photo of her in the same outfit backstage, saying her tummy looked like a ‘peanut butter’ sandwich, it is fairly easy to tell that she is not lying or looking for validation. And that is what makes her so relatable.



She manifest grace and elegance, yet she does not intimidate. She is stunningly beautiful, yet she is not unreachable. And that is where her charm lies. That is what makes her so likeable. That is what makes Maine so loveable.




When people tag her as someone so perfect, she shows them her ‘real’ side – the side which has flaws, the side which has abs during a fashion show but has a ‘peanut butter’ tummy backstage, the side which is not afraid to tell people that it’s okay not to be perfect.



And when she shows people her imperfections so willingly? That is when her real beauty shines beyond her “malaking tiyan”. In Maine’s words, #wapakels!