Coleen Garcia and her husband Billy Crawford were late during the ABS-CBN Ball which happened last September 29 at the Rizal Ballroom of Makati Shangri-La. In fact, they were the last stars to arrive and walk down the red carpet.
Days after the event, Garcia took to Instagram to explain why they arrived late saying that she almost missed the grand event.
Garcia said that she was on her way back to the Philippines from France after attending Paris Fashion Week last week.
She said that when she was on her flight from Paris to Bangkok en route to Manila, she had a meal on the plane which gave her food poisoning.
Upon arriving in Thailand, she said that she started feeling sick up to the point of actually fainting inside the airport’s restroom.
“My vision was a blur, my body felt like it was melting and my head was spinning so bad, so I went straight to the nearest restroom and collapsed in the cubicle before continuing to throw up what was left of my guts.
“I inched my way to the lounge & the same thing happened until I heard my name being called, so with all my energy, I ran to the gate,” she shared.
Despite her efforts to board her flight, Garcia missed the plane by a single minute.
“It made me cry in the airport out of frustration—and those who know me know that I don’t usually cry,” she said.
Garcia then said that she was able to rebook her flight without additional costs, but that would mean that she would arrive in Manila later than planned.
“I was able to change my flight at no additional cost, but it meant that I would arrive in Manila by 7:00 PM instead of the original time which was 11:00 AM. Our call time was at 6:00 PM,” she said.
Aside from that, she has not prepared for the ball yet.
“I still hadn’t fit my gown and I had no idea how I was gonna make it in time. I was able to rest and recover in the lounge before rushing like there’s no tomorrow once I landed in Manila.
“On top of that, I was told that one of my bags got left behind. All of this after Paris, where I had multiple events per day,” she said.
She also thanked her fellow celebrities Lovi Poe, Kylie Versoza, and Mica Javier for helping her amid all of the ordeals she went through.
The actress also expressed her gratitude to ABS-CBN’s chief operating officer, Cory Vidanes.
“[Lovi Poe] ended up fitting my dress for me (tho I can’t believe we have the same waistline cause hello just look at her! But then again, food poisoning) and [Kylie Verzosa] and [Mica Javier] initially offered up their room in Shang before Tita Cory [Vidanes] heard what was going on and stepped in to save the day.
“It really saved me so much time and trouble!” she said.
She also thanked other people including her husband, her stylist Adrianne Concepcion, Star Magic’s Portia Dimla, and Narvacan, Ilocos Sur Councilor Luis “Chavit” Singson.
In the end, Garcia was able to make it to the party wearing a gold gown by Patricia Santos and, based on her Instagram post, had a great time at the party.
“Whatever it is, I’m just happy that I made it to the ball in one piece and enjoyed the rest of the night with good company. I cannot tell you enough how happy I was to be there!” she ended her post.
