With over 137,000 followers on Instagram, Leren Mae Bautista is no stranger to sharing snippets of her life on social media. However, the popular beauty queen and model was suddenly thrust into the hot seat over her alleged involvement in the breakup of athlete Ricci Rivero and actress Andrea Brillantes.
After her name began trending on social media, people suddenly became curious to learn more about the beauty queen-turned-politician. In fact, on June 9, she was among the breakout searches in Google Trends, and queries are mostly related to the Ricci-Andrea split.
Here are five things you need to know about Leren Mae Bautista:
1. She is Laguna's pride.
Hailing from the picturesque province of Laguna, Leren Mae Bautista has become a source of inspiration and pride for her community. The model’s Pinay Magazine photo was once displayed on a digital billboard in New York City's iconic Times Square.
2. She is a pageant veteran.
From her early triumph as Mutya ng Pilipinas Asia Pacific International 2015 to her recent participation in Miss Universe Philippines 2021, Leren is a go-getter.
In 2015, competed in Mutya ng Pilipinas, where she was crowned as Mutya ng Pilipinas Asia Pacific International 2015. She represented the Philippines and eventually won the title at the prestigious Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International 2015 pageant held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
She also represented Laguna, as candidate number 14, when she competed in Binibining Pilipinas in 2019. She was crowned Binibining Pilipinas-Globe that year and represented the Philippines in The Miss Globe 2019, where she placed 2nd runner up.
In 2021, Leren Mae Bautista represented Laguna in the highly anticipated Miss Universe Philippines 2021 pageant, where she advanced to the Top 10.
3. She is a public servant.
After saying goodbye to the pageant world in 2021, she began a political career and is now a municipal councilor in Los Banos, Laguna.
She tagged herself as the Queensehala ng Los Banos, whose advocacies include distributing educational kits and giving financial assistance, among others. She also chairs the municipality’s education and public information committee.
In a recent post on her Instagram account, Bautista thanked Rivero for extending help to her constituents in Laguna. "Happy Birthday @ricciiirivero! Thank you for spending your birthday here in Los Baños. We appreciate your love and generosity to give back to our people. Mabuhay ka!"
Her last social media update was on Monday, May 29, when she uploaded a photo of herself all glammed up in a ball gown and captioned it, "Once a Binibini, Always a Binibini." Leren has since limited comments on her Instagram account.