Rubina Bernabe is making headlines due to his tenacious personality in Big Brother Season 26.
The latest season of the reality series offers a unique artificial intelligence theme that gives the 16 houseguests the power to vote to include a 17th houseguest.
The lone houseguest who can outsmart and outwit the rest of his peers will win the $750,000 grand prize.
[ Big Brother 2024 Cast: All Contestants Remaining & Eliminated In Season 26 (Instagrams & Photos) ]
Who Is Rubina Bernabe? Biography Details
Rubina Bernabe Is a Proud Filipino-American
Rubina Bernabe, 35 years old, is of Filipino-American descent and proud of her Filipino roots.
Speaking as a guest in Katelyn Parsons' podcast, she talked about her heritage and how it relates to her growing up:
"I'm Filipino. I call it Philippinyas. Because I'm such a yes person. But that's a whole others that have no in it. I like saying yes. So I changed it. Shape your environment. Basically, in the fifth grade I feel like I was really early on with this. I got my period. And that was like real awareness. I was like, 'Oh my god, what?? Is nobody else? You know?' No, but this was happening to almost nobody else in my grade or in my age group. But in addition to getting my period and being Filipino, it was like in Tagalog, we say, 'Oh, dalaga na!' which is like, oh, you're a lady now.'"
Bernabe also touched on the Filipino's culture of being "very honest," noting that Filipinos can be "upfront with wanting one another:"
"And the culture is very ethno, if you know any Filipinos, but the culture is very honest. We're very honest, and almost blunt, it almost hurts. It's our culture to be very, you know, upfront with wanting one another. Like if you gain weight. And it doesn't matter what age you are, if you gain weight, they'll pinch the part of your body that you gain weight in, like they'll straight up just go up to you and pinch it."
The Big Brother Season 26 housemate, who was born on February 4, 1989, continued to talk about how it was "all weird and crazy" growing up as Filipino combined with getting her period and dealing with change:
"So I think the combination of me being Filipino and being in fifth grade and getting my period, I kind of was just all weird and crazy. And I remember, I don't know who in my family did it. And that's the part I don't remember. I must have blocked it out. But I remember being teased about, you know, parts of my body changing and feeling like I was already in the fifth grade, like I was overweight, and I'm four, nine. And I stopped growing in fifth grade. And that was when I remember feeling like oh my gosh, I hate using this word now, because I really try not to because it's so unnecessary. But I felt fat. Like I felt like I was fat. And if you saw pictures of me in fifth grade, you'd be like, you're a crazy person. And you're not wrong. But that's how I felt. I felt like I was fat."
Rubina Bernabe Is an Online Rollerskating Star
Bernabe's passion involves rollerskating and she frequently posts online about it, showcasing tutorial videos on her YouTube page.
Speaking with Voyagela, the Los Angeles native shared that she started rollerskating in July 2020, using it as a way to "get more outside time amidst the pandemic:"
"Fast forward to 2020 and all its’ mayhem, I was laid off, stuck in quarantine, and needing a new hobby (as did millions of other people). I started rollerskating in July — all because my sister Kristine miraculously found my size at a local skate shop– as a way to get more outside time amidst the pandemic. Alongside the new hobby, I created an Instagram account to track my progress from Day 1 and share the process of learning something brand-spankin’ new, not to mention challenging."
Bernabe also talked about making tutorial videos to help viewers learn more about rollerskating, saying that "making tutorials came naturally to [her]:"
"Once I got comfortable on my skates, I started making tutorials 'for beginners, by a beginner' as a fun and, more importantly, cost-efficient way to celebrate each time I grew 1000 followers! Making tutorials came naturally to me, given all the background experience I had in being a corporate trainer. I spent so many years learning how to communicate and explain things to new employees for a company, it was such a rewarding feeling to be able to translate those skills into helping a community of people!"
She also forged strong connections in the rollerskating community after receiving attention from Shayna Pigeon Meikle, the owner of Pigeon's Roller-skate Shop in Long Beach:
"The rollerskating community welcomed me with open arms and my following grew with each tutorial I put out (I just hit 38k!). More and more beginner skaters were using my tutorials to progress and learn, if not just as a source of momentary escape and entertainment (watch one tutorial and you’ll understand what I mean– I put the ‘fun’ in ‘fundamental’). Somehow, community leader and legend, Shayna Pigeon Meikle (owner of the iconic Pigeon’s Roller-skate Shop in Long Beach, where I purchased my skates) caught wind of my account & reached out to me one momentous day in October asking how she could support me as a skater and content creator, and the rest is history!"
Rubina Bernabe Is A College Dropout
Rubina Bernabe revealed in the same interview with Voyagela that she is a college dropout, saying that she had to take care of her mother who suffered a stroke and then a brain aneurysm:
"When I was 20 years old, my mom suffered a stroke and then a brain aneurysm that naturally altered the direction of my life but left her in a vegetative state for almost a decade, until she naturally passed in December 2018. In that time, I transferred to 2 different community colleges, before transferring to a prestigious and private 4-year university… only to dropout after realizing I was putting myself into years of debt for something I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to do with."
Bernabe shared that she got a job as a bartender, moving from place to place yearly to simply live in the moment.
One bad decision to another led her to "a run-in with the law," but this experience snapped her back to reality which led to "finding [her] purpose:"
"I was young and fell into a toxic relationship that led to unhealthy drinking habits, which eventually led me into a run-in with the law. Though traumatic and humiliating, that experience is 100% what snapped me back into finding my purpose and knowing I deserved more. It was only after being slapped in the face with the reality of my actions that I was able to turn every mistake and wrong turn into a lesson learned, and channel that energy into a means of motivation."
Rubina Bernabe Has Worked With Pop Star Jason Mraz
Before entering the Big Brother house, Bernabe was able to utilize her rollerskating skills to appear in multiple music videos of well-known artists like Jason Mraz and Yacobucci.
Bernabe appeared in Jason Mraz's "I Feel Like Dancing" music video in February 2023 and "Dreams" by Yacobucci in December 2020.
How To Follow Rubina Bernabe Online
For more information about Rubina Bernabe, fans can follow her on the following social media platforms:
- Instagram: @withrubina
- YouTube: @rubinawould
Big Brother is streaming on Paramount+.
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