Since Carlos Yulo’s amazing wins at the Paris Games, he’s shot to incredible fame and fortune, becoming a household name in the Philippines and raking in millions. At just 24, he’s still trying to wrap his head around this whole celebrity thing—after all, his focus was entirely on winning, with little thought about how it would change his life. Winning those two gold medals turned everything upside down for him. But in the midst of all the excitement, he took to TikTok in the first week of August to talk about his rocky relationship with his mom.

In a candid video, Carlos opened up about some troubling issues with his mother, Angelica Yulo, who managed his bank accounts containing funds from his gymnastics competitions. He revealed that she had been withdrawing money without fully disclosing the transactions, leaving him unaware of a payment from a 2022 competition, which she misrepresented. Yet, it seems he still has a motherly figure in his life to help support him through these challenges.

The person is none other than Ms. Cynthia Carrion-Norton, President of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines and Executive Board Member of the Philippine Olympic Committee, whom he sees as a second mom. “Ma’am Cynthia was the first one who believed in me. She didn’t leave me through my ups and downs; she was the one who stood by me and introduced me to many people so I could get sponsorships. If it weren’t for her, there would be no Carlos Yulo to win at the Olympics… And I am, of course, thankful to God that He introduced me to ma’am Cynthia.”

The funds fiasco took a rather complicated turn when Angelica claimed she transferred the money to protect Carlos’s future. The gymnast stresses that the real issue was her lack of transparency and consent, further noting that tensions between him and his mother grew more when she disapproved of his girlfriend.

Carlos Yulo stands up for Chloe amid family tensions

Carlos Yulo defended his girlfriend, Chloe, back in August after winning the gold medal against his mother’s criticisms, explaining that Angelica judged her based on how she acted and dressed. He pointed out that Chloe had grown up in Australia, where the culture differed significantly from the Philippines. Yulo also refuted his mother’s suspicions that Chloe was financially exploiting him, emphasizing that she had her own income and funded her travels and lifestyle through hard work.

Yulo also highlighted discrepancies in how his mother reported his earnings, noting that she had claimed to have received an incentive of 70,000 pesos (about $1,221) from the 2021 World Championships. In reality, those incentives were tied to the 2022 event, where he won two medals, and the amount he should have received was significantly higher. He uncovered these inconsistencies through his own investigation and expressed a desire to know where those funds went, even though he had neither received nor requested them.

Later, Angelica acknowledged their strained relationship, attributing it to Chloe and expressing hope for reconciliation. With that in mind, we all hope they can resolve their differences as soon as possible.