Fil-Ivorian fencer Maxine Esteban. Handout photo
MANILA – Fil-Ivorian fencer Maxine Esteban will be contending in the Paris Games with a complete supporting cast — her family, coach, sponsors, and a special someone.
For those who are curious: yes, Maxine is taken, and her partner will be out there cheering for the fencing wunderkind at the biggest sporting stage in the globe.
"It's not a secret. Yeah, I do," Esteban told ABS-CBN News when asked whether she has a boyfriend or not.
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She, however, specifically requested to ABS-CBN News that his name remain undisclosed.
Esteban, 23, gave a bit of a background about her current partner, whom she met in an Indonesian fencing competition.
"He's actually a fencer in Indonesia. He represents Indonesia, but he's Filipino as well," she said.
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"We have been friends since I was really small, and we met in many international competitions." Esteban shared happily.
"I think it was during a competition in Indonesia, Indonesian Open ata. And our parents were also high school classmates before.
Esteban shared how they "developed" feelings for each other and said that she was glad for her boyfriend's support.
"After COVID, we went to New York kasi we had a training camp, and it was one of the first few clubs that opened after COVID. And then we became closer at that time, and then he visited me then in Italy a lot of times. He always supports me," he said.
The unnamed guy will fly to Paris this weekend to rally behind Esteban at the Summer Games.
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