Czarina Faith Abuso

Kolette Madelo looks back on her raketera days before “PBB,” confirms status of her heart

Article (news)

Liezel Dela Cruz

<p>Back when Kolette Madelo was still in General Santos City, her goal was simply to find as many &#x27;rakets&#x27; as she could to support her family. Every extra source of income felt like a small win and she wasn&#x27;t afraid to hustle for it. Today, Kolette is grateful for the bigger downpour of ‘rakets’—not &#x27;negosyo&#x27; sidelines anymore but showbiz gigs.  </p><p>Thanks to &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/pbbgen112024" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Pinoy Big Brother Gen 11</strong></a>,&quot; Kolette has found the door to huge opportunities in acting and performing. So, what exactly has changed in her life since &quot;Pinoy Big Brother&quot; and what parts of her have stayed the same? She reflected on all that and more during her guesting on &quot;Hello Outside World” vodcast hosted by Bianca Gonzalez and Esnyr Ranollo. </p><div><br/></div><div><iframe width="913" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LUFZi6jthYE" title="Kolette Madelo and Carmelle Collado: PAPATOL NA?! | Hello Outside World Ep. 2" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br/></div><p>Kolette first took a trip down memory lane as she looked back on her childhood in GenSan, where life was as simple as spending entire afternoons playing outside with her cousins. For her, those carefree days were her &quot;perfect&quot; memory because all she had to worry about back then was playing, eating, sleeping, and doing it all over again the next day. </p><p>She fondly recalled running around barefoot and climbing piles of sand, and roughhousing with her cousins until it was time to head home. Kolette went on to share that her funniest childhood hack was pretending to take afternoon naps so she could sneak back outside and continue playing. That&#x27;s definitely a trick we&#x27;ve all tried growing up!  </p><p>But when she entered her &#x27;adulting&#x27; era, Kolette traded afternoon playtime for different &#x27;rakets&#x27; to help support her family, hence the moniker &quot;Ma-Cute-lit Raketera ng GenSan&quot; when she joined &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/pbbgen112024" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>PBB Gen 11</strong></a>&quot; in 2024.  </p><p>Among all her ‘negosyo’ adventures, she’d never forget buying a bundle of jeans online, only to become an &quot;expectation vs. reality&quot; victim. The first few pieces looked promising until she got to the middle of the box and discovered some pairs were so huge that, in her words, &quot;kasya na dalawang tao!&quot; Thankfully, she still managed to earn an ROI (return on investment). And instead of dwelling on the mishap, she took it as a lesson on why it&#x27;s better to take calculated risks. </p><p>In 2024, Kolette faced the biggest leap of her life—flying to Manila  to join &quot;Pinoy Big Brother.&quot; She still remembers her first impression of the city and chatting her mom right after landing at the airport. &quot;<em>Ganito pala dito sa Manila. Nakakalula ‘yung mga buildings. Sobrang traffic. Madaming tao</em>,&quot; she told her mom.  </p><p>Growing up in General Santos, where neighbors knew one another, she wondered if this huge, unfamiliar place would soon become her new home. The rest, as they say, is history.  </p><p>Inside Bahay ni Kuya, viewers fell in love with her bubbly personality, undeniable talent, and unapologetic &quot;pagpapakatotoo<em></em>.&quot; Despite facing seven nominations, she powered through all the way to the Big Night and finished as the batch’s <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/pbbgen112024/videos/big-night-kolette-madelo-is-the-3rd-big-placer-369360" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Third Big Placer</strong></a>. </p><p>Nearly two years later, Kolette has been keeping herself busy. She’s already starred in projects like &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/what-lies-beneath" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>What Lies Beneath</strong></a>,&quot; &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/sins-of-the-father" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Sins of the Father</strong></a>,&quot; and &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/blood-vs-duty" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Blood vs Duty</strong></a>,&quot; released songs, held fan meets, and performed onstage, and living out many of the dreams she once only imagined. </p><p>Looking back, Kolette admitted she manifested a career that would allow her to sing, dance, and perform in front of a huge crowd. Acting, however, wasn&#x27;t exactly part of the plan as she doubted her ability to express a character&#x27;s emotions. But after giving it a chance, she discovered acting as a passion. &quot;<em>Nag-enjoy naman ako. Sobrang nag-enjoy ako sa acting... Nu&#x27;ng na-try ko na, I love it!</em>&quot; she enthused.  </p><p>While a lot has changed since her housemate days, Kolette believes the things that matter most haven&#x27;t. She&#x27;s still the same person who treats others with authenticity and empathy, and despite her growing circle in showbiz, she&#x27;s still close to her longtime non-showbiz friends from the province.  </p><p>In fact, she makes it a point to see them whenever she visits GenSan. Kolette simply enjoys their company because they&#x27;ve known each other for years and have stayed by her side through every chapter of her life. </p><p>At that point of the conversation, hosts Bianca and Esnyr checked in on Kolette&#x27;s love life. Asked how her heart has been lately, she tearfully confirmed that she had recently gone through a breakup.  </p><p>Kolette kept the details of the breakup private, but when asked what she&#x27;d look for if she ever starts dating again, Kolette shared that a true gentleman is definitely a green flag, and on the other hand, someone who only gives the bare minimum is an automatic red flag. </p><p>Join &quot;PBB&quot; alums in candid conversations on &quot;Hello Outside World,&quot; hosted by Bianca and Esnyr, with fresh episodes every Wednesday, on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@abscbnentertainment" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube Channel</strong></a>. </p><div> </div><div><strong>More on this story: </strong></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2026/8/9/funny-and-savage-kolette-and-carmelle-respond-to-bashers-with-pagpapakatotoo-0029" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Funny and savage! Kolette and Carmelle respond to bashers with &#x27;pagpapakatotoo&#x27;  </strong></a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2026/7/18/look-here-s-what-happened-during-kolette-madelo-s-exciting-kapamilya-deal-or-no-deal-game-2119" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>LOOK: Here’s what happened during Kolette Madelo’s exciting “Kapamilya Deal or No Deal” game</strong></a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2026/1/20/on-second-chances-letting-go-mutya-orquia-kolette-madelo-get-honest-this-kapamilya-chat-challenge-0057" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>On second chances and letting go: Mutya Orquia and Kolette Madelo get honest in this Kapamilya Chat challenge</strong></a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2024/12/12/kolette-madelo-shares-how-she-manifested-her-pbb-dream-0024" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Kolette Madelo shares the manifestation strategies that led her to PBB</strong></a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2024/11/25/how-kolette-madelo-navigates-life-s-challenges-and-strives-toward-her-dreams-0015" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>How Kolette Madelo navigates life’s challenges and strives toward her dreams</strong></a></div>

<p>From small business hustles to showbiz gigs, Kolette Madelo shares how life has changed since "PBB Gen 11."</p>

From small business hustles to showbiz gigs, Kolette Madelo shares how life has changed since "PBB Gen 11."