Georgina Wilson on being dumped: It was such a shock!

Georgina Wilson is a fixture on billboards, magazine covers, publications’ most beautiful and most stylish lists, and red-carpet VIP events. So what kind of problems and issues would someone this gorgeous and influential face? Here are 10 things you should know about Georgina Wilson.

1. Georgina has lived in Yorkshire, Manila, Sydney, and London. “The more places you live in and the more people you’re exposed to, the more you get to know yourself.”

Georgina was born in Texas, grew up on a farm in a small town in Yorkshire, England, before moving to Manila when she was 11 years old.

“My dad always wanted me to study abroad. I moved to Sydney (for university) because I still wanted to feel close to Manila. I think it was one of the best decisions I’ve made. When you live alone you inevitably learn things you will never learn when you live with your parents. I think I also thought I was so smart, I was so used to a system that I knew how to do well in. But a different one was thrown at me and there were times when I felt, ‘Can I get run over by a car because I don’t know how I’m gonna answer this next exam?’” shares the former student of Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Accounting and Finance at the University of Sydney. “My parents never put pressure on me, not once did they check my grades, they just wanted me to be happy,” says Georgina of her parents Robert Wilson and Aurora Diaz.

“Then I did an internship in London for KPMG, which is one of the top accounting firms in the world. It was the first time I didn’t have a boyfriend, it was the first time I was living so far away, and it was one of the best times of my life. I worked in the personal tax department and I became really close to the head of the department, Bill Shaul, and he became my life mentor. I also worked in the mergers and acquisitions section. Rightfully, I was put in the fashion section and at that time I was looking at these Japanese venture capitalists. I loved it. I worked there for nine months, I never thought I was going home again! But I did go back to Sydney to finish my degree.”

“Why does my life revolve around my love life?” she says laughing. “The funny thing is, and not many people know this, I’m always dumped. I never know when to really acknowledge problems, I’ll just continue as if things were normal. I can never bring myself to say we need to break up even if there’s a problem,” George reveals. “I had a boyfriend in Sydney and when we broke up, I went home to Manila, and everything worked out. My career took a different turn.”

2. On growing up as a Diaz: “Every single day it’s crazy. People close to our family know that there’s a certain level of closeness they have to accept.”

When asked what the craziest thing about her family is, and what she loves most, George says, “That’s one and the same, the closeness. I can’t imagine a life where I don’t have 10 crazy aunts. I speak to at least five of them a day! The intensity of their inter-wovenness in each other’s lives. I’ve never seen anything like it. Once you tell one aunt something, everybody knows. If it’s a good thing, great. If it’s a bad thing, it’s a massive problem. For a man to be a part of the family, you have to put up with a lot.”

On her concept of beauty while growing up: “There was never any pressure from the family. It’s an internal thing. I was a fat kid, and once you’re a fat kid, you’ll always feel like a fat kid. Up to this day, whatever I’m wearing, whatever weight I am, my first question is, ‘Do I look fat?’ There’s not a day that passes without me feeling sh***y about my body. Which is so annoying. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.”

“Borgy (Manotoc) has a predetermined response all the time, ‘No, you look great, babe,’ In his eyes, I always look great, it is so sweet,” she shares about her boyfriend.

3. Georgina in numbers:

5: number of times a week she goes to the gym. “Kickboxing, boxing, and weights. It’s super intense in one hour.”

710,000+: number of Instagram followers on her account, @ilovegeorgina

15: number of minutes it takes her to get out the door in the morning. “But I am such a slow person especially if I have to fix up.”

18: age she got her first modeling gig, a TV commercial for Pond’s.

100+: number of sunglasses in her personal collection.

4. On her social media posts that have stirred controversy: “If it’s something I really believe in, I don’t have a problem tweeting it and I don’t have a problem with people reacting negatively to it.”

The kissing photo of her and cousin Isabelle Daza: “There was a big fight between Belle and I because we took that photo (exclusively) for Mark (Nicdao)’s book. But I would never post it on social media. When people interviewed me about it being our stand on gay rights, I said, ‘I didn’t post it, honestly you have to talk to my cousin about that.’ I couldn’t hide how unhappy I was.”

The post about people reelecting Erap into the presidency: “That was crazy. I was living in Australia and probably had 2,000 followers back then. Somebody dug up that tweet, took out the date, and made it look like it was recent. In retrospect, if I had known the audience I would be speaking to, I would never have used that language. But my point was, how can we kick him out as president and he was again supposedly gonna win?”

The post about PNoy meeting Paris Hilton: “I don’t see why he needed to (meet with her at 8 a.m. on a Monday). But if you feel that PNoy should have met with Paris then say why. It’s not a you-hate-me, I-hate-you thing, it’s just sharing your opinion.”

5. On the secret to having your friends as your business partners: “The number one thing is having respect for each other.”

“Of course we argue, but we had no trouble transitioning from best of friends to workmates,” Georgina shares about her first business venture, Sunnies Studios, with partners Eric Dee, Bea Soriano, and Martine Cajucom.

The idea for Sunnies came January 2013 and their first store opened October of the same year. “Bea and Eric had a store, Charlie, and I just wanted to help them with their sunnies. They invited me to create a separate company then it just took off, it was crazy. We’ve recently rebranded because we want an umbrella company where we can do other things.” Within eight months, they’ve put up one store and nine stations. “In the next three months, we are opening 15 more.”

6. Georgina’s practical financial advice to every young working Pinoy:

1. The good side of debt. “In the Filipino culture we are really afraid of debt, but it’s something we need to introduce into our lifestyle, but in a really responsible way. Learn from the mistakes of the West, but don’t be afraid of it. It can grow your business in ways you could never with your own capital.”

2. Understanding risks. “It’s really important in any investment to understand the risks, be it a financial risk or competitive risks. Do your research, do your due diligence. I did a lot of my school papers on the economic crash and basically it was just that people didn’t understand what they were getting into.”

3. Safe bonds. “I’ve always believed in making your money work for you. Research into the financial products available, I always put my money into treasury bonds that offer around eight percent a year. Basically never just let it sit in the bank. Know your risk appetite. Even with the smallest salary you can feel the benefits.”

7. On her life choices and preferences: “I think people think they know how I would live, but it is really not at all like that.”

Traveling in luxury or roughing it up? “If I’m paying I never travel business. My dream in life is to see every single city in the world. I don’t need to get there comfortably, I just need to get there. I don’t like spending too much on hotels.”

Stay up late or wake up early? “Definitely stay up late. I feel like my best ideas come at 1a.m. I feel that it is the quiet time. I don’t know how to become a morning person even if I have always wanted to be.”

With or without makeup? “I personally used to feel insecure when I wouldn’t wear makeup. But as I’ve gotten older, I don’t care as much. This is the way I look. You just get more comfortable.”

Shoes vs. bags vs. clothes? “It’s so ridiculous, I love everything. My wardrobe is always everyone’s wardrobe, sometimes it’s like, ‘Oh, I guess that piece is gone.’”

8. Her three biggest fashion investments:

“There’s something about purchasing in fashion that makes my heart beat faster. My mind is never off it, I’m always researching,” she shares.

1. Celine Phantom tote. “I can just put everything in it. I use it every single day.”

2. Chanel ballet flats. “Nude with a black tip. It’s used to death.”

3. Rick Owens black leather jacket. “I am obsessed with any beautiful material, I just love touching it. I use it all the time especially when I travel.”

9. Georgina opens up about the time she hit rock bottom: “It came as such a shock. It was something I never thought was going to happen.”

“I think that I’ve never experienced real heartbreak until then. This was a feeling I’ve never felt before, it was really unprecedented in my life,” reveals the 28-year-old model. “I am the rock in my family so I’ve always had to be strong. And in that period of my life, I didn’t know how to move forward. I didn’t know how to make sense of my life. I felt helpless. I didn’t even know,” she breaks into tears.

“I would never want to go through it again, but I also never wish it didn’t happen. Being back together was not the biggest part of it, it’s really just going through that journey. The level of rock bottom that you hit, it will change you as a person. In a way, I had to go through that because I felt that everything was in my hands, I could do everything. But it came to a point that there was nothing I could do.”

“The person that totally got me through it is Mavis, Borgy’s sister. We would talk every single day. With Borgs and I, it was hard for me to accept because it wasn’t because we didn’t love each other or not because we weren’t good for each other. It was because I guess I’d taken things for granted. I am super the type to push things away that I don’t want to deal with, and it kind of blew up in my face. I was really arrogant enough to think that he would never leave me. Is this really happening? You really can’t wait? I feel like he felt he wasn’t important in my life anymore.”

“I didn’t want to tell anyone about it back then because I didn’t understand it. There were days where I was like a zombie, I could not get up from bed. And it would be so ironic because those days, people would tweet me, ‘I wish I had your life,’ and I’m like, are you kidding? I would want to have anybody’s life right now, anybody but mine,” she recalls.

Nobody seemed to know that Georgina and Borgy broke up until they got back together, as work went on for her. “That happened so many times, that I just had to be okay and it was not optional to not be. I don’t know how I did it,” she breaks into tears again. “Thank God it’s over. I had so many mall shows and shoots, and all I had to do was smile. And God, there was nothing inside me that was smiling. I don’t know if I became mechanical…it was really hard.”

“I had to convince him that it was not going to be like it was before. I had to show him that it was really me that wanted to get back together. The whole experience, looking back, was humbling and I became a completely different person,” Georgina shares of the six months they were broken up.

10. On the biggest misconception people have about her: “I want people to know that it’s not all perfect.”

“I fall into the same trap. I look at someone’s life and say, ‘Ugh, her life is amazing.’ God really created all of us equally in the best way possible. Some people have things that you think you may admire, but they also have bigger problems. Sometimes people comment on my posts, ‘You’re so pretty, I wanna kill myself,’ or they say, ‘I’m so sad I feel so ugly.’  And I feel the same with a lot of people, I feel they’re so gorgeous, I can’t deal.”

“Being content with what you have is such a great gift. And not looking at others and what they have. Especially in this industry, you look at someone and say, ‘Oh, her life is probably perfect.’ Nobody’s life is perfect. Even if they make it look like it is, because it’s on Instagram. There would days back then where I would be funny on Instagram but in reality I was crying like hell. I post it and I would think, that is such a lie right now, I don’t feel that at all.”

“Yes, I’ve been broken up with over and over and over. What’s the lesson from that? I guess its not just to be content, but that life is not perfect for anybody. Nobody has it 100-percent easy.”

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Beyond all the selfies and the #ootds, Georgina is described by friends to be a finance whiz, a fiercely loyal friend, and a focused hard worker. With age came her courage to admit her weaknesses and acknowledge her vulnerability, so yes, she is human just like the rest of us. She adds: “We all go through the same things. Usually when you’re given more, you’re also given more to deal with.”

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Email me at askiamsuperbianca@yahoo.com or message me on Twitter and Instagram @iamsuperbianca