Remember the cute little girl in the famous “Goodbye, Carlo” commercial for a hotdog brand?
She was Chantal Umali, who became known for her character in the second batch of GMA-7’s popular youth-oriented program, T.G.I.S.
But after a few years in showbiz, she turned her back on the industry to lead a private life.
In a PEPLive interview with Chantal on November 19, 2020, the former actress and commercial model shared a glimpse of her life after she left showbiz.
CHANTAL’S "GOODBYE, CARLO" COMMERCIAL
Chantal first shot to fame as a young and chubby girl writing in her diary about going on a diet to get the attention of her crush Carlo.
But when she saw the hotdogs on a plate, she gobbled them, casting out all her thoughts about Carlo.
Chantal shared her fond memories of the time she was doing the commercial, which was directed by Mac Alejandre.
She recalled, “Noong nag-VTR na ako, nandoon na si Direk Mac. Parang workshop na siya na one on one niya tinitignan iyong mga bata.
“’Tapos when he asked me to act in front of him, paglabas namin, sabi niya doon sa mommy ko, ‘She has the role na.’
"Parang ganoon lang kabilis na the same day, kuha na iyong role.”
But on the day of the commercial's test shoot, Chantal got sick!
She recounted, “So parang tinatanong nila ako, ‘Gusto mo bang i-reschedule na lang natin?’
“E, siyempre, ako naman, akala ko naglalaro lang ako, e. Kasi maarte ako noong bata ako, e.
"Alembong talaga ako! Gusto ko nagpe-pretend talaga ako.
“Sabi ko, ‘Hindi, I want to continue.’ So we continued, I was sick that day, dedma!”
How did Chantal feel when the commercial became popular?
The former actress said, “Siyempre, at that time, hindi ko naisip na parang noong bata ako, kapag inaasar nila ako about the commercial, parang feeling ko, ‘Why are they making fun of me?’
“Pero ngayon, looking back, naisip ko, ay, nauna pala iyong TVC na iyon sa girl power, di ba?
“Ay, ayaw mo sa akin, kakainin ko iyong gusto ko. Bakit ko igi-give up iyong gusto ko para sumaya ka? So meron pala siyang girl power.
“So, parang looking back now, I always look at that TVC with fondness kasi it was so fun to do.
“Siyempre, in between, noong nag-teenager ako, parang nahihiya talaga akong ginawa ko iyon.”
CHANTAL UMALI IN T.G.I.S.
Afterwards, Chantal said she was offered to do small roles in some GMA-7 projects, such as Campus Romance and GMA TV Special.
That was also the time she was discovered by Mina del Rosario, the late wife of VIVA Artists Agency head honcho Vic del Rosario, who had her sign a contract.
Chantal said, “She was the one who contacted my parents and said, ‘We wanna sign her on.’ And I was very very close to Mama Mina.
“I was parang ako bine-baby, ako and Ciara Sotto were parang her babies at that time.
“But then, she passed away, namatay siya bigla so, ‘Ah, okay. Siguro hindi na matutuloy.’
“But VIVA still signed me and they were coming up with batch two of T.G.I.S. ‘tapos I was lucky enough to be chosen.”
In the show, Chantal played the role of Happy, a teenager who had everything she wanted only to discover she was adopted.
Chantal recalled, “When they designed the role of Happy, I was briefed na, ‘Oh, dahil mataba ka, ikaw iyong butt of jokes.’
“But she had an interesting back story, kasi Happy was adopted.
"Iyong personality niya na parati kang masaya pero kulang ka sa understanding sa sarili mo kasi ampon ka.
“Iyon iyong masaya and I just thought that if I was going to be a character that was odd, she was not the typical girl-next-door, let it be odd in an interesting way.
"It was a really cute role for me to do.”
Chantal was part of the original cast of the second batch of T.G.I.S. with Kim delos Santos, Chubi del Rosario, Polo Ravales, Antoinette Taus, and Dingdong Dantes.
Ciara Sotto, who was part of the first batch of T.G.I.S., was also retained in the second batch.
Anne Curtis, Sunshine Dizon, and Dino Guevarra later joined the cast.
The former teen star had a lot of good times with T.G.I.S. batchmates, “It was always fun, parating masaya.
"We were all so happy to be together, we were hanging out.
“Ang uso noon, kasi wala namang trailer truck dito sa Pilipinas, you sit in the car, nagsa-soundtrip kayo, order kayo ng pagkain.
“’Tapos kapag malaki iyong gap ng sequences, punta kaming mall, nuod kaming sine.
“I had made good friends with the people that I was working with.”
CHANTAL UMALI ON LEAVING SHOWBIZ
Chantal revealed she had to quit showbiz because of her weight issue.
She narrated, “Basta I was siguro mga 15 or 16. Siguro, a couple of years before I went to College, nag-stop na ako.
“Kasi at that time, siyempre, wala pa naman iyong concept or idea na, ‘Oh, you can be liked or you can be loved at any size.’
“Siyempre because I was big, I was overweight, I was very chubby when I was young.
“So parang when nag-turn ako ng 14 or 15, sinabihan na ako na, ‘Oh, kailangang magpapayat ka na. Kasi walang ibibigay na role sa iyo, nobody can write good roles for you if malaki ka.’
“Parang meron talaga akong malaking pressure na, ‘Ugh, kailangan kong magpapayat.’
“’Tapos teenager ka pa so you’re in a very confused time ‘tapos I’ll go to college.
"So sabi ko, ‘Naku, high school pa lang ako, inaasar na ako ng mga tao, kapag nag-college ako, baka lalo nila akong asarin.'
“So parang I just decided, sabi ko sa dad ko, parang I don’t want to do it anymore kasi grabe iyong pressure na you have to be a certain size for you to get a good role.
“Kasi noong time na iyon, kapag overweight ka, you only get the funny roles, iyong butt of jokes ka, di ba, iyon lang iyong ibinibigay na roles for you.
“And then, the management was expressing na, ‘Oh, kailangan payat ka, kailangan ganito.’
"E, parang hindi ko kaya at that time, I didn’t know how to fix myself, so ayoko na lang, alis na lang ako.”
Chantal, however, emphasized that going to college was the bigger reason she decided not to pursue a career in showbiz.
She explained, “Hindi ako comfortable na parang I’m being criticized in public or naku-conscious ako kapag tinitignan ako ng mga tao.
“’Tapos I was really set on going to a certain college. So, sabi ko, ‘Naku, doon sa college na ‘yon, baka sabihin nila, baduy ako.’
“’Di ba, medyo mababaw pa iyong reasoning mo kapag bata ka, e. So hindi mo naiisip na, ‘Ah, it’s a privilege na bata ka palang nagtatrabaho ka na.’
“So sabi ko, parang ayoko na, I didn’t need to work when I was a kid naman so sabi ko, sige okay na.”
In the end, Chantal and VIVA Artists Agency came to a mutual decision in 1999 to part ways.
It happend a few episodes before the batch two of T.G.I.S. ended.
Chantal recalled, “When VIVA said you don’t have to continue, feeling ko they just stopped writing, I don’t remember there was an ending.
“Magba-batch three na, batch three was coming, pero medyo parang they didn’t know how to tell me na I wasn’t going to continue to batch three or something.
“But I also felt like parang ayoko na, parang hindi na ako comfortable so parang simultaneously, it just happened...
“In fact, my contract with VIVA was not finished. I still had few years with them ‘tapos I begged off.
“Siguro, parang they were also frustrated with not being able to give me roles that would fit me.
“So, it was an easy decision for both parties na, ‘O, sige, huwag mo nang ituloy.’”
CHANTAL UMALI LIVING A NORMAL LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
Chantal then started living the life of a typical teenager going to college.
She realized, “I got to feel, like, this is college, parang napaka-normal ng life ko.
“And I got to work na regular job so naka-explore ako ng buhay na, ‘Ah, so this is what it’s like, parang no big deal naman pala.
"It was a good thing to have left at that time.”
Chantal graduated with a degree in Communication Arts from the De La Salle University.
She delved into photography and had an internship with Neal Oshima, a famous photographer and artist in the Philippines.
She said, “It was a real honor na naging apprentice niya ako for two years.
“And then, La Salle invited me to teach. So I taught photography in La Salle for four years, I think.”
CHANTAL AS A WORKING MOM
After four years of teaching in La Salle, Chantal stopped when she got married and gave birth to a daughter in 2009.
She share, “And then I got married and I got pregnant so I stopped working altogether. And then, siyempre, you know, life happened.
“I stayed home for a long time to take care of my daughter and then, bumalik lang ako sa work when I got separated.
“When I got separated parang I had to rebuild my entire life from ground zero."
After her separation from her husband, Chantal returned to work, this time in an architecture firm.
She now works as the head of Operations and Finance for C+G Design Group.
"I’m very lucky kasi my brother-in-law owns an architecture firm.
“I also style for my sister, my sister is an interior designer so I do styling for her, I work for her.”
CHANTAL AND HER LOVE FOR YOGA
At the time of her separation, when it felt for her like she was hitting rock bottom, Chantal took up yoga.
Looking back, she said, “While I was going through a difficult time in my life, na-discover ko iyong yoga.
"So, iyon iyong talagang feeling ko, nagpabago ng buhay ko. Parang it has really encouraged me to change my life.
"‘Ah, okay this is what yoga is, and na kapag meron ka palang ayaw sa buhay mo, you can work on yourself. Puwede ka mag-improve.
“If there’s something that you like, you can work on it, magbabago iyong life mo.
“When I discovered yoga, parang nag-change talaga iyong life ko. So now, that’s my advocacy na ishine-share ko na siya sa mga tao.”
Because of her advocacy, Chantal’s late father enrolled her in a teacher-training course for yoga, which she has been practicing for six years now.
Chantal said, “Kasi parang feeling ko, growing up, dahil ba Gemini ako, parang I felt like I was jack of all trades master of none.
"I could do many things, but I wasn’t particularly good in anything. Parang lahat mediocre.
“Noong nahanap ko iyong yoga, there’s something I can really be passionate about na I can continuously work on.
“I don’t have to be fantastic, I can just keep on working on something that I really love ‘tapos naggu-grow ka as a person.”
Chantal is happy where she is now, but given a chance, will she give acting another shot?
Chantal answered, “Alam mo parang it never crossed my mind kasi I don’t think anybody would offer anymore.
"I always think, if an opportunity presents itself and it’s specific to me, sino ba naman ako para tumanggi.
“But as it is now, feeling ko I’ve done it, ‘tapos okay naman, I don’t feel the need na bumalik.
“But if it was something like T.G.I.S. again, maybe, who knows? Hindi ko masagot, but who knows.”
Watch Chantal’s full PEPLive interview here:
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