Carlos Yulo And Chloe San Jose Are Locked In

Like many goal-driven Aries women, 22-year-old content creator Chloe Anjeleigh San Jose likes to ring in a new year by planning. With a determined fluidity, she knows what she wants, and will do everything in her power to get it. 

"I'm like water kasi," she says. "Whatever bottle or shape you put me in, I would shape into that."

Having begun a long-distance relationship with national gymnast and then-aspiring Olympic medalist Carlos Yulo in 2020, the Australia-based Chloe had already warmed up to the demands that came with Carlos' rigorous training schedule. She opted not to accompany him at training camps and competitions and instead lend her support from afar.

Carlos Yulo and Chloe San Jose for Cosmopolitan Philippines February 2025 

READ MORE: Carlos Yulo And Chloe San Jose's Relationship Timeline

The Paris Olympic Games, however, was a whole new beast, and would require Carlos to be in tiptop shape, both physically and mentally. It didn't help that he kicked off the year hanging by a thread, still adjusting to the disappointments of 2023. (In that year, he dropped his long-time Japanese coach, Munehiro Kugimiya, ended his ties with KG Management, and had the worst performance of his career at the FIG World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Belgium).

Sports fans speculated that distractions posed by Chloe's presence contributed to the professional rifts. Throughout it all, Carlos never wavered, remaining loyal to his beloved and repeatedly crediting most of his personal growth to her in interviews. 

In a virtual interview, the two tell me about the pressure they felt in the months leading up to Carlos' Olympic bid, greeting me from his home in Taguig, which they share with their two dogs, Blessing and Promise, and their cat, Miracle. With arms linked and fingers interlaced, they reveal that Chloe's support didn't only come in the form of her presence.

Chloe is wearing a set from Mango. Carlos is wearing a shirt and trousers from Massimo Dutti.

Five months before they headed to Paris for the summer 2024 Olympics, Chloe presented Carlos with several options: Should she skip the training camps and just watch some of the competitions, skip both the training camps and the competitions, or join both the training camps and the competitions?

Carlos says he chose the last option, reasoning that it would help him more if she was by his side through it all. Upon receiving that answer, Chloe deferred a semester of her Bachelor's degree in Psychological Sciences from her Australian university, and got to work. 

Her first task? Volunteering to draw up an Olympic plan, complete with a list of training camps and competitions in South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Australia that Carlos could join in preparation.

"It was just like a plan para makita lang kung ano yung gagawin, but it ended up being the real thing leading up to the Olympics," shares Chloe. She turns to Carlos—"Si Coach Aldrin [Castañeda], and you, and the rest of the team—they agreed to do [it]," she adds.

Carlos joins in, nodding as he describes how Chloe's overview helped both him and his coach see things from a perspective that they didn't have. "Kasi kapag ako lang tsaka yung coach ko lang, minsan hindi na namin nakikita yung ganoong bagay kasi araw-araw kami nagpa-practice," he says. "As a coach dami siyang nakitang culture ng sports ng UK, ng Korea, and kung paano silang mag-training, paano sila mag-prepare sa competition, and ina-apply niya yun every time na magko-compete kami."

The rest, as they say, is history (literally), with Carlos going on to win the gold medals for the floor exercises and vault. The win turned him into a national pride overnight, proving their naysayers wrong.

READ MORE: How Carlos Yulo And GF Chloe San Jose Celebrated His Olympic Gold

A Wattpad-worthy beginning

The lovebirds' meeting is the stuff of fanfiction and Wattpad, dotted by many side plots and featured a cast of supporting characters. But at the heart of it all, theirs is a tale of two strangers who took a chance on each other at the right time.

Back in 2020, Chloe was an 18-year-old nursing student and social media content creator in Queensland, Australia, who was on the way to completing her OJT. During a visit to the Philippines the previous year, she heard about the impressive performance of a gymnast named Carlos Yulo at the Southeast Asian Games and decided to send him an Instagram DM on a whim. 

"Hi, I'm a fan po," she wrote in a message that's become a prime example for those who want to "shoot their shot" with their favorite celebrities. "Just came across your account and hindi na po kayo as active as before. I hope you're doing well po. Stay safe. God bless." She didn't expect to get a reply.

Carlos, who was 20 years old and deep in his training in Japan at the time, followed back. Despite being inwardly kilig, he replied with the fervor of a teenage boy who has no clue how to act in front of a girl he likes. That is to say, quite dryly. "Hello, hehe. Anyway, I'm doing great here. Thank you. Ikaw din diyan ingat and God bless."

Though it started very casual at first, the exchange turned into back-and-forth DMs as friends ("Parang tropa lang," describes Carlos), which then evolved into phone calls, then into video calls. By June 2020, they were officially a long-distance couple, and by 2022, Chloe had saved up enough to see him in person, flying to Vietnam for the 2021 SEA Games. 

They confess that the first meeting was unforgettable, but pretty anticlimactic. After two years of corresponding online, both of them were looking forward to seeing each other face to face. But as Carlos first set his eyes on Chloe at the hotel, it wasn't the type of scene worthy of a 360-degree camera pan and dramatic chime sound effects, or an OST by Erik Santos.

Carlos is wearing a printed shirt from Off-White and Massimo Dutti leather jacket and trousers. Chloe is wearing pieces from the stylist's collection.

"Sobrang kinakabahan talaga ako," says Carlos, coyly. There he was, a boy with a naturally reserved demeanor—and NGSB (no girlfriend since birth) at that—about to meet the girl he'd found a special connection with on the Internet. "Hindi ko alam kung ano yung gagawin ko. Meron kasi akong training at the time, so nagrarambol-rambol na yung nararamdaman ko," he shares. 

Speaking slowly, Carlos recalls going through major mental health struggles as a young athlete committed to a strict training schedule miles away from home. He was insecure, painfully shy, and prone to mood swings. "Hindi mo mararamdaman na mahal ko yung sarili ko at that time," he recalls. "Mas more on harsh and puro negative yung mga lumalabas sa puso ko and sa thoughts ko, like 'Ano bang ginagawa mo dito, hindi mo naman kaya.'"  

Chloe seemed to clock this crumpled version of Carlos immediately, saying that his aura was very small. "Not literally!" she says, with a laugh. Though she does remember thinking something along the lines of "'Oh my god. He's really that short!'"

"Hindi ko alam kung paano i-explain, pero when I look at someone, parang may bubble sila and yung bubble ni Caloy, hindi siya yung pansinin," she recounts. 

Things are different now, though. Carlos is noticeably more confident, and approaches interviews like ours with more ease. "You know how there are people, when you walk into a room, mapapansin mo [sila] agad, parang your eyes are drawn onto [them]? Parang nagkaroon na siya ng ganun," says Chloe, turning to Carlos. "You took care of your aura and it got bigger, mahal."

Two parts of a whole

In public, the two refer to each other as partners—a word that essentially reflects how they see the relationship. At this point, they've seen each other through various life phases and have been tested by controversy and criticism from a general public that thinks it has a say in Carlos' life because of how he represents the Philippines. But their bond seems to be stronger than ever.

Carlos surmises that the secret might be because their foundation was built on an equal partnership that allows them a certain level of independence. "We let each other be our own person, but when people see us together, we're as one," says Chloe. 

It took a lot of work to get to that point. For Carlos, a bulk of the early years were spent learning how to be in a relationship while being in the relationship. They spent a lot of time confiding in each other about their problems and helping each other through them. "Batuhan po agad na, 'Oh, ganito 'yung nangyayari sa'kin.' Puro problema agad," says Carlos with a laugh.

Having spent much of his life alone in his thoughts, Carlos especially struggled to communicate in the early days. "Hindi ko din naiisip din na we're a team pa at that time," says Carlos. "Na 'yung problema ko, problema ko lang." Addressing Chloe, he continues. "Na hindi ko kailangang i-share sa 'yo kasi may problema ka na, bibigyan pa kitang problema? Ang tibay naman ng mukha ko noon."

Carlos is wearing a deconstructed denim vest and oversized pants from Orias. Chloe is wearing pieces from the stylist's collection.

He credits Chloe's patience with him for helping him realize that it's better to speak up to address problems right away rather than cling on to the negative feelings. With a much stronger personality, Chloe is known for being vocal about the things she feels strongly about, especially when it comes to couple issues. "Hindi kami yung hindi nagpapansinan. We talk agad eh. Lalo na ako!" she says.  

As if to demonstrate their point, Carlos starts a sentence and Chloe finishes the thought. "Ako, iniisip ko kasi..." he says. "...kung paano mo sasabihin..." adds Chloe. "Paano ako gagalaw ulit," Carlos continues. "Sa'kin, straight agad eh," quips Chloe. 

Couple goals

The goal-setting aspect of their pairing came at Chloe's suggestion while they were still in an LDR, with Carlos in Japan and Chloe in Australia. They both bought mini notebooks to record their goals as a couple, which started out simple at first.

"Manonood tayo ng ganitong movie sa ganitong araw, sabay kami kakain sa dinner ng linggo, kapag nagkita tayo, pupunta tayo sa theme parks, kakain tayo sa ganitong restaurant. Try din natin mag street food. Yung mga ganun," remembers Carlos. 

"And then it got big na—the Olympics," says Chloe. "The goal was really [to] crush it."

Crush it they did, but that hasn't stopped them from dreaming bigger. They now have their own set of individual goals—Chloe hopes to finish her Psychology degree and try her luck as a performer and content creator here in the Philippines, while Carlos is aiming for more Olympic medals, and eventually hopes to open a training center for young gymnasts. 

Still, it's been their agreement from the start that they'd achieve them all together. Carlos himself admits that he's working extra hard to help make Chloe's dreams a reality because of all the sacrifices she already made for him. "Kahit pakonti-konti, bumabawi ako, especially sa kung anong gusto niyang gawin—full support ako pag dating nun, and gusto ko pong maabot niya yung dream niya, and nandun ako sa tabi niya kapag inabot na po niya," he says. 

I ask if they have any future plans, because it's common for long-term couples to have a few up their sleeves. I prod a bit more, asking if wedding bells are on the horizon. They look at each other for a second, then burst out laughing. "Secret," says Carlos with a knowing grin on his face. 

Outside of their careers, they're more spontaneous. "We like to do everything together. Theme parks, travel, shopping. Some sports, like we do badminton together, play games," says Chloe.

Carlos tags himself as more of a doer, while Chloe is the planner, often playing organizer and of the activities. "Mas organized kapag siya yung gumawa ng mga ganun," says Carlos. "Siya naman, ayaw niya po na siya ang gagalaw, kaya ok na ok po talaga."

From random dinners to random trips, the two aren't afraid to flaunt their love on social media. Their hundreds and thousands of followers know this well, as they're regularly treated to lovey dovey posts that feature the couple holding hands and hugging, wearing matching outfits, visiting amusement parks, and doing random TikTok challenges. 

In these posts, they flash the same wide-eyed, toothy grins that I'm seeing on screen now as they playfully fidget with each others' hands. True happiness for them, it seems, isn't dependent on the activity.

For Carlos and Chloe, being in the same room is enough. "We just like existing together," says Carlos, simply. "But it's really a nice feeling to have each other kahit parang walang ginagawa."

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