Success Stories Part 2 "Miriam Quiambao-Roberto: Rebuilding, Recovering, and Rediscovering God"

In the concluding part of this exclusive interview, Miriam Quiambao-Roberto talks candidly about the difficulty of almost losing her life savings to a scam, how turning back to God has given her a better direction in life, and her plans with her new family.

What difficulties did you face in moving back from Hong Kong to the Philippines?
I got married in 2004, and I got back here in 2006. Fortunately GMA quickly offered me a travel show, Pinoy Meets World, which sustained me financially so I had work when I moved back here even when my ex-husband wasn’t providing for me any more. It took us a couple of years before we agreed that he’d file a divorce.

In 2007 I had a financial challenge. I had invested in foreclosed properties again with my friend and investment partner. But in 2007 I learned that our properties were receiving letters from the bank threatening repossession because she wasn’t paying the amortization. It had over 1 million penalties in the bank.

Success Stories "Miriam Quiambao-Roberto: On Rising, Falling, And Rising Again (Part 1)"

Miriam Quiambao-Roberto shot up to international prominence at Miss Universe 1999, where she took the prize of first runner up for the Philippines despite her unfortunate slip and fall. But what captured everyone’s attention was the way she got back up even after falling down. Her graceful recovery from this setback drew the applause of the audience and won her fans the world over.

Who knew that this would become a metaphor for her life? After her meteoric rise, she also suffered a series of setbacks, from divorce to career downturns to being scammed out of her investments. But just like that night in 1999, Miriam got back up again after each setback, and found happiness and security in God and her new family.

In part one of this two-part exclusive interview, Miriam Quiambao-Roberto opens up about the challenges she’s faced, how in an alternate timeline she would have been a physical therapist in Indiana instead of a beauty queen, and why she suddenly left showbiz for a life of luxury in Hong Kong.

Miriam Quiambao-Roberto in childhood.

When you were growing up, what was your attitude towards money?
My parents taught me to be a saver. At seven or eight years old I already had a bank account. Whenever we received money for helping around the house, or during Christmas when we sang and danced and we got cash rewards from family members for that, I put it all in there.
But in our immature minds we didn’t really understand where we found money or its value. In fact my mom always told me “Money doesn’t grow on trees! I can’t keep on buying the stuff you want me to buy!”
It was only when I grew up and got my own job that I realized that it really wasn’t all that easy to make my own money.