The PBB Celebrity Collab Edition 2.0 is already shaking the foundations of our local showbiz landscape, and it’s all thanks to the first two names revealed: Sofia Pablo, one of GMA’s fierce Sparkle artists, and Joaquin Arce, a rising talent from ABS-CBN’s Star Magic.

Both stars have incredibly personal reasons for joining, and this is where the humanity of reality TV kicks in.

For Joaquin Arce (son of Neil Arce and Angel Locsin’s stepson), his motivation is simple: he’s a huge fan of the show, and he’s ready to embrace the challenge. It takes guts to leave the comfortable world of scripted shows for the raw, unedited environment of the PBB house, but Joaquin is clearly ready to play. Oh, and shoutout to him for his PBB life hack: bring extra toiletries! He’s going in prepared with two tubes of toothpaste “just in case.” That’s dedication!

But it’s Sofia Pablo’s motivation that really hit me. She confessed that she was “always a victim of misconceptions [and] fake news,” and people only know her from her work or her viral memes. Her goal? To let the people know her for who she really is. This is a massive risk for any celebrity, but for a young woman who has faced online scrutiny, it’s a mission to reclaim her true self.

The commitment to PBB is tough—it’s roughly 100 days, which means missing major holidays, including Christmas and New Year’s.

Sofia’s admission about this sacrifice was truly heartbreaking. She shared that she’s never spent those holidays away from her mother because it’s just the two of them. Imagine the difficulty of making that choice! She recounted that her mom was crying, but they both saw this as a massive, one-time sugal (risk) in exchange for the chance of the public truly appreciating her for her character.

This isn’t about winning money; it’s about a daughter making an emotional sacrifice to gain acceptance and understanding. That is the kind of vulnerability that instantly makes you root for her.

Sofia, who pre-emptively addressed the “favorite” label, told us she doesn’t want to be called Kuya’s favorite—she just wants to be loved because she is a good person. With that kind of outlook and Joaquin’s fun energy, this house is set to be full of drama, truth, and maybe, just maybe, some real unity.

The first two housemates are in—are you ready to watch the drama unfold?