After months of rumors, Heart Evangelista finally showed up in a cameo role on Bling Empire Season 3.
The 37-year-old Filipino actor appeared in the ninth episode of the Netflix reality series, which is about the lives of wealthy East and Southeast Asian women.
In the scene, Evangelista shows up at a Filipino dinner that lead cast member Kane Lim prepares especially for her.
“Heart Evangelista is one of the most famous and beloved (actors) in the Philippines. I wanna throw something epic for her. I want her to feel welcome, and maybe she misses Filipino food,” Lim said.
In a loving gesture, Evangelista gives Lim a cubic zirconia necklace which he initially refuses, knowing it’s expensive.
“No, I can’t, it’s too much. This is real, I can feel the weight,” he said.
“It was a fun cameo, thank you, Bling Empire S3 for the sweetest party. To Kane and Kelly, you are angels,” Evangelista tweeted, addressing Lim and another series cast member,
Chinese-American movies producer Kelly Mi Li.
Lim teased fans by posting a video with Evangelista and Li. “Philippines you asked for it, you got it! Guess who will be (on) Bling Empire S3. Tune in tonight!!!! @iamhearte LET’S GO,” he posted on Instagram and tagged Evangelista.
In his follow-up Instagram story, Lim said that he had kept Evangelista’s cameo a secret for “many months.”
In February, Evangelista confirmed she’ll appear in a Netflix show, but didn’t reveal what particular program.
The Filipino celebrity previously auditioned for the role of Araminta Lee in the 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians upon the personal invitation of Kevin Kwan, who wrote the novel on which the movie was based on.
She and Kwan are friends; he wrote the foreword to her fashion book, Styled with Heart.
Evangelista did not get the Araminta Lee role, which went to Japanese-British actor Sonoya Mizuno.
Bling Empire is the first US reality show to feature an all-Asian-American cast. It premiered on 15 January 2021.