Meet the Sterlings: Jonathan Sterling brings Celeste Cortesi home

MANILA, Philippines — Meeting your partner’s parents for the first time comes with its own pressures — and not even a former Miss Universe Philippines is immune to the nerves.

Jonathan Sterling, the British tech entrepreneur and Goat Creative Studios co-founder behind “Celeste Unscripted,” takes partner Celeste Cortesi to his childhood home in Orlando, Florida, in the docuseries’ third episode, “Meet the Sterlings,” now streaming on YouTube.

“I have never brought a girlfriend home to meet my parents… since I’ve been an adult,” Sterling admits in the episode. “I think there’s much more pressure on Celeste meeting my parents than on me… You only get one chance at a first impression.”

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For the former Miss Universe Philippines, the trip meant seeing a side of Sterling that predates the headlines.

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“I come from a small, humble town, and she’s gonna get to see that for the first time,” he says, driving her through the neighborhood where he grew up.

READ: Jonathan Sterling on his own reality show: ‘Disappointed’

Cortesi, who says she is usually nervous about meeting parents, found herself at ease.

“As soon as we introduced each other, I was not panicking anymore,” she shares. “Overall, they’re just so nice and so welcoming.”

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The verdict came the next morning, in a message from Sterling’s father that he read aloud to Cortesi: “You and Celeste are a good fit, and we’re happy for you both.”

The episode then follows the couple to Hawaii, where Cortesi reunites with her longtime friend Carmela and meets her six-month-old son, Alexander — a visit that opens the series’ most candid conversation about motherhood and pregnancy planning.

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Cortesi speaks openly for the first time about undergoing IVF, sharing that she has PCOS and walking viewers through the process, from ovulation tests to hormone injections.

“A lot of women go through that, and it’s not easy to access because it’s not cheap,” she says, later admitting: “It hurts really badly when you do these injections, and also you’re just full of hormones. It’s really not easy.”

Back in Manila, the episode turns to Sterling’s quieter work: the establishment of the Sterling Scholarship Fund, with grants that benefit scholars in Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and the University of the Philippines Diliman.

READ: Mandaluyong pupils get school supplies

The reality of the IVF process, however, was not as easy as the decision to undertake it.“In my head I was just like, I don’t think this is gonna be easy at all. It’s gonna be actually hard and painful,” Cortesi admits in a confessional.

But it is her resolve, voiced earlier in the episode to Carmela, that lingers: “You just have to keep trying and do whatever it takes — but it’s gonna happen.”

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“Celeste Unscripted” airs new episodes every Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on free TV, with full episodes available every Tuesday on the Goat Creative Studios YouTube channel. /atm