Filipina-born K-pop idol Gehlee Dangca of girl group UNIS amazed fans and netizens as she transformed into a princess for her 18th birthday celebration held in Manila.
On UNIS’s official social media pages, Gehlee shared photos from her milestone event after flying home to the Philippines.
“⊹ ࣪ ˖ Belle of the ball .𖥔 ݁ ˖ #UNIS #유니스 #GEHLEE #젤리당카,” they wrote in the caption.
In the carousel of photos, Gehlee wore a stunning pink gown and blonde hair — seemingly inspired by a beloved animated princess. A video clip also showed a butterfly gently landing on her tiara, making it look like a scene straight out of a fairytale.
In another post, Gehlee donned a yellow gown with the caption: “Once upon a dream ✨ #UNIS #유니스 #GEHLEE #젤리당카.”
Fans couldn’t help but gush over Gehlee's princess transformation in the comment section.
“Finally, Gehlee’s birthday wish came true and that’s to become a debutante princess. She literally looked like she came straight out of a manhwa or a fairytale story,” a fan said.
Another one expressed: “you don't understand how perfect and right she looks like this.”
Her mother, Sahlee Grace Dangca, also shared behind-the-scenes moments from the debut shoot.
“Several days of feeling under the weather with just a few hours of sleep has never been this rewarding. Seeing our Princess at her happiest is pure bliss. #gehleeat18 #maGEHLEEcal,” hshe wrote.
She also shared a video clip of Gehlee’s enchanting moment, writing: “So charming, even the butterflies can't get enough of her!”
Gehlee’s gowns were designed by Enchantrail Gowns, a local fashion couture brand, where they shared: “Our deepest gratitude to Mrs. Sahlee and the Dangca family for the warm welcome and for trusting us to dress GEHLEE on her special day. 🌸✨ What a loving family! It was an to be part of such a meaningful moment. 💖.”
The young idol also joined Sabrina Carpenter’s viral TikTok trend “When Did You Get Hot?”, showing her transformation into a princess.
Her post captioned “i NEED a minute ✨👑 #gehlee,” has garnered over 3.4 million views and 770,000 likes, as of this writing.
Currently, Gehlee is enjoying her vacation in the Philippines while taking a short break from her idol activities. On Weverse, she shared photos from her family trip to Bohol, visiting the Chocolate Hills, Tarsier Sanctuary, and Floating Lunch River Cruise.
Gehlee, along with fellow member Elisia Parmisano, are the only full-Filipino members of UNIS, a global girl group formed through the reality show Universe Ticket. Their leader Hyeonju is half-Korean and half-Filipino. The group debuted in March 2024 with the EP We UNIS, led by the single “Superwoman.”
READ: How did their fellow UNIS help Gehlee and Elisia adjust to life in South Korea?
Last August, the eight-member group performed at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City for a fan concert, followed by a fan-signing event at a nearby mall.
Performing in her home country, Gehlee expressed her gratitude on X: “Ang aking minamahal na bansa, Pilipinas! 🇵🇭♡ maraming salamat talaga for your overwhelming sweetness during our stay. tulad ng inaasahan, we had so much fun interacting with you all again.”
“I've honestly already cried myself a sparkly river over how happy this trip made me so we hope you enjoyed all our stages and that we were able to bring a ton of smiles to the country i can call my tahanan :) mahal namin kayo ng sobra !! ⋆˙⟡♡,” she added.