Paola Grace Huyong has become one of the more talked-about names in Philippine pop culture, not because she chased the spotlight, but because it found her. As the founder of the horchata-focused café brand Siesta and the former partner of television personality Ryan Bang, she has built a public profile while keeping most of her personal life firmly on her own terms. This article walks through what is publicly known about her background, her business, her high-profile relationship, and where things stand for her heading into 2026.

Who Is Paola Grace Huyong?

Paola Grace Huyong is a Filipino entrepreneur best recognized for founding Siesta, a café and beverage brand built around horchata, a cinnamon-and-rice-based drink. Unlike many people who become recognizable through television or social media fame, Huyong’s public visibility grew largely because of her multi-year relationship with Ryan Bang, the South Korean-born host of the long-running noontime show “It’s Showtime.” Even so, she has consistently been described in Philippine entertainment coverage as someone who built her own identity outside of that relationship, through her business and her personal interests.

Reports place her birth in the mid-1990s, which would put her in her early thirties as of 2026. She grew up and has been based in Quezon City for much of her adult life.

Early Life and Education

Huyong’s academic path points to a strong foundation in business. She completed her undergraduate degree at Assumption College, a private Philippine institution known for its emphasis on values-based education alongside academic rigor. After finishing her bachelor’s degree, she went on to pursue a Master of Business Administration at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), widely regarded as one of the top business schools in Southeast Asia. Some profiles also note additional coursework connected to Yale School of Management in the United States, reflecting a continued interest in expanding her business knowledge beyond the Philippines.

This educational background lines up closely with the direction her career eventually took: building and running a hospitality brand from the ground up rather than simply investing in one.

Career: Building Siesta Horchata

Huyong’s most defining professional achievement is Siesta, the café brand she founded during the pandemic. According to the brand’s own account of its origins, the idea started small and personal, she had developed a taste for horchata, began making it at home using a recipe shared by a friend, and treated it as a comforting afternoon ritual rather than a business plan. Over time, that home habit turned into a full beverage brand built around cinnamon rice milk drinks, later expanding into coffee, snacks, and light food offerings.

What began as a home-based project grew into a physical café location on Scout Santiago in Quezon City, a space that also became known for sharing a building with ventures connected to Ryan Bang, including a restaurant and an art studio. Siesta built a loyal local following, known in fan circles as the “Siesta Family,” and the brand extended its reach through pop-up events and festival appearances across the Philippines.

In late 2025, Siesta announced that its original Quezon City café location would close, though the brand said it planned to continue operating through pop-ups and events into early 2026 rather than shutting down entirely. The announcement came with a message thanking loyal customers for years of support, without detailing what would come next for the brand. Around the same period, some coverage referenced a newer home base for the brand in Parañaque, suggesting Huyong was reworking the business rather than ending it outright.

Relationship With Ryan Bang

Huyong’s relationship with Ryan Bang is the reason most people outside her immediate circle became aware of her at all. The two reportedly met in mid-2023 at a football event, a detail that lines up with her known interest in the sport and her past experience playing futsal competitively during her college years. Their relationship became public later that year, and Bang has spoken publicly about the connection on his own television and online platforms.

The relationship progressed over the following months, with the couple appearing together at industry events, family gatherings, and public functions tied to Bang’s work on “It’s Showtime.” In mid-2024, the couple announced their engagement, a milestone that drew significant attention from Philippine entertainment media given Bang’s popularity.

By late 2025, however, public speculation began building around the state of the relationship, fueled in part by the closure of Huyong’s café and changes in the couple’s social media activity. In 2026, Bang addressed the speculation directly during an appearance on a popular YouTube channel, confirming that the engagement had ended. He attributed the split to differences in cultural background and differing expectations around marriage, and he was clear in stating that the breakup was not the result of infidelity on either side.

Life After Ryan Bang

Since the confirmation of their split, Huyong has largely kept a low profile, avoiding detailed public statements about her personal life while continuing to appear occasionally at public and industry events. Coverage from late 2025 noted the two were still seen together at a public festival even amid breakup rumors, which added to public curiosity about the timeline of events, though Bang’s later statement clarified that the relationship had already ended by that point.

Outside of the relationship, Huyong’s public interests remain centered on entrepreneurship, travel, and sports. She has been described as an avid traveler, having visited destinations both within the Philippines and abroad, and as someone with a long-standing passion for football and concerts.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who is Paola Grace Huyong? She is a Filipino entrepreneur best known for founding the Siesta horchata café brand and for her past engagement to television host Ryan Bang.

2. What is Paola Huyong’s educational background? She earned her undergraduate degree from Assumption College and later completed a Master of Business Administration at the Asian Institute of Management, with additional coursework connected to Yale School of Management.

3. What business does Paola Huyong run? She founded Siesta, a café and beverage brand centered on horchata drinks, which started as a home-based project during the pandemic before expanding into a full café and pop-up brand.

4. Are Paola Huyong and Ryan Bang still together? No. Ryan Bang publicly confirmed in 2026 that their engagement had ended, citing cultural and lifestyle differences rather than infidelity.

5. When did Paola Huyong and Ryan Bang get engaged? The couple announced their engagement in mid-2024, roughly a year after their relationship became public.

6. Is Paola Huyong a public figure by profession? Not originally. She is primarily a businesswoman, and her public recognition grew largely through her relationship with Ryan Bang rather than a media or entertainment career of her own.

Final Thoughts

Paola Grace Huyong’s story reflects more than just a high-profile relationship that played out in the public eye. Her academic background, her hands-on approach to building a beverage brand from a home recipe into a recognized café, and her continued presence in Philippine entrepreneurial and social circles suggest a career that exists independently of her past relationship. As 2026 unfolds, public interest will likely continue to track both her next business moves and how she navigates life in the public eye going forward.