On the September 27th episode of JTBC's 'My Name is Gabriel,' BLACKPINK’s Jennie transformed into 'Maria,' a 1996-born farmhouse B&B owner from Paliano, near Rome, Italy.
In a pre-show interview, when asked, "What would you be doing if you weren’t a celebrity?" Jennie replied, "I talk about this with my friends frequently. I probably would have worked in fashion. I love planning, so I think I’d make a great event planner," expressing her anticipation for stepping into Maria’s life.
After wrapping up a fashion show in Capri, Italy, Jennie arrived at the ranch only to be greeted by a woman with a friendly smile, leaving her a bit confused. It turned out the woman was Maria’s close friend, Roberta. Jennie shared, “At first, I was flustered. It wasn’t easy to adapt."
Roberta mentioned that Maria frequently visited the horse farm and introduced Bambi, a horse Maria loved. Jennie bonded with Bambi while brushing its mane, recalling memories from her childhood. "It reminded me a lot of when I was young. I used to feed apples and carrots to horses. Even when my family called me to come back to Korea for the holidays while I was in New Zealand, I’d tell them I was staying at the horse farm," she reminisced.
After unpacking, Jennie shared dinner with Maria’s mother, who revealed her story of moving to the countryside after suffering a stroke at the young age of 21. Maria’s mother spoke passionately about the beauty of life in nature, saying, “Love is a choice. You could go elsewhere, but you choose not to.” Jennie nodded in agreement, deeply moved by her words.
The next day, Jennie started her official duties at the B&B, heading to the city to pick up guests. Speaking fluent English, she drove three Italian young men back to the B&B in a truck. One of the guests seemed to recognize Jennie, saying, “You look really familiar,” hinting at an exciting development in the next episode.
'My Name is Gabriel' is a reality show where a celebrity lives as an ordinary person for 72 hours, in a place where no one knows them, experiencing life as one among 8 billion people. It airs every Friday at 10:30 PM on JTBC.
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