Manila (Philippines) - Of course you can do it like this. Shortly after her studies in Manila, Charissa Mae Pasumbal (22) became pregnant. As she was living far away in another place in the Philippines at the time, she had a good chance of keeping the pregnancy a secret from her student friends. It was only when she was seven months pregnant that they all met again. The reaction of Pasumbal's friends spoke volumes.

As the moment of unveiling was captured on video, millions of others have been able to enjoy it since this month. Because when the pregnant woman in the curious clip enters the room while filming her friends, they immediately freak out.

All three of them drop their jaws and look at the 22-year-old's belly in complete amazement. Apparently none of them had even suspected anything.

But why did Pasumbal keep her upcoming baby such a secret?

"We are a close-knit group of friends, and I really wanted to see their characteristic reactions all at once," the Filipina now explained in an interview with Newsweek.

However, there was one particular hurdle.

Pasumbal had not completely disappeared for seven months, but had met up with some of her friends sporadically.

"I visited them from time to time, but wore oversized clothes to hide my belly. Looking back, it's actually quite funny," she explained to the US magazine.

It wasn't just about staging a big surprise for the expectant mother, but also about her strength.

"Since I was busy preparing for motherhood, I didn't have the time or energy to tell them individually. I thought a surprise would be more memorable - and it definitely was."

A nice side effect is her viral hit on TikTok . Since April 7, it has garnered 7.9 million clicks and 1.1 million likes.

Fun fact: Pasumbal also kept the clip a secret for several months. Because if you take a look at her TikTok account, you will quickly realize that she had already become the mother of a cute daughter before it was published.