Ivan Gunawan Will Celebrate Eid in Mecca, Appearing More Confident After Losing Dozens of Kilograms

"I, God willing, will depart for Umrah on March 11, and insha'Allah during the last 10 days. So, insha'Allah this year will be my first time fasting in the Holy Land, my first time celebrating Eid in the Holy Land," he said when met in the TB Simatupang area, South Jakarta, Saturday (7/2/2026).

Unfortunately, on this spiritual journey, Ivan cannot be accompanied by his mother, Erna Gunawan. The health condition of his mother's legs, who is a former ballet athlete, is the main reason why she cannot participate in this long journey.

"Same with my friend. Because Mom's condition is not yet stable, her legs are still problematic because my mom was a ballet athlete, so her legs are not strong due to ballet when she was young," Ivan explained.

Regarding special preparations before departure, Ivan admitted that he prefers to surrender and go through everything sincerely. He does not want to treat worship as a burden or a competition, but rather as a heartfelt journey that flows as it is.

"Well, worship means whether you're ready or not, you have to be ready. That's it, there are no special preparations. We're not competing, we're here to worship. So just go with the flow, let it be as it is there," he wisely stated.

In addition to the umrah plans, Ivan's physical appearance also successfully caught the media's attention when he was met. He has drastically lost weight by dozens of kilograms, making his old clothes now look too big on his increasingly slender body.

"Oh, of course, I have to stay awake. Until today, I've almost reached 25 kilos, thank God. My old clothes are starting to get big. So I intentionally don't want to make them smaller, I don't want to make new ones, I'll just wear the bigger clothes," said Ivan enthusiastically.

Wrapping up the conversation, Ivan expressed his biggest desire while in the Holy Land besides performing Umrah. He plans to do itikaf and increase his religious activities to achieve peace in this life and the hereafter.