Valeen Montenegro
Actress Valeen Montenegro said it felt “liberating” to finally introduce her boyfriend of seven years, Selu Lozano, a strength and conditioning trainer, to her supporters.
The “reveal” is expected to dispel the rumor that the 26-year-old actress had caused the breakup of Ciara Sotto and her husband Jojo Oconer. In her interviews in March, Valeen denied being the third party in the relationship.
“For Selu, there’s not much difference. He just tells me that random people follow him on Instagram now or that he gets more likes for his photos,” Valeen told the Inquirer. “But for me, it’s a happy feeling. We still do the same things as before but when people see us together these days, they look at us and sort of understand why we’re together. I like that.”
As to why it took her seven years to finally talk about her relationship with Selu, Valeen explained: “Aside from the fact that he’s not from show biz, no one really asked about it. It would seem weird if I’d just tell people about him even though they’re not really interested.” A story about Valeen on the GMA 7 program “Tunay na Buhay” featured interviews of people close to her, including Selu.
Valeen said that Selu influenced her to “develop this love for working out. He trains athletes aside from people like me, who are interested in muscle toning and weight loss or weight gain.” Selu is also her business partner in the dance studio and coffee shop that she put up eight months ago.
The actress said she was aware that venturing into a business with your boyfriend as one of the partners could be risky. “I don’t know how to say this without sounding too assuming—yes, the risk is there but you will forever wonder what would have happened if you didn’t push through with it,” Valeen pointed out. We interpret this to mean that she is already planning her future with Selu.
Selu could also be the reason Valeen, at 26, is still not emotionally ready to take on more mature roles or do love scenes. She did agree to a kissing scene with actor Rap Fernandez for the sci-fi film “Every Room is a Planet,” a finalist in the narrative category of the 2016 Cinema One Originals. The film festival begins its run on Nov. 14.
“It’s not that I don’t want to. If ever I’d get offered a project that requires it, I will still see how I’d feel toward the director and the people I’ll be working with. I will not close any doors (to the possibility of doing it),” she declared.
She described Rap as a “very professional” coactor. He is the half brother of controversial actor Mark Anthony Fernandez, who was recently arrested for alleged possession of marijuana.
Valeen added: “Rap never made me feel uncomfortable or awkward being around him, even though I know that he and his family are going through something. He was fine during the shoot. I only remember that, one time, he said he needed to go because he had to pay his brother a visit.” Mark Anthony is currently detained at the Pampanga Provincial Jail.
In “Every Room is a Planet,” Valeen plays Yanni, a mentally unstable girl who is convinced that her husband is abducted by aliens. The film by Malay Javier also features Antoinette Taus.
“It’s a paranoid fiction type of film. It’s a story that’s really hard to explain,” Valeen said. “I’ll just leave it up to the viewers to figure out who is crazy and who is sane.”