Why Rhian Ramos can’t fall for JM de Guzman, her crush at age 15

JM de Guzman (left) and Rhian Ramos

‘It’s difficult to fall in love with him,’ said actress Rhian Ramos of JM de Guzman, her leading man in Joel Ruiz’s romantic film, “Kung Paano Siya Nawala,” which opened last Wednesday. “It’s scary because you know that he’s not in a state where love is a priority.”

The 28-year-old actress added: “He’s catching up on a lot of things, and I support him on that. But, falling in love is also not the state I’m at, either. This was why we didn’t have any problem in that aspect while we were working on the film.”

Rhian swore that “nothing romantic developed” between them, even though she admitted that she had a crush on JM when she was 15. “That was a long time ago. I didn’t think he was the same person until I googled him, and he showed me a video of the old him,” she stressed.

The “old” JM sported a buzz cut hairstyle and had a hip-hop outfit on, said Rhian. “He was still a little chubby then. Since I met him, my notebook was filled with his name with heart doodles or with ’Rhian de Guzman’ for two weeks straight.

“Now, looking back, we would argue as to when we actually met for the first time. JM kept saying it was at an awards show,” Rhian shared with reporters. “I asked him, ’Are you sure you did not sing or rap?’ When he finally admitted that he did, I said, ’Oh my God, that was you!’”

Rhian said she made sure not to tell this to JM (now 29) while they were still shooting the film. “I don’t want him to feel uncomfortable,” she explained. “When you’re working with someone, especially on a love story, you have to exert extra effort not to feel too attached. We see it happen all the time. For me, to be professional is to give a constant effort to not let that happen. If it does, it should have nothing to do with work.”

Rhian said it had only been half a year when she and Jason Choachuy, her boyfriend of three years, parted ways. “We only talk once in a while—when I see him. Nowadays, we’re allowing ourselves to live our lives separately,” she declared. “Yes, this is final. I don’t know what will happen in the future, but as of now, that’s how it feels.”

She pointed out: “I’ve always been vocal to people that I don’t plan on getting married soon. I have a lot of priorities and dreams, and things on my bucket list. Marriage is not one of them.”

This was why Rhian said she was determined to make her three-month stay in New York City “purely business.” She explained: “I don’t want to fall in love in another country because I know that I’d be returning here soon.”

The actress will leave at the end of November to study “comedy improv” in the Big Apple.

“It’s always been a dream since I was in high school. I had imagined being part of ’Saturday Night Live.’ However, a lot of things happened that led me to doing dramatic acting. It’s never too late to try, though,” she declared. “I don’t believe that people are done learning. There’s always something to improve on. Even though I’ve already done a lot of drama, I never felt I was good enough. I still get nervous when there’s a big scene.”

She also said she was thrilled with the idea of living there alone. “I’m excited to learn a little independence. I’ve never lived on my own. I’m always in our family house. I’ve never done laundry for myself. I’ve never experienced getting hungry because I didn’t cook dinner, or my room getting infested with cockroaches because I didn’t clean it for a long time,” the actress said. INQ