Heartbreaking!: A different kind of ‘Feb-ibig’ series from real-life couple ‘LoiNie’

I’m angry with her in all of my scenes,” said Ronnie Alonte, who added that playing Gab—opposite real-life partner Loisa Andalio’s Mara in “The Clueless Girl” episode of the digital series “The Goodbye Girl”—is one of his most challenging roles so far.

“Gab is a film-TV director who’s in a relationship with Mara. Don’t expect any intimate scene here between me and Loisa because there’s none. You’ll see us quarreling in most of our sequences together. This makes Gab hard to portray,” Ronnie told reporters during a virtual media gathering to promote “The Clueless Girl.”

“I keep telling people that being an actor is hard work,” pointed out Loisa. “To portray Mara, I had to think that Ronnie really did something bad and that we will eventually break up. We’re happy with our relationship right now, but the role required me to feel rejected. That’s why before Ronnie and I would go to the set, I’d make sure to listen to sad and painful songs first. This way, I was ready to be Mara. As an actor, you have to study your character and condition your mind.”

Saying goodbye

She added: “Mara has no personality. She has no personal preference and simply follows what her current partner likes, supports his interests. She is always the one who adjusts, then the guy eventually leaves her. “When I read the script, I took pity on Mara. Grabe! She had to beg for love. This Feb-ibig offering is something different. The episodes really aim to tug at viewers’ [heartstrings],” Loisa declared.

Just like most people, Loisa considers saying goodbye the most painful thing. “This isn’t just for romantic relationships. To say goodbye to a friend isn’t easy as well. You obviously found something you like in him during your first meeting, enough for you to try to get to know him more and become his friend; and then there will come a point when you have to say goodbye to each other. I don’t like that. I hope it doesn’t happen to me, but that’s how life works. This will, in turn, teach you how to be emotionally strong.”

Hard work

Loisa, who has been dating Ronnie for over four years now, said hard work is important in keeping a relationship strong. “We’re not in it just for the kilig. There are more things to consider, like how you should always come up with compromises when you’re having disagreements; like how you should treat each other with honesty and respect; and not keep secrets from each other,” she began.

“But a relationship will last only if both of you are willing to work on it. If one is no longer as dedicated as the other, malabo na ’yon. You also have to make sure you don’t strangle each other. I never tell Ronnie, ‘You can’t play basketball with your friends!’ or ‘Are you still playing ML (Mobile Legends) up to now?,’” Loisa pointed out.

“When it comes to our individual ‘me’ time, Ronnie has no problem with mine. I enjoy staying at home, watching Netflix, watering the plants and walking our dogs. He would just text me to ask permission if he could ride his bike with friends. I would say, ‘Just go.’”

Meanwhile, Ronnie said he is all for transparency. “I want to be able to tell her how I feel about her and her actions, all the time. What’s good about Loisa, since I’ve known her for the longest time, is that she never held anything back from me. This is also why we find it hard to answer when we get asked if there’s anything else that we’ve discovered from each other while working on a particular project, like this one,” he explained.

“I can’t imagine myself doing it (saying goodbye) because I’m very much contented with being with Loisa. Once I’m comfortable and contented being with someone, you can count on me to stay,” he declared.

Admitting mistakes

“We hardly fight,” Loisa added. “When we do, it’s almost always about petty things, like Ronnie not paying attention to what I say because he’s too busy with his cell phone.”

Ronnie added: “On my part, I make sure to say sorry whenever I make her mad at me in any way. Nakakalambot ng puso ’yon. It’s important to admit that you’ve done wrong and say sorry for it.”

Valentine’s Day is the most important occasion for ‘LoiNie’ as a couple, said Ronnie. “We’ve been dating for a long time now. We’ve come to a point in the relationship when we already feel like we’re barkada, we’ve gone past the kilig stage. So Valentine’s Day is important to us because it’s that time of the year when I get to make her feel that I’m her boyfriend. We really celebrate it to remind each other of how much we care.”

Based on the book by Noreen Capili, “The Goodbye Girl” centers on a heartbroken writer, Yanna (Angelica Panganiban), whose viral video where she cries over her failed relationship leads to a book deal. For the book, Yanna chronicles the heartbreaking stories of four different women.

The series, directed by Derick Cabrido, will start airing on Valentine’s Day with a new episode dropping daily on the iWantTFC app and website (iwanttfc.com).