How Lovi Poe juggles love life, work and a pre-Valentine concert
Lovi Poe
A long-distance relationship “is no joke.” But Lovi Poe and her boyfriend have found a way to make theirs work.
“It really helps that we don’t give each other a headache,” Lovi said, giggling, at a recent press conference for her upcoming pre-Valentine show, “Some Kind of Valentine,” on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4. “We don’t impose rules on each other and we respect each other.”
Lovi lives here in the Philippines. Her boyfriend, British film producer Monty Blencowe, is based in the United States. The nature of their professions requires constant travel. But they’ve managed to keep the fire burning for four years and counting.
“I’m truly lucky to have someone who supports me and understands my job. The most important thing for me is having a partner who lifts you up and wants you to do well as an individual. We treat each other the same way. We help each other… I’m happy that he wants to see me shine. I’m grateful,” she said of Monty, who’s currently in the Philippines to spend the holidays with her.
“The previous years, I had to be the one to fly to the United States, because our borders were restricted,” she added. “But this time, he visited me here so we could spend Christmas and New Year’s Day together.”
Grand gesture
Lovi described Monty as a “thoughtful” person who cherishes the little things in life. “Paying attention to the little things, finding beauty in the ordinary is the best. That’s as good as any grand gesture you could get. It’s about the things that happen in our everyday lives, things we shouldn’t take for granted,” she said.
The 33-year-old actress said she has already introduced Monty to some of her show biz colleagues, like her “Flower of Evil” leading man, Piolo Pascual.
“Monty has yet to /visit me during tapings, but it would be nice for him to see my world,” she said. “He has already met Papa P. I felt kilig that day because I was like, ‘Here’s my real and reel love team!’ Not a bad day—ang swerte ko naman!’ I said. And they were just laughing.”
Last year, Lovi launched her own production company, “Ces’t Lovi,” which aims to bring Filipino talents to the world stage. “It’s our venture. I’m happy that he’s passionate about the local industry. We’re working on something that’s why we have been traveling a lot. There are also other projects lined up… we’re working on a project with director Jerrold Tarog,” she said.
Lovi Poe
Lovi herself has landed roles in international films, including the upcoming biopic “The Chelsea Cowboy,” which stars Alex Pettyfer and Sadie Frost. While pursuing an international career would be a dream come true, Lovi is more focused on helping others reach theirs.
Every actor’s dream
“I think it’s every actor’s dream to do projects, not just in their home country, but also abroad. It would be nice to be on the set with actors from different countries. If it happens, it happens. But it’s nice I get to go behind the scenes, too, and uplift other people in a different way,” she said.
Lovi is set to start working on ABS-CBN’s upcoming television adaptation of her father, the late National Artist Fernando Poe Jr.’s 1986 film “Batang Quiapo.” Coco Martin leads the cast as the city’s “king of pickpockets” named Baldo. Lovi, on the other hand, plays the thief Maria, the role originally played by Maricel Soriano.
“I have met the rest of the cast and we have warmed up to each other. I have been doing my own training—which I can’t detail yet—because I want to do the character justice. I know that my character description is written differently, but of course I want to do my best,” she said.
“The show will have a different touch… Coco has his own vision. But we will still make sure to give respect to the work done by Papa and Maricel, because they did such an amazing job,” she said.
Does she see the show lasting seven years, like Coco’s previous show, “FPJ’s Ang Probinsiyano”? “Let’s see how it goes. More than the length of run, quality is the focus. Just being part of Coco’s next project is a dream come true,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lovi looks forward to sharing the stage with Christopher de Leon, Tirso Cruz III and Edgar Mortiz for “Some Kind of Valentine” at Newport Performing Arts Theater (8891-9999). “I’m so happy. I started out as a singer, so babalik ako sa first love ko,” she said. “And it’s an honor to perform with these icons.” INQ
