Rhian knows her priorities

MANILA, Philippines - At first glance, Rhian Ramos strikes you as someone in full control. She keeps a tight rein on her emotions and doesn’t let her heart rule her head. Except for talks that there was more to her and JC de Vera than just their team-up in La Lola, Rhian has never been seriously linked to a guy — showbiz or nonshowbiz.

Rhian herself junks this perception about her.

“I easily fall in love, but I control it,” she admits.

Her reason: Career remains her top priority. At 18, she has every reason to think this way. Even if Rhian has reached heights people her age only dream of, she still has so many mountains to climb.

“You can’t give yourself to a person completely if you haven’t done what you have to do. I don’t want to think of what-might-have-beens in my career if and when I fall in love,” she explains.

Right now, all those romantic scenes with Dingdong Dantes in GMA 7’s adaptation of the hit Koreanovela Stairway to Heaven (premieres tonight) will not blind her to the fact that her leading man is spoken for. Yes, Rhian may stare lovingly into Dingdong’s eyes and kiss him passionately on the lips. He may return the feeling just as passionately. But once their directors, Bb. Joyce Bernal and Andoy Ranay shout “Cut!”, those sticky looks and passionate embraces also end.

Rhian stops being Jodi, whose love for Cholo (Dingdong) suddenly vanishes after something both of them totally didn’t expect, gets in the way.

“I’m standing by my morals,” declares Rhian. “Marian has no reason to be jealous.”

Has Rhian forgotten that Dingdong and Marian fell in love while shooting Marimar, another romantic telenovela whose out-of-town locations inspire passion?

Stairway to Heaven was shot in scenic spots where the young lovers tryst to their heart’s content. There’s Subic, Zambales, and Enchanted Kingdom, where Cholo and Jodi hop on the carousel and seal their love.

Falling for his leading ladies has been a recurring theme in Dingdong’s life. He also fell in love with the now US-based Antoinette Taus while they were working together in a project.

Rhian is unfazed. “Dingdong and Iza Calzado were a loveteam in a movie (Moments of Love), but they didn’t end up together,” she points out. “If it’s not the right time, nothing will happen.