Newly married Lovi Poe not taking a break from showbiz

There’s no long honeymoon break for the newly married Lovi Poe — or at least not yet — after tying the knot with British film producer Monty Blencowe last Aug. 26 in the UK.

This was the clarification that veteran artist manager Leo Dominguez made to The Philippine STAR when asked to address speculations that one of his prized talents was putting showbiz on hold or going to work less actively, post-nuptials.

“Lovi is not taking a break from her career as an actress. She wants to continue doing what she loves to do even if she is now married,” Leo said in an online message.

Apparently, there’s also no truth to earlier reports that Lovi was going to be replaced on the ABS-CBN primetime series Batang Quiapo as the love interest of lead star Coco Martin’s character Tanggol.

“I don’t really have any reaction (to that) because we already know the plans for the plot and the characterization of Lovi’s role even from the very beginning,” he said.

Leo further noted that Lovi “was just away from Batang Quiapo for a month.”

In fact, he added, the actress officially returned to taping last Monday, Sept. 4.

“There was a thanksgiving Mass for Batang Quiapo last Sunday, in which Lovi attended and was reunited with the cast and crew before reporting to her taping.”

Leo also stressed that Lovi’s husband is very supportive of the actress, and will not get in the way of her career even after their wedding, which the veteran talent manager described as “surreal” and like “a scene from the movie.”

In a previous STAR interview, Lovi said that Monty was very aware of the possibility of a very long stint in Batang  Quiapo.

“He knows kasi na dream ko siya (Coco) makatrabaho so sobrang happy siya for me,” she said of her then-boyfriend’s reaction to her joining the drama.

“He also knows na tumakbo ng seven years yung FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano (laughs). Updated siya. Sabi ko, o, alam mo na, ikaw na yung pupunta sa akin dito, ‘di muna ako mag-e-L.A. Ikaw muna pupunta dito (laughs).”

They also make a “perfect pair” because Monty happens to be a film producer, who was part of several Hollywood productions, including Bruce Willis’ action thrillers The Prince (2014) and Marauders (2016), Robert de Niro’s Heist (2015), and Escape Plan 2 (2018). Together, Lovi and her now-hubby put up an international film company named C’est Lovi Productions.

Besides his involvement in the movies, his LinkedIn profile indicates that he is a scientist by profession with a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Said Leo of their love story, “I am very happy for Lovi that she has found love and happiness with Monty,” adding, “At first, I heard good things about Monty from Lovi’s mom and younger sister, but when I finally met him early last year in the US, I found him to be a genuine, respectful and hardworking human being, who gives importance to family and who is in love with Lovi and is very supportive of Lovi.”