Everything goes on smoothly until Tom begins to sense that there is something very wrong with him. He sees a doctor and is diagnosed with having early onset of Alzheimer's disease. He hides this from me and it’s I who notice that he is beginning to forget a lot of things. When I discover his secret, diyan magsisimula ang paghihirap ko as the wife who chooses to stand by her husband. I will always be watching over Tom, prioritizing his happiness, even if it means that I will have to make the biggest sacrifice when it turns out he has no memory of me anymore at ang naaalala lang niya is his previous girlfriend, si Max Collins as Irene.”
Lovi is quite busy these days as she’s also shooting a new movie for Regal, “The Escort”, with Derek Ramsay and Christopher de Leon, which is why she has no time for love at all. “Usually, pagod na pagod ako sa trabaho kaya pag-uwi ko ng bahay, matutulog na lang ako.”
Is this the reason why she ended her relationship with Rocco Nacino? “First of all, I want to make it clear that there’s nothing wrong with Rocco. It was really hard for me to let him go but I have to make a personal choice for myself. I have to go through a process of learning through self discovery. Kapag na-in love kasi ako, gusto ko, lagi kaming magkasama and as of now, I just want to do things on my own. Dumaraan lang siguro ako sa quarter-life crisis. But I think what happened naman helped us grow kasi I heard he now has his own place, away from his parents, and he’s independent na, just like me.”
She’s still shooting a new movie with Rocco, “Lakambini”, which has stopped for a while. What if they resume the shoot soon? “Okay lang naman. I’d like to think naman na friends pa rin kami and we’re both professionals.”
Someone quips that ditching Rocco is akin to what he did to Sheena Halili before as he was the one who broke up with Sheena. “You know, their story is their own story and I never inquired from Rocco about it. For me kasi, what is past is past. Wala naman akong kinalaman doon.”
Does she think “Someone to Watch Over Me” is a good followup to her last soap, “Beautiful Strangers”? “Yes, kasi magkaiba sila. ‘Beautiful Strangers’ is about revenge. Naghihiganti yung character ko roon kay Christopher de Leon, e. Dito sa ‘Someone to Watch’, there’s no villain kasi lahat dito, mababait. Ang villain dito is yung Alzheimer’s disease na dumapo kay Tom. And I like my role as Joanna kasi ako yung sumasalo sa lahat ng pain experienced by the characters in the story. It’s actually emotionally draining but it’s very fulfilling for an actress. Dun ko na-realize how devastating Alzheimer’s is so I was so worried for my lola who’s now in her 80s. Buti na lang, she has no signs of being forgetful. Ako nga yung napapraning kasi ako itong nagiging may pagkakalimutin, e. Ha ha ha!”
