The best love stories exist not in fiction, but in reality. Sometimes, it’s about a girl in a city far away from home, her friends are worried that she’ll be bored, so they asked for a favor from another friend. “You have to meet him,” they’d tell her. And while she would really rather just stay by herself, she gives it a shot, and goes out the door, and the rest is history.

That girl was Lourdes Virginia Poe, whom we all affectionately call Lovi. This seems like an ordinary story, but as it happened to someone so extraordinary as her, you’d know that there’s some kind of magic dust from the universe that surrounds this little meet-cute.

On Lovi: Lingerie by La Senza and dress (draped on body) by Patricia Santos

The city was Los Angeles, and Lovi needed a break from Manila. She flew into the city for a show. Her well-meaning friend from Manila introduced her to Monty Blencowe. “Oh, you have to take Lovi around because wala siyang kasama,” Lovi recalled how her friend inadvertently played cupid to the two.

And while Lovi didn’t really need company, and would have preferred her alone time she was, of course, happy that they eventually got introduced. “People always think, when you’re alone, you’re just sad and lonely, but I didn’t really want to hang out with anybody because I’d like to consider myself a loner.” And so here we are, one cool L.A. night, and Lovi goes out to meet the mystery Brit.

The Meet-Cute

“I stepped out of my AirBnB back then, and there’s this guy, standing in front of a car that looks like a batmobile,” she says. “Typical,” she thought to herself, “he’s showing off.” She shrugged it off and walked toward him.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” she said. “He was very nice.” Little did she know that Monty, whom she thought was arrogant, was actually so shy. And so as they walked towards West Boulevard and into the ultra-exclusive SoHo House West Hollywood, her perception of him took further shape as they stood beside the elevator.

Montgomery Blencowe or Monty, of course, is a Hollywood producer who’s originally from Brighton, England. Some of the works he produced include The Prince (2014) starring Bruce Willis, Heist (2015) with Robert De Niro, Marauders (2016) starring Bruce Willis, and Escape Plan 2 (2018) with Sylvester Stallone.

His other persona is quite surprising: Monty is also a scientist, with a doctorate in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology. He works with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on research projects ranging from systems biology to integrative genomics, essentially finding ways of improving health and understanding diseases through experiments in genetics.

Lovi acknowledges how far off she was in assessing Monty. He was far from being the arrogant, supercar-driving playboy stereotype. “Now that I know him, he’s far from that type of guy” she says with a laugh.

The Long Distance Relationship

And while the meet-cute happened in one hot L.A. night, they kept the relationship under the public radar, at least in the Philippines. Monty would appear in some of Lovi’s posts, from a dinner with friends in LA and Las Vegas, there was a lot of speculation surrounding them.

It wasn’t until the Royal Ascot in Berkshire, England, in June 2019, that Lovi used the word “date” to confirm their relationship.

In her post that made the relationship Instagram official, Lovi, who is Metro Most Stylish in 2018, wore a backless, white and blue floral number by Patricia Santos and a cream fascinator by Neris Beltran. The piece, the resistance, was her companion: “My Hat date to the races” she declared in her post, sending the internet in a tailspin. That proved to be an iconic day as well, as Lovi when she was given special mention by the Daily Mail for the memorable head-turners at the event.

Since then, the relationship we all know played out publicly in Lovi’s social media account, with the public only privy to what she chooses to share. Theirs was a long-distance relationship that span different cities: Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, Brighton, London, and even Lovi’s favorite destination: Como in Italy. Monty in turn, would visit the Philippines, once for vacation in Davao, and in Manila for Christmas. And so when just this August, it was quite a surprise for many when Lovi announced that she and Monty were engaged and that it happened a couple of years ago.

“A couple of years ago, there were two coffees, one sunrise, and a ring,” shared Lovi in her post, with Honne’s “Location Unknown” lending the soundtrack to her life update reveal. It was a reel showing a beachside spot during sunrise, a quiet and tender moment that looks like something that came out of a movie.

“Traveling places / I ain’t seen you in ages / But I hope you come back to me / My mind’s running wild / With you far away / I still think of you a hundred times a day,” the song meanders.

It was a grand reveal that took years in the making, and to understand how far back, we need to go back several years ago, to a charity polo event in Los Angeles. Lovi’s sister flew in from New York to visit her in Los Angeles, and Monty planned to propose to her after that night in Malibu.

On Lovi: Sheer dress by Patricia Santos and diamond necklace and earrings by Diagold

The Proposal, First Attempt

But the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and in this case, Monty would discover, that like the mice in his experiments, sometimes you can’t quite predict what would happen next.

Instead of a romantic evening in Malibu, he was in for a surprise.

“So my sister and I got back from the event, super drunk,” Lovi says, laughing in retrospect. Monty didn’t expect that, so naturally he couldn’t push through with his plans. “He was so stressed. He was like, ‘oh my god, I don’t think I can propose tonight because Lovi is not in the right headspace,’” she added.

The Real Proposal

The next day, Monty uncharacteristically joined Lovi in her morning run.

“I usually wake up early in the morning, 4 o’clock or so, to go out for a run and watch the sunrise. That’s not his thing, he’s not a morning person. So the next day, he’s like, you know what, I’ll watch the sunrise with you.”

Surprised, Lovi thought to herself: “Anong nakain nito?”

Malibu is a special place for Lovi and Monty, because a few years back when they met, they’d hang out there.

And so he followed her during her run. The two were by the beach, watching the sunrise. A quiet morning where all you could hear were the waves washing over the shore, finding their spaces across the rocks. The sun gave the scene a tinge of sepia, a touch of nostalgia against the blue-toned sky of Malibu.

Lovi was hugging him, leaning against his chest. She noticed Monty’s heart was pounding.

Playfully, she told him, “I think you need to start working out,” citing his thundering heartbeat. He asked her to close her eyes. When she opened it, he was kneeling.

“And then he asked me… it happened so fast, I said yes.”

Monty took Lovi by surprise, and even during the proposal, it was that moment when he had her close her eyes that Lovi realized what was happening.

“I was like, for a second, I thought, ‘oh my god, I could hear the waves, we’re in the place where we first met,’ and I was like… ‘oh my god, is he proposing?’”

Like the actress she is always craving for perfection, Lovi wanted a do-over so she could savor the moment.

“I said, ‘you gotta do that again, you gotta kneel.’ And he was like, ‘no, you already said yes,’” she shares.

Turns out that while Monty’s sense of humor was very different, very British, and even when Lovi wore the ring, he said “You’re welcome,” she says. “It was a beautiful moment.”

On Lovi: Dress by Patricia Santos

Two Old Souls Meet

Lovi might have been in so many roles that required her to be in relationships, get engaged, married, and other permutations, it's different when you're actually in that situation. But it all made sense, because the two seemed to have such a connection since the very beginning.

Lovi and Monty are kindred spirits. “Monty is a scientist, and he’s an old soul,” she says. She describes him as shy but also very funny, “a fantastic guy, wonderful human being,” with his values intact. “That’s why I said yes.”

On Lovi: Lingerie by La Senza and veil by Patricia Santos

While the two had a long-distance relationship for years, Lovi also thrived in show business throughout their relationship. The past couple of years showed Lovi’s best projects and biggest achievements: Her big career shift in transferring to ABS-CBN in 2021, her debut US single with Grammy award-winning producer Omen, playing English actress and rockstar Dana Gillespie in the Hollywood film The Chelsea Cowboy, headlining the remake of Flower of Evil alongside Piolo Pascual, starring in a movie that she created the story called Seasons, and finally, joining Coco Martin as the character Mokang, in one of the most-talked about shows today, Batang Quiapo.

Throughout it all, Monty fully supported her dreams. “He’s very patient, and he also wants to see me shine. He lets me grow as an individual. He doesn’t take it against me that I work so hard, that I’m so far away from him,” she says.

“That fact that he wants to see me bloom even more as an individual makes me want to be with him because I know for fact that he won’t take my passion against me because I’m so passionate about my work, my career,” she says. She appreciates that he lets her reach her full potential, and allows her to grow as an artist, to “let me be and let me fly,” she says.

On the Way to the Altar

There’s a certain progression in planning a wedding, there’s the engagement, the announcement, the wedding preparations, and the prenup. In her busyness and the flurry of activities that surround Lovi, her weekend with Metro constitute her prenup shoot.

This cover shoot was shrouded in secrecy. For months, the discussion was just called Project L, known only to three members of the team. Those who were asked to participate had to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements even before they got in a call.

But even on the day of the shoot itself, everything still seemed so surreal for everyone, Lovi included. “It feels weird because I’m used to doing shoots, but this one’s different. I was nervous. Now it’s reminding me that it’s really happening this time,” she says.

Metro has come a long way with Lovi, from having Lovi on a three-star cover tribute in February 2012, to headlining Metro’s Most Stylish in 2018, to being part of Metro’s 30th-anniversary shoot in 2019, to cover shoots in 2021 and 2022, and we come full circle in featuring Lovi again, this time for her most important moment.

For the shoot, Lovi particularly liked the veil look, the one with the rose, and the big tulle skirt. “It’s nice that it’s with you guys,” she shares with Metro. “Thank you for making me comfortable,” she adds.

At the same time, the prenup shoot definitely sets the pace for the next events, she shared that the wedding planning process actually tested their relationship.

“It was tough. Sobrang hirap mag-wedding planning. Du’n mo talaga ma-te-test, so many things you have to consider,” she shares. While some brides would complain that their grooms aren’t the least bit interested in making decisions, the opposite is true for Monty.

“He’s very hands-on. A lot of my friends appreciate the fact that when I’m on set, he goes on meetings with people from the wedding planner, the florist, and everything,” she says.

And so, this is our sendoff to our tulle-skirted bride.

“I took my time guys, haha, just kidding. Well, a little life update, yes, umm, I’m getting married! C’est la vie!”

Photography by Gee Plamenco, Jr.

Sittings editor: Geolette Esguerra

Creative direction by Randz Manucom

Art direction by Raff Colmenar

Makeup by Gery Penaso

Hairstyling by Kiel Otilla

Fashion styling by Adrianne Concepcion, assisted by Via Abbra

Videographer: Pat Buenaobra

Shoot coordination: Red Dimaandal

Set design by Tipping Point Collective

Special thanks to Leo Dominguez, Dada Martinada, Sheryl Songsong, Jhe-Ann Taylan