Bela first met Lovi when they were in high school
After attending the intimate wedding of her friend in the United Kingdom, Bela Padilla took to social media to share how her friendship with Lovi Poe has been instrumental in shaping her confidence.
READ: Lovi Poe, Monty Blencowe Tie The Knot In An Intimate Wedding
In Bela’s August 27, 2023 post, she shared that she had known Lovi since they were in high school. The post was accompanied by photos during Lovi’s wedding to fiance Monty Blencowe,
Bela took a trip down memory lane saying, “I had a growth spurt the summer I turned 15. I was 4’11 until 3rd year high school and returned at 5’6 in my senior year. And I was a cheerleader pretty much my whole life. But before that growth spurt… to be a cheerleader so tiny meant that there were times I would be made a ‘flyer.’
“I was always afraid of heights, and the funny thing about that is you’d be thrown so high up in the air that your breath just catches in your throat. But I was more afraid to tell anyone what my weakness was.”
During one of their practice sessions, Bela remembered her trembling so badly that she was not able to execute any of her falls correctly.
“I was a dancer at heart not a flyer and I just wanted to do the floor routine. I knew it was exasperating for everyone but I didn’t want to quit,” she recalled.
After the embarrassing incident, Bela tearfully made her way back to the school bus and that unfortunate moment sparked the beginning of her friendship with Lovi.
“I walked back to my school bus in tears but I heard one cheerleader running after me — Lovi. She asked me if I was OK. And that was exactly what I needed at 14. And she was always very intuitive about these things,” Bela said.
From that moment on, their friendship flourished, and they would catch up periodically in the years that followed as talents in the Kapuso network.
“Lovi and I went very different paths in our careers. We all know that our industry is very cutthroat and that the competition is intense. But we never vied for the same roles or stayed in the same place. From time to time in the last 15 years, I would see Lovi and we would catch up and kind of give each other a progress report, if you will. And we were both moving steadily towards our respective goals,” she said.
Bela being part of Lovi’s wedding
While their paths may inadvertently diverge from time to time, Bela said Lovi’s wedding is a significant occasion she would not have missed.
“It seems like we unintentionally drift in and out of each other’s lives but this milestone was something I loved to see. Her wedding is the lightest, most fun but genuine one I’ve been to. Their vows were perfect, the speeches, heartwarming… and the dance floor was full till they cut the music at Cliveden House.
“Even when it rained during the ceremony, people stayed until she and Monty took cover. And it was so nice to be a spectator on a moment so special.”
Concluding her post, Bela once again went back to their first encounter and expressed her appreciation to Lovi for the words she spoke on that specific day, as well as for the years of friendship they cherished together.
“I don’t think I ever got to say thank you to Lovi for asking me how I was that day in 2004. Thank you, Lovi. For being a genuinely lovely person. And thank you for letting us into this love story that is just about to get better and better. Wishing you and Monty the happiest of happy days ahead,” she wrote.
Banner Art Paulo Correa
