After more than half a year of dominating the afternoon block and digital streaming, Kapamilya series Love Thy Woman ended on a high note last Friday, September 11. The tear-jerking finale episode left takeaways on forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice. And if the ‘sepanx’ is still breaking your hearts, here is the other half of the powerful Wong duo, Kim Chiu who played as Jia Wong, taking us behind the scene of the four-week lock-in tapings. It’s all fun, festive, and nostalgic!
REVIEW: Forgiveness, family prevail in Love Thy Woman’s touching, unforgettable finale
Kim’s vlog entry commenced with a quick view of her hotel room. As precautionary measures, the cast and crew were quarantined for two weeks prior, took the COVID-19 swab testing, and weren’t allowed to meet anyone from outside the set. Team LTW only had each other in that 4-week isolation, thus crystallizing their wonderful camaraderie.
Kim had her Ate Haidee as roommate all throughout the “new normal” tapings, which she described as “parang camping.” Without her personal assistant and driver, Kim had a taste of real-life adulting. She cooked meals, prepared her things, and did practically everything on her own. She said the last time she cooked rice was way back her stay in Cebu City. Kim also brought her workout equipment and used her free time to sweat it out.
Tapings begin early, so to maximize the 12-hour working period. As shown in the video, the cast was sent into tears when Christopher de Leon led a heartfelt morning prayer on their first day.
Of course, we got used to seeing the actors engage in heated arguments on-cam. But as soon as the reels stop rolling, everyone is back to their usual goofiness.
The ambience gets more festive on their days off. The cast and crew gather around, feast on the food they fondly call as ‘ayuda,’ and spend the night jamming altogether. Xian Lim and Yam Concepcion were often tasked to play the guitar. Eula Valdes, Sunshine Cruz, and Ruffa Gutierrez would join the millennials and show off their wacky dance moves.
The Chinita Princess, with the help of some staff members, prepared a birthday ‘salubong’ for her sweetheart, Xian. It rained food later that day. Our KimXi hearts melted with that sweet embrace and kiss on the cheek!
Sunshine’s special day also fell on the lockdown taping. We saw Eula bringing in the cake for her onscreen nemesis while all of them greeted with enthusiastic singing and dancing. As Sunshine closed her eyes to make a wish, the playful Kim prepared to surprise the celebrator by smudging icing on her face. Kim did not stop there and stained Eula’s cheeks as well until she got her own taste of the playtime. The ladies then joined forces to dunk Dominic Ochoa’s face into the cake.
There was a night, though when Kim has gone overboard with the food trip, giving her allergies. Thankfully, the symptoms subsided the next morning. While waiting to fully recover, Kim had a special hair treatment courtesy of Ate Haidee.
After all the fun comes the sad part–saying goodbye. We could feel the nostalgia in the air as they go their separate ways on the final taping day. Mounting realism to a teleserye is difficult in itself, much more when done amid the pandemic and the network’s crisis. But the show went on and still pulled off a triumphant ending.
The challenges, instead of crushing everyone’s spirit, fuelled their passion and commitment to the audiences. Kudos to the whole team for giving viewers a powerful entertainment!
Kim ends the vlog entry with a montage of behind-the-scene photos from the set. The smiles, camaraderie, and love from the whole team will surely make you want to revisit old episodes of Love Thy Woman.