Jodi Sta Maria Shares Thoughts on Betrayal, Revenge, Survival in "The Broken Marriage Vow"

Jodi Sta. Maria portrays a headstrong woman who refuses to play the victim following her husband’s betrayal in ABS-CBN’s upcoming drama series The Broken Marriage Vow, which finally airs on January 24 on various platforms.

Like in the original BBC series Doctor Foster, Jodi’s character, Dra. Jill Ilustre, is defined by her passions, her career, and her personal relationships.

“Dra. Jill Ilustre is a woman whose top priority is her family. She’s a loving mother, an attentive wife, a compassionate person who really cares for her patients. Her personality is anchored on love, which is what makes her character relatable,” shared Jodi. Jill loves being in-charge of whatever space she’s in, steadfast in her principles, and is always the first one to teach someone a lesson whenever a mistake is made.

“She’s passionate when it comes to fighting for the people she loves and for the things she values,” said Jodi. “She’s always calm and collected but she wants to show dominance and control over any situation.”

However, Jill’s picture-perfect life comes crashing down when she suspects–and eventually proves–that her husband David (Zanjoe Marudo) is cheating on her with a much younger woman, Lexy (Sue Ramirez).

Rattled by David’s betrayal, Jill behaves in destructive ways that will affect the people close to her, including her son Gio (Zaijian Jaranilla), and becomes increasingly obsessed with revenge as she tries to gain back the dignity that she believes was taken away from her because of the affair.

Here are some highlights from Jodi’s recent press conference for The Broken Marriage Vow:

Jodi on how she felt when this project was offered to her

“I clearly remember nung nakatanggap ako ng tawag from the management, nung in-offer nga nila si The Broken Marriage Vow, siyempre hindi ako makapaniwala. Kasi nung time na ’yun halos kakatapos ko pa lang panoorin ’yung Korean adaptation [The World of the Married], and kakagaling ko lang din sa isang serye so parang ang tumakbo lang sa isip ko na, ‘Ha? Bakit ako?...’ Siyempre nakaka-pressure na hindi ko alam kung paano ko siya gagawin, kung paano ko siya lalaruin, and alam ko nga na sobrang hit nung Korean series, so I really didn’t know kung ano ’yung mararamdaman ko. Siyempre nagulat ako, na-surprise ako.”

Jodi on the ways The Broken Marriage Vow is different from Doctor Foster and The World of the Married

“When you see this series, hindi lang siya tungkol sa mga artista na gumanap, pero makikita mo ’yung puso ng bawat isang tao na nagbigay ng oras, ng panahon, ng talento nila para sa proyektong ito. So dun ako excited kasi effort ng lahat ito...

“Hindi lang siya serye na basta nanood ka ng storya pero pinakita dito ’yung kultura natin, and I think ’yun din ang pinagkaiba niya dun sa ibang mga adaptations. Kumbaga sariling atin ito, kung paano ang buhay ng Pilipino. ’Di ba kung paano tayo makasalimuha sa isa’t-isa, makisama sa isa’t-isa… bakit may pagkain? [Filipino food is also highlighted in the show]. Kasi ’di ba ang Pinoy mahilig laging magsalo-salo eh, mahilig tayong kumain. ’Yung sa wardrobe naman, of course, siyempre, tama na we wanted to highlight local products and kung mapapansin niyo, may ibang mga suot kami dun na colorful, parang sobra siyang nag-add ng kulay doon sa blue sky and green environment ng Baguio. Parang may bigla kang pop of color dun and ’pag nakita mo siya sa kabuuan, ang ganda-ganda ng visual, bumagay siya dun sa lugar.”

Jodi on Dra. Jill Ilustre’s proudly Pinoy wardrobe in the show

“With Dr. Jill’s outfits kasi, it’s more of, I would not say hardcore Filipino fashion na as in from head to toe, it’s more of, like, there is a balance eh of ’yung contemporary and of course ’yung mga local products na ipinasuot sa kaniya. Pero ang maganda naman dun is because swak naman sa character talaga, swak sa tema ng serye, and swak din talaga dun sa visual.

“I love ’yung parang mga skirt, na parang knee-length na mga skirt then may mga painting… iba-iba, sometimes figures, sometimes faces ng mga tao. And then I remember wearing this parang polo, na ’yung painting niya was like parang mukha ng tao na parang dalawa, na hindi ko ma-explain. Pero that polo was used for the scene na si Jill almost lost it. Alam mo ’yung parang feeling ko, ’yung damit is umaayon din dun sa emosyon nung eksena.”

Jodi on her similarities with Dra. Jill Ilustre both as an individual and a mother, considering her son in the series, Zaijian Jaranilla’s Gio, is almost the same age as her son Thirdy

“Alam mo siguro, if there’s one thing na similar kami ni Dra. Jill is when we are put in a situation kung saan medyo difficult, siguro parang we try as much as possible to stay calm and collected. And you know, maging logical as much as possible. Siguro Jill and Jodi are the same sa pagiging passionate sa mga bagay na gusto nila sa buhay nila, or ’yung mga bagay na pinapahalagahan nila, siguro we are similar that way.

“[As a mother] ’yun naman ’yung masasabi ko na parang ’yung time na ginagawa ko si Dr. Jill, kasi halos si Gio [Zaijian] and si Thirdy magka-edad eh, pareho silang high school na tapos parehas na rin ng mga pinagdadaanan in life. So parang for me, ang similar that way and parang ’yun nga, kung ano ’yung mararamdaman siguro ni Dra. Jill is the same way na mararamdaman ko bilang nanay sa anak ko. It’s just that maybe she would just react differently from me because we are two different people.”

Jodi’s performance as Jill in The Broken Marriage Vow will be seen starting tonight, January 24 at 8:40 PM on Kapamilya Channel, TV5, A2Z, Kapamilya Online Live on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, and TFC.

The series, which is entirely shot in Baguio, also stars Jane Oineza, Angeli Bayani, Bianca Manalo, Ketchup Eusebio, Rachel Alejandro, Art Acuña, Empress Schuck, Joem Bascon, Brent Manalo, Malou Crisologo, Franco Laurel, Sandino Martin, Lao Rodriguez, Jet Gaitan, Jie Anne Armero, Migs Almendras, Avery Clyde, and JB Agustin, with the special participation of Susan Africa and Ronnie Lazaro.

Concepcion Macatuno and Andoy Ranay directed the Philippine adaptation of the hit BBC series Doctor Foster for ABS-CBN.