Ayen goes on a maternity leave

MANILA, Philippines -  Ayen Laurel is stepping away from the spotlight in the next few months in favor of an immediate and beautiful priority: Pregnancy.

 Fans of GMA 7 series Maghihintay Pa Rin will sorely miss Ayen’s character Rio de Villa on the series. But while the actress had intended to finish working on the teleserye — her fifth in a row after Rosalinda, Amaya, Temptation of Wife and Hiram na Puso — health reasons simply won’t allow her to do so. She has been feeling weak, lethargic and nauseous in the past weeks into her first trimester to the point of getting hospitalized during which her doctor had advised her to take a complete rest. The visit from the stork is on or just before Valentine’s 2014.

 â€œNahihirapan ako sa pagbubuntis kaya nagpaalam ako ng maayos sa production at naintidihan naman nila. I’m happy for this big blessing,” said she who is married to Franco Laurel and with three children, namely Mariella, Hasan and Angia.

 Despite taking a sabbatical from showbiz, Ayen will still be on the series in its next few episodes, as well as in the movies via Ang Huling Henya that screens in theaters come August. Written and directed by Marlon Rivera of the multi-awarded film Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank, the sci-fi-comedy Miriam casts Ayen as a super smart doctor-scientist who happens to be the mother of the main character played by Rufa Mae Quinto.

 As with any expecting mother, Ayen is excited over her coming bundle of joy. She and her loved ones are already thinking of a name for the child, the renovation they need to do at home to make way for another room, shopping for baby clothes and items and other happy concerns.