Janine Gutierrez on love languages, beauty pageants and goals for 2024

Janine Gutierrez —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Beauty and brains don’t always go together. But in Janine Gutierrez’s case, they effortlessly work hand-in-hand. Don’t be fooled by her almost inscrutable, well-mannered countenance, however. While they don’t always give anything away, Janine’s tweets about urgent sociopolitical issues have always revealed which side of the moral divide she stands.

That sweet but principled conviction has also served her well in complex roles that require commitment and uncommon gravitas, particularly in her career-boosting and Urian-, Famas- and QCinema-winning portrayal of an abused saleslady who takes matters into her own hands in Rae Red’s “Babae at Baril.”

And that is why we were only too happy to brave Metro Manila’s infamous traffic recently just to have a quick catchup with the lovely actress when she was launched as the latest brand endorser of a beauty product.

“I have always enjoyed our talks,” beamed Janine when she saw us approaching. We weren’t sure she would remember us because we’ve only interviewed her twice before, one of them on Zoom at the height of the pandemic.

The actress has really come a long way since her GMA 7 heyday. But these days, she isn’t just cast as a leading man’s requisite love interest—she now topbills her own TV shows, like “Marry Me, Marry You,” “Sleep With Me” and the acclaimed revenge drama “Dirty Linen.”

In fact, the latter show, Janine said, was the highlight of her 2023. “Last year was great because I was able to do ‘Dirty Linen.’ We got great feedback for that—which is something we were very grateful for,” she shared. “So for 2024, I hope to do more of that serious stuff … dark roles, relevant themes. But I would also like to do something light, like a rom-com. That’s my goal for 2024—I hope I get to do a better balance of both.”

While Janine has remained courteous and polite, she now answers with the decisiveness that wasn’t as apparent as when we first met her in 2012.

Take care of yourself

Asked what tips she’d give to fans who are just learning to embrace and be kinder to themselves, she said, “The one thing that changed my outlook on skin care was that you really should set time aside to take care of yourself. Particularly with Filipino women, we always prioritize the people around us.

“But I realized that you can only give more and share more and be of more service to others if you take care of yourself first. It’s the little things that can yield bigger and more productive ones, like treating yourself to a nice cup of coffee or spending more time for skin care. These little therapeutic, self-care moments can really add up to your overall energy and happiness.”

Can Janine see herself channeling all that “happiness, renewed energy and self-care vigor” into beauty competitions, especially now that the Miss Universe pageant has lifted age restrictions for hopefuls?

“No talaga (laughs),” she quipped. “I am honestly so flattered every time I get comments saying, ‘Uy sumali ka… you’ll do well in it.’ But really, wala kasi talaga s’ya sa puso ko (it’s not in my heart). My dream instead is to represent the country through the movies I make.”

The little things

What activities relax her when she’s feeling down, getting bored, or nursing a broken heart?

“I’ve recently learned more about the importance of love languages,” Janine said. “They say that whatever type of love language you give to others is also the love language you can give yourself. For me, that’s the language of touch.

“So, what I do when I need a quick ‘pick me up’ is, I get a massage or manicure. I also take extra time to do skin care. It’s those little things that make me happy when I need a boost.” INQ