Jericho Rosales reveals why he almost didn't date Janine Gutierrez

Jericho Rosales opened up about dating Janine Gutierrez—and why it nearly didn't happen.

In an interview with broadcast journalist Karen Davila, the actor said he didn't expect that he would end up dating his Lavender Fields co-star because he thought she was much younger than she actually is. 

Karen pointed out how Janine radiates with her purity and innocence during their interview, to which the actor agreed, prompting him to share that he initially thought Janine was only 24.

"I agree with you on that, the purity part. So pure, I thought she was 24!” he began, saying that he almost decided that he would no longer pursue the actress. 

“EJ said, my make-up artist, 'She's 24.' And I said, 'What?! Okay, bye,' Alam mo 'yon? Bye, I'm not dating a 24-year-old girl," he said with a laugh. 

He then did a quick Google search to confirm Janine’s age and found out that she's actually turning 35 in October. 

"I Google, Google, Google, Google. Oh, okay pwede pala. Pwede pa pala," he shared.  

In their new teleserye, Janine stars as Iris, the vengeful wife of Tyrone (Jericho). He noted that Janine had a hard time playing her role especially since she's the complete opposite of her character in real life. 

“We know her, she talks calmly, sweetly. A person who is almost never upset about anything, handles herself really well,” Jericho noted. 

“She’s the type of person na ‘A no is a no,’ and ‘A yes is a yes,’ she knows her decisions and she does it in a soft, tender kind of way,” he continued.

Their first date 

Wondering how the two start dating? Jericho revealed he invited her to do a “script reading.” 

"One day, I had asked her, 'Would you like to do a script reading with me?' I'm sure she has her own version of the story. But why would I ask for a script reading? She's the only person I haven't worked with,” he said, adding that he felt like they needed to bond more.

“She was going to be my work wife, my wife in the show. All of the issues, decisions that my character was going to do in the show was because of the relationship that they have. This is not some easy working relationship. We needed to ano, so I said in my head: 'Oh, coffee! Script reading and coffee!'" 

Jericho narrated how Janine laughed at him when he showed up at a cafe with an iPad. 

"She said, 'Holy god, you have an iPad.' I said, 'Yes, this is a work meeting,'" the actor recalled to Karen, laughing. 

According to Jericho, their “work meeting” aka first date lasted for six hours without him even using his iPad, adding that it was the moment he felt there was "something."

"Wow, I can spend six hours talking to this girl... that's when I felt something,” he said. 

He also recalled the time he first saw Janine during the promo shoot for their teleserye with “big white energy.” 

“That good energy, I was drawn to that,” he remarked. 

Jericho first confirmed that he and Janine are dating in August, a month after they were spotted together at a museum.

The actress' mother, Lotlot de Leon left a comment on Janine's museum post, writing, "Ah excuse me po.. Sino po kasama mo nag punta dyan? Hmmmm...” 

Jericho responded to the comment with a raised hand emoji. "Nag-door bell po ako para magpaalam pero hinabol ako ng aso eh," he joked. 

Jericho's last public relationship was with Kim Jones, whom he began dating in October 2011. The former couple tied the knot in May 2014. Their godfather, Ricci Ocampo announced in January that they have been separated since 2019.