Living alone, living happy

Tucked in the heart of Mandaluyong City is the 92-square-meter happy little private world of Janine Gutierrez at the higher floor of a condominium with only Punch, a Pomeranian (a gift from her fan), for companion. After a car (which she herself drives), the condo unit is Janine’s second investment.

Janine’s mom, Lotlot de Leon, is visiting. She volunteers to prepare lunch consisting of grilled items (chicken and pork), plus bopis which is, according to Lotlot, Janine’s favorite so she gets regular supply which she keeps in her small ref and simply microwaves pieces at mealtime.

“This was bare when I got it,” says Janine, 27, as she leads us on a little tour, starting from the terrace where she unwinds under the stars, overlooking the surrounding cities (San Juan beyond Mandaluyong and portions of Quezon City and Makati yonder) as they start lighting up. “This is my favorite part. I want the balcony to be wide. At night, just looking at the bright lights eases the mind. It’s so relaxing. Kape-kape in the morning while watching the sunrise. Ang ganda!”

Is this where you entertain suitors?

Janine laughs. “No man has ever come up here. Walang umaakyat ng ligaw. Walang lumiligaw.”

Asked what advice she’s giving Janine where suitors are concerned, Lotlot says, “I always remind her (and her sisters) not to marry early; huwag ako gayahin na maaga nag-asawa. I was only 16 then, pinagbubuntis ko noon si Janine at pinagdarasal ko na hindi siya matulad sa akin.”

Now into her mid-40s and long separated from Ramon Christopher “Monching” Gutierrez, Lotlot has found new happiness with her Lebanese boyfriend (also unmarried with a son) of four years. They have plans of getting married. “But not soon,” clarified Lotlot.

Fancy-free since she broke up with Elmo Magalona after four years, Janine is putting her love life on hold — until, uhm, further notice. “I am happy where I am now,” adds Janine who kicked off the New Year as the 2017 calendar girl of Petron Engine Oil (“No,” Janine set the record straight, “no, my figure wasn’t photo-shopped, only the background; was photo-shopped; nice photos by BJ Pascual, di ba?”). Tomorrow (Feb. 20), her new GMA afternoon soap Legally Blind will premiere, with Mikael Daez as leading man. She plays a visually-challenged lawyer with a dark past. Soon after that, she and Ken Chan (one of Barbie Forteza’s four leading men in Meant To Be, with Jak Roberto, Addy Raj and Ivan Dorschner) will be launched as co-hosts of Day Off, a lifestyle program.

“It was hard at first,” admitted Janine (who is careful about what she posts on her social-media account, meaning no hugot lines, please) about her break-up with Elmo more than four months ago. “After all, two years din naman naging kami. Third party? No, there was none. As usual, conflict of schedule…But I have to move on.”

The condo unit’s interiors were done in white. A few framed pictures and paintings hang on one wall at the sala and the rest is mostly bare. “She doesn’t want her picture to be hung on the wall,” says Lotlot of her eldest daughter (among three, including Jessica and Maxine, with youngest son Diego) who looks more like Monching and her grandmother Pilita Corrales in some angles.

“I want it that way,” shares Janine as she shows us her bedroom, the shower room, the cozy kitchen and, well, that’s about it. What more can you cramp into a 92-square-meter space? “Very minimal. Ayoko ng cluttered. It was Teresa (Asis), the daughter of Ninang Ana (Abiera, Lotlot’s good friend) who helped me fix this place. Teresa was my classmate at Ateneo. She took up Interior Design. We wanted the place to feel tropical na may pagka-Scandinavian. We bought everything, from the faucets to the sofa, everything! Talagang pinag-ipunan ko. The fixing took almost one year.”

It was love at first sight.

“When we passed by this place, I fell in love with it right away kasi nga maluwag ang balcony,” relates Janine. “It’s very near Greenhills. You know, I am a Greenhills person because I would frequent that place where Mamita (Pilita) used to own a coffee shop. And also, I really want a place between my mom’s and my dad’s places. My mom stays in Parañaque City while my dad stays in Fairview (Quezon City) where I used to live. Before, palipat-lipat ako between them. This is the perfect location. It’s also near the GMA Studio.”

At first, Janine hesitated because she got nervous when she was about to write the check.

“When I make a big purchase,” she giggles, “nagpa-palpitate ako before I sign the check. When I went back to inspect the unit, I was told that somebody had reserved it. Nalungkot ako. Luckily, the first client backed out so I got it. Talagang this unit was meant for me.”

A confession: “I really wanted to have a place of my own because when we were living with my dad, my sisters and I shared a room. Naawa na ako kay Maxine because she would sleep on the floor.”

Living alone has taught Janine many things, such as paying the bills (“One time, muntik na ako maputulan ng kuryente because I forgot to pay the bill”), doing the groceries, cleaning the unit, etc. She hasn’t learned how to cook yet, so Mama Lotlot supplies her with food regularly. “But I can fry an egg,” Janine announces with pride.

It’s early afternoon and Janine is preparing to work out at the gym. As we bid her and Lotlot goodbye (thanks for the hospitality!), Janine tells us, “Kung sina Solenn (Heussaff) at Lovi (Poe) masipag mag-work out no matter how busy they are, ako pa kaya? Ginagaya ko sila. They are my role models.”

Come to think of it, Janine is beauty-queen material but no, thank you, “I can host a beauty pageant like what I did for Miss World Philippines, but not to compete in it.”

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A ‘grilled’ lunch by Lotlot

Helped by her chef Joel Flores, Janine Gutierrez’s mom Lotlot de Leon prepared an all-grilled lunch consisting of grilled chicken and grilled pork, plus bopis (Janine’s favorite) with garlic rice.

Those are among the specialties served by Lotlot in her two-month-old South Grill restaurant on Aguirre Avenue in BF Homes in Parañaque City, a stone’s throw from where she lives with her other children (but not with her Lebanese boyfriend of four years). The restaurant has its soft opening, with the formal one scheduled soon.

“When I don’t have a shoot,” says Lotlot (who is in the cast of Destined To Be Yours, the GMA soap starring Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza which premieres next Monday, Feb. 27), “I entertain clients at my restaurant.”

Everybody is welcome, of course, including Ramon Christopher “Monching” Gutierrez, Lotlot’s ex-husband.

“I was teasing Monching that when he goes to my restaurant,” adds Lotlot, “he should bring along his girlfriend…kung mayroon na siya. And we laugh about it.”