Janine Gutierrez and Jericho Rosales at the cinematic screening and grand media conference of ‘Lavender Fields’ held in Gateway 2, Quezon City on August 24, 2024.
Philstar.com / Kathleen A. Llemit

MANILA, Philippines — It was supposed to be just a coffee and script reading with his “Lavender Fields” co-star Janine Gutierrez, but Jericho Rosales ended up enthralled by his onscreen wife.

Jericho sat with broadcast journalist Karen Davila in an episode of her vlog.

Davila asked the actor if he had ever thought that he would be dating Janine, who plays his wife Iris to his Tyrone in their nightly drama.

Jericho said he did not. In fact, he had to “Google” her age, fearing that she might be too young for him. Janine is in her early 30s, while Jericho is in his 40s.

“So pure that I thought she was 24… ‘Okay, bye. I’m not dating a 24-year-old girl.’ I said, ‘Google, google, google. Pwede pala. Pwede pa pala,'” Jericho said.

He agreed when Karen described Janine as someone innocent and pure. The broadcaster also interviewed Janine in her vlog last year.

Karen asked Jericho how he ended up dating his co-star, and Jericho said it started when he asked Janine to do a script reading with him.

“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? But, she’s the only person I haven’t worked with,” the actor said.

He said it was a way for him to familiarize himself with his “work wife” because he had already previously worked with their other co-stars, such as Jodi Sta. Maria and Edu Manzano.

“I was like, in my head, ‘Oh… Coffee. Script reading and coffee.”

“So I did, I asked her, and I brought my iPad, and then we saw each other at a café. Then, I brought my iPad out. She started laughing and she was like, ‘Holy God, you have an iPad!’ I said, ’Yes, this is a work meeting,” Jericho said.

The work meeting turned out to be more than that as the actor found himself enjoying Janine’s company and never even opened his tablet. They ended their “work meeting” with Japanese food six hours later.

“And then, that’s it. I was like, ‘Wow, I can spend six hours talking to this girl,” Jericho said.

The actor revealed that after that, he felt something for his co-star. He admitted that during their photoshoot, he found Janine to be someone who has that “big white energy.”

“Wow, she’s that good energy and I’m drawn to that,” Jericho said.