Are you ready to reveal the true status of your relationship? "We're comfortable (with each other). Sakto lang," says actor Paulo Avelino, when asked about the real score of his relationship with actress Janine Gutierrez. "Busy naman kami sa mga trabaho namin ngayon. Si Janine is doing another serye."
"Next month we will start a new serye sa ABS-CBN. So I'm excited. Meron din akong Cinemalaya na i-su-shoot," said Janine, during a media conference for her latest flick "Ngayon Kaya?" under T-Rex Productions, held at Sine Pop in Cubao, Quezon City last Wednesday, June 1.
"Ngayon Kaya?" marks the first movie together of Janine and Paulo, who is also the co-producer for the film. The movie was shot in 2019 before many parts of the country were put into lockdown. It was also completed before they teamed up in the Kapamilya series "Marry Me, Marry You" which wrapped up in January 2022. Fans believe that the movie will trigger rumors about their relationship as it opens in theaters on June 22.
Asked to put a label on their relationship, Paulo said: "Ayos naman kami. Kung gugustuhin po ni Janine okay lang sa akin."
Janine laughed and answered: "I knew you would say that. Kung papahintulutan po ako." Then Paolo asked Janine: "Ikaw? Gusto mo ba?"
"Ako I'm just really happy. Looking back at the film that we shot in 2019, seeing it now, everything else we've done, nakakatuwa kasi yung tema din ng pelikula na things are meant to be, parang ganun din yung nangyari sa amin ni Paulo. Nagkaserye, may mga kasunod na projects and then nag full circle na. Pati ito mapapalabas na sa sinehan," Janine said.
When Janine and Paulo were asked about what they would wish from the universe about love, both celebrities got cheesy and emotional.
"Parang cheesy lahat naiisip ko. Let's be gentle. Hinay-hinay," Paulo said.
Janine was on the verge of tears when she answered: "Ako gusto ko lang na eventually, when I settle down, kami na forever. Kasi in my family, halos lahat yata ng couples, my parents, everyone, naghiwalay. So ako, sana, when I get married, sana forever."
Without batting an eyelash, Paulo also answered "noted" to which the members of the media in the theater laughed.
Commenting on the issue of being cheated in a relationship, Janine said: "I've never been cheated."
Paulo also said that he got reunited with his son Aki when he and Janine went to New York in April.
"Nilabas ko yung anak ko. Pinakilala ko siya kay Janine. Masaya naman siya sa New York. Masaya sila doon," he said. Aki is Paulo's son with ex-girlfriend LJ Reyes.
In this movie directed by Prime Cruz and written by Jen Chuaunsu (the creative duo behind romantic masterpieces Isa Pa With Feelings and Can We Still Be Friends), Paulo and Janine portray former buddies Harold and AM, respectively, who have a chance encounter years after their college graduation.
The unexpected reunion happens when they both arrive late at their friends’ wedding. As Harold and AM catch up during the wedding reception, the memories of their past come flooding back.
This film comes at the heels of the success of the ABS-CBN teleserye Marry Me, Marry You, wherein Paulo played a rich boy entangled with a poor girl portrayed by Janine. The tables are turned in Ngayon Kaya as Paulo’s character Harold is a shy probinsiyano from a simple family secretly in love with Janine’s outgoing rich girl persona AM.
Complications in their personal lives prevent Harold and AM from going past the “more than friends but less than lovers” stage during their college days. Now reunited after five years, they contemplate on the “what ifs” of their lives and try to figure out their unresolved feelings.
Paulo and Janine’s undeniable chemistry has inspired the passion of fans who have christened the pair as “Paunine.” Their recent performance on “ASAP” ignited kilig. And when they were asked meaningfully by ASAP hosts Kim Chiu and Robi Domingo, “Ngayon kaYA?” Janine coyly replied, “Ngayon Kaya!”
Paulo and Janine have also been attracting crowds and receiving warm response during their latest mall shows to promote the movie.
Asked what makes their love team click, Janine offers a simple explanation. “Maybe it’s because we’ve known each other for a while,” she says of Paulo.
“It also helps to have a leading lady as beautiful as Janine,” Paulo adds smiling.
Ngayon Kaya produced by T-Rex Entertainment and co-produced by WASD Films, also stars Alwyn Uytingco, John James Uy, Donna Cariaga, Haley Dizon and Ms. Rio Locsin. For updates, follow the social media accounts of T-Rex Entertainment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.