Janine Gutierrez has learned that perhaps the most important thing love can teach you is not how to find the right person, but how to value yourself enough to know what you deserve.

The “The Loyalty Game” star, who is currently in a relationship with actor Jericho Rosales, opened up about love, heartbreak and the lessons she has picked up along the way in an interview with “Push It.”

For Janine, loving someone should never mean losing yourself in the process.

“Kasi kapag love mo na ‘yung sarili mo, dun ka din talaga makakahanap ng partner that is your equal sa mga gusto n’yo at sa relationship. When you love and respect yourself, then you wouldn’t settle for someone who doesn’t treat you right,” she said.

That realization came with experience.

Janine admitted that there were times when she became so invested in making a relationship work that she ended up sacrificing her own happiness.

“It’s easy to lose yourself when you love someone,” she said, adding that loving a person does not mean putting up with everything that hurts you.

“Not just because you love someone, kailangang tiisin ang kung anumang masasakit na bagay,” she said.

Her idea of love has also changed over the years. It is no longer simply about enjoying someone’s company or having someone to talk to.

“I found out that love is really feeling calm, safe, and secure in your relationship and in your heart,” she said.

And sometimes, she has learned, love alone cannot bridge differences in what two people want from life.

“Even if you love someone, kung iba kayo ng gusto sa buhay, iba kayo ng tinatahak na landas, it’s still not gonna work out kahit mahal n’yo ang isa’t isa,” Janine said.

She has also learned to look at heartbreak differently.

Janine recalled praying for months that one of her relationships would work, until her prayer changed.

“After praying for months to make it work, ‘yung prayer ko is [naging] kung hindi talaga, ‘wag na lang. Tapos nag-break na kami agad a few days after,” she shared.

Rather than allowing disloyalty or heartbreak to define her, Janine said there is also a lesson in knowing when to walk away.

“Take it as a sign na rin na that’s not the right person for you and you should learn when to let go,” she said.

These days, Janine appears more certain about what she wants from a relationship.

“A leader na alam kong mapapagkatiwalaan ko with any problems. May initiative to help out or check if you’re okay. Very loving, maalaga, and responsible,” she said.

And if there is one thing she would tell anyone nursing a broken heart, it is not to rush the process.

“Mahabang proseso ’yan, just be easy on yourself. Feel your feelings,” Janine advised.