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Jennylyn Mercado is one hardworking woman.
For starters: there is the very real, and the very many, demands of being a single mom.
Then there was the Metro Manila Filmfest starring role, the sold-out Valentine's concert, the new business venture, and the much-awaited primetime television series.
The Kapuso Ultimate Star has steamrolled through it over the past few months, with no stress showing.
Fresh off promoting her MMFF film, Jennylyn began the New Year getting ready for CoLove Live, her concert with boyfriend Dennis Trillo. The concert, of course, is simply a byproduct of their YouTube project. They have been at it for months, building a studio for it, assembling a band, plotting setlists, rehearsing, and performing.
But right as CoLove Live was about to happen, the two opened Litterbucks on Maginhawa Street in Quezon City. It’s a cat café where guests can play with any of Jennylyn’s seven beloved cats while munching on Chunky Dough cookies — a home baking business Jen established in 2018 that’s become popular for churning out very large cookies. It had been a passion project for her and Dennis; apart from hiring a carpenter, they did all the rest of the work on the café.
And of course, the biggest thing on her agenda was her return to primetime television. In February, the Philippine adaptation of Descendants of the Sun (DOTS) premiered.
Jennylyn has been at it for months, having been announced to play Dr. Maxine dela Cruz. There was barely time to breathe. She attended medical training at V. Luna General Hospital, pored through scripts, started actual taping, and took part in the cavalcade of promos for the much-awaited series: pictorials, interviews, road shows, tours, you name it.
For everyone else, the schedule would be coming to a boil. But late on a breezy evening at the set of DOTS, Jen seems fresh, unhurried, and totally relaxed.
She has been taping the whole day, but there are no lines of exhaustion present on her face. In fact, when we enter her air-conditioned tent, Jen is friendly and gregarious, giving us a glowing smile.
Politely, she introduces herself and her team. She shakes each of our hands and greets us a good evening. “Kumain na ba kayo?” she asks, as though she was hosting a party instead of being at work.
“Isa ito sa mga projects na pinaka na-excite ako noong nalaman ko na ako ‘yong gaganap,” Jen tells GMA News Online, saying she likes how the role of Dr. Maxine gives doctors more recognition.
“Ngayon naiintindihan ko na kung gaano ka-importante at naa-appreciate ko kung gaano kahirap din ang buhay ng mga doktor, lalo na ‘yong mga pumupunta sa ibang lugar para tumulong ng walang kapalit,” Jen explains.
“Masaya ako na ako gaganap dito,” she adds, later admitting the role has been pretty challenging. “Ang daming medical terms.”
Jen admits she wasn’t always a fan of Korean dramas. But when she played the role of Steffi Chavez in the Philippine adaptation of another popular Koreanovela “My Love from the Star” in 2017, it all took a turn.
When she learned that she was chosen to play the role of Dr. Maxine, Jen binged on the hit Korean show, and well, fell for it. “Nagustuhan ko talaga and natuwa ako sa kung paano nila ginawa, ‘yong takbo ng story,” she gushes. “Ang gagaling [pati] ng mga artista.”
Jen begins to talk about observing her fellow actors for clues and recognizing acting techniques, and it makes her sound at once like both the award-winning actress that she is, and the fangirl that she used to be — the teenager who dreamed in secret but never thought all of this would happen.
As a teenager, Jennylyn was working a weekend gig as a lounge singer to scrounge up some money on the side. She had been preparing for a gig at a salon when a stranger approached her and gave her a business card, asking if she would be interested to join a reality talent competition of GMA.
She quickly turned it down. “Hindi ko kaya na umarte kasi iba 'yong buhay ko noon,” she says about the encounter. “Mahiyain ako, tapos kanta lang and nag-aaral lang ako. Hindi ko kayang umarte, sumayaw or mag-host.”
Her Mommy Lydia convinced her to go to audition anyway. Even then, it was against her will — that was despite getting a callback for another set of auditions.
“Sabi ko, ‘Ma, ayoko talaga. Hindi ko kayang umarte.” But Mommy Lydia was adamant. You don’t waste an opportunity, she told Jen, who was finally convinced to go.
As things would turn out, the shy and reluctant teenager became the first-ever Starstruck Ultimate Female Survivor. (The stranger who gave her the business card, it turned out, was an assistant to her manager.)
That was 16 years ago, and to say that Jen has come a long way is an understatement. But while she has become one of the biggest stars in Philippine showbiz, the road here has not been all rainbows and butterflies.
After winning the reality artista search, the path to success was paved for Jen. She starred in several TV projects, including the iconic role of Lira in the original Encantadia, as well as recording hit albums.
But just as her career was flying high, Jen became pregnant with Alex Jazz, her son with former boyfriend Patrick Garcia, in 2008. She was only 21 years old, and Jen thought that would be the end of her showbiz career.
“Pinakamahirap na part kasi para sa akin ‘yong nabuntis ako,” she says. “Ayaw kong iwan ‘yong showbiz, but ‘yong fear na baka wala nang tumanggap sa akin after giving birth, baka hindi na nila ako matanggap kasi nga may anak na ako... Naiisip ko noon na baka ayaw na nila ng issue or problema so hindi ko alam kung magkakaroon pa ako ng chance makabalik.”
But the fear proved to be unfounded. She returned to television a year after giving birth, and did not stop working since.
This time, Jen did not just conquer the small screen. On film, she starred in the title role in “Rosario” and gave life to Shiela in “The Bride and the Lover.” And in 2014 she finally hit movie jackpot.
With her natural charisma, Jen made everyone fall in love with her as Tere in the romantic comedy “English Only, Please,” so much so that she won Best Actress in the Metro Manila Film Festival in 2014.
Proving it wasn’t just a glitch, Jen went on to win the same award in 2015 for her work in “Walang Forever” and earned the moniker Rom-Com Queen.
Along the way, she won other honors, including being the FHM Sexiest Woman in 2015.
By then, there was no denying that Jen has definitely arrived. Her low point, it turned out, was simply a turning point for Jen. It only made her more driven because it gave her another reason to work harder: her son.
Everything Jen has been through in life has taught her to focus on solutions rather than the problem.
“Sa dami na ng pinagdaanan ko parang ‘di ko na masyadong iniinda,” she says.
On her days off — when she gets her days off — Jen likes to do pilates and spend time with Jazz. She would also spend some quality time with Dennis, filming videos for her YouTube channel. It is work, but it is something she enjoys and more importantly, one for which she has a vision.
Jen set it up like a magazine and gave it sections — or segments, in TV parlance. There’s “Jen Survives”, where she leaves her comfort zone and does things like becoming a tattoo artist, with Dennis her willing victim.
And then there’s the more popular CoLove, a segment borne out the couple’s love for music.
“Sabi ni Dennis, ‘Music para iba,’ tapos sabi ko, ‘Oo nga ‘no para hindi lang puro travel, puro makeup or food,’” she says.
Their decision has clearly paid off. Her channel boasts of nearly 500K subscribers, with CoLove videos amassing more than a million views each, turning viral, and making it easy for the couple to decide to produce their spin-off concert.
But for Jen, it is much more than that. “This concert is an experience,” she says. Apart from a star-studded guest list including Alden Richards, Juan Miguel Severo, Jay Durias, to name a few, JenDen thought up a playlist that traced their unique love story: the beginning, their breakup, and their second chance at love.
For a lot of people, that leaves one last thing on Jen’s agenda: settling down.
“Sa ngayon, hindi muna,” Jen says, almost shyly. “Wala pang plans. Priority ko muna si Jazz.”
She begins to talk about her son, and about how she would’ve been a chef had she not been in showbiz, when Jen is called for another round of taping. We bid our goodbyes and leave her tent as she prepares.
A few minutes later, she walks into the scene, ready. She takes up her spot, rehearses with her colleagues, and then they begin taping. It was late into the evening but there is no stopping Jennylyn Mercado.
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