Joey Marquez, as others suspected for a moment, is not the reason behind it, insists Jean. Neither is it Gardo Versoza, with whom Jean parted amicably after months of being together. Truth is, Jean has long replaced the presence of a man in her life with a fat pillow she hugs tight at night.
So what’s the secret behind that glow?
"Nothing much," she shrugs. "It’s just that I sleep well at night, happy and content at the thought that I can manage without a man beside me, after all. I’m proud of myself for that."
She’s basking in the freedom she has not enjoyed for two decades, when early motherhood (to eldest child Jennica, now 16), cut Jean’s carefree days short. Just when everybody – including her – thought she can relax, knowing that her daughter was growing up in the right direction, love came again. Jean fell for the charms of a Japanese businessman who sired a son, now three-year-old Kotaro, by her.
The long-distance romance ended after a couple of years and Jean is alone again, by choice.
"I’m proud of this freedom I have now," Jean quashes all doubts about how devastated she must feel. " I need not be accountable to anybody but my children. I can come and go as I please."
She knows that cloud nine-feeling is hard-earned. It came after years of being emotionally dependent on a man, of being guided by what’s good or bad for both of them.That’s why the feeling she has these days is oh-so-precious.
Don’t get it wrong. Love has not made Jean bitter at all. In fact, her one big wish is for the man she will spend the rest of her life with to come along. It may take sometime, she knows. And Jean is no hurry. But she hopes that day will come, and give her enough reason to give up her new-found freedom all over again.
This time though, the guy has to adjust to the two of the most important persons in her life: her children.
"I won’t even call it a package deal. My children are my extensions. The next guy must know that. No ifs and buts," says Jean.
He must also be a friend more than anything else. Relationships that start off as romances right away fizzle out, observes Jean. This, Jean at 36, learned from her failed relationships.
"Next time, if ever there will be one," Jean muses, "I have to get to know the guy first. Physical attraction must not be the sole basis of a relationship."
She goes out on dates, but always with a group of friends. And because she’d rather test the waters first before jumping in, Jean says she’s not yet ready for another commitment.
"God is good," she explains. "He gives you people who will love you." That love, she explains, need not necessarily have a touch of romance.
Gardo, for instance, has remained a friend. They text each other every single day. Jean has also remained buddy-buddy with Kotaro’s father.
Besides, Jean is too busy with work and product endorsements, love is the least of her worries these days. BoardWalk Business Ventures, a Filipino-owned direct selling and networking company, recently got her as celebrity endorser. She is a mainstay of Pangako Sa ‘Yo, It Might Be You and Kampanerang Kuba.
On Sept. 10, ABS-CBN will air the pilot episode of Makuha Ka sa Tikim, Jean’s cooking show with good friend and teleserye co-star Eula Valdez.
Cooking, it turns out, is one of Jean’s passions, with kalderetang baka as her all-time specialty.
"My children would ask me to cook for them. So when I have no work, like a week ago, I whip up carbonara, just for them," reveals Jean.
BoardWalk owner Imelda Madera said it all: "Jean is the epitome of a strong woman and survivor. She has been through many trials, yet, she has remained beautiful inside and out."
The lady entrepreneur hit the nail right on the head.