Catriona Gray Explains Why Love In Your 'Trentahin' Years Demands More Than Just Chemistry

Love in your 20s is often full of heart-eyes, impulsive decisions, and those "first love" leaps of faith. But as you approach your thirties, you start valuing clarity over drama, alignment over infatuation, and intention over impulse. And no one explains this transition better than former Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray.

Released on February 15, Catriona joined Dani Barretto on her The Bare It All Podcast to spill some real talk about what love looks like when you're "trentahin." Her advice is that relationships at this stage of life require more awareness, more thought, and—above all—more informed decisions.

"Mga trentahin na love story ha, wala nang [taking a leap and hoping for the best], mas informed decisions dapat," she said. By this stage in life, love calls for self-awareness, a clear understanding of your values, and knowing exactly what you need in a partner.

Catriona also dropped a truth bomb about the "someone-will-complete-you" mindset: it's cute in rom-coms, not so much in real life. "A person will always disappoint you because they're human," she emphasized. "The healthiest way to get into a relationship is you see yourself as having a full, rich life as an individual. Your partner has a full, rich life as an individual. When you come together, you have things to share. You're not looking to complete each other."

Being aware of your own relationship patterns is key to avoiding toxic dynamics. She explained that many behaviors we repeat in our love lives often feel "normal" because they were modeled for us by our parents or fellow loved ones growing up.

But just because a behavior feels familiar doesn't mean it's actually healthy. "I found in my past relationships that I was happily sitting in patterns that weren't necessarily healthy, but they felt comfortable because they were familiar," she shared.

Recognizing these cycles allows you to approach love with more clarity and boundaries—and make conscious choices on who to invest your time and energy in.

Dani and Catriona also discussed the importance of speaking up early when boundaries are crossed. Waiting to "figure it out eventually" only prolongs inevitable conflicts. Catriona reminded listeners that relationships in your 30s demand communication and a readiness to make decisions grounded in mutual respect and reciprocity. It's about knowing when to give grace and also when to walk away.

Many listeners praised Catriona for her raw and honest take on modern romance, saying it gave them "strength that anyone can recover from heartbreak and find themselves again."

Catriona delved into her past romance with Sam Milby in a YouTube interview with Karen Davila last February 13. For the first time, Catriona opened up about their breakup, saying, "There was a point in our relationship where I think he just realized that he wasn't ready to take it to the stage of commitment that we were on, because he had proposed... And then, a few months later, [he] realized that hindi pala siya ready. So, that was very hurtful for me, and I was really blindsided at the time. I really tried to make it work."

When ABS-CBN News asked Sam about it, he replied, "Was I surprised? Yes." However, he was quick to stress that he prefers to keep the details of their story private. "I just wanna keep yung sa amin ni Cat private. I just don't want to comment. That's it," he said.

As of now, Catriona is reportedly seeing a non-showbiz partner, while Sam remains single. He shared candidly, "Not seeing anybody. Hindi sa walang oras. I do. I haven't met anybody. I don't go out that much."