Zoe Saldana and Marco Perego’s love story
is one for the books. Not just because it is straight out of a romance
novel but also because they set incredible examples when it comes to parenting and breaking
stereotypes. This couple is known for their unconventional
lifestyle. They have been married since 2013, which also
happens to be the year they first met, and their first meeting is also as unusual as
it comes. Zoe Saldana is an American-Dominican model,
dancer, and award-winning actress and a star of several blockbuster movies which include
Star Trek), Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Death at a Funeral among others. She is easily recognizable even without her
blue alien make-up from Avatar or her green make-up from Guardians of the Galaxy… is
it just us or does she play a lot of colorful aliens? Anyways, her husband Marco Perego might not
be as recognizable. Perego was a promising football player that
earned a spot on Venice’s professional team at age 17. Sadly, an injury took him out of the game
at 21, and even though he moved to Brazil to try and recover and play there, he eventually
abandoned the sport and moved to New York to follow his next dream: being an artist. His big break came after film producer Gilda
Moratti bought one of his paintings. “One day what happened was, I come to her,
and I say, 'Listen, look at my work, tell me what you think. If it is a joke, I will try to find something
else,” he recalled. But Moratti saw his potential, and after selling
his first painting, things quickly escalated for Perego. As word swirled around the art community about
Perego’s works, he started to bump his prices, selling pieces for between $15,000 to $30
000 a pop. Now he is a well-renowned artist and is somewhat
of a household name in the art world. Saldana had known of Perego as she was familiar
with his work… but they never actually met. Then in 2013, the two were on a flight at
6:30 in the morning to New York and before Zoe even saw his face, she knew he was the
one for her. “I just saw him from behind. And I can't even describe it to you, it was
a vibration. He turned in that moment because he felt the
vibration as well,” she recalled about their meeting. Could it get any more serendipitous? Saldana didn’t believe in love at first
sight or fate because she is an extremely logical person that needs an explanation. But she didn’t need an explanation for that,
“I didn't need to explain that. It was enough that I felt it. And that was it,” she said. After her first meeting with Marco, all logic
and explanation flew right out the plane window. “From the moment I met my husband, we were
together. We knew. I didn’t need to do the ABCs, I did what
my heart said and what my heart felt. It was too hard to explain when we felt something
so intensely. I wasn’t going to try it out and see if
it works. No, I felt it. I went with the feeling," she said. That instant connection and feeling of knowing
they were meant to be together meant the couple worked fast. They secretly tied the knot in England, so
no one knew about it until three months after the fact. As soon as the couple decided they were going
to get married, they didn’t wait and got married three weeks later which was just a
couple of months after they met. A few months after the wedding, Perego was
seen sporting a tattoo of Zoe’s face on his arm. Sheesh, talk about commitment! Marco took it one step further to show how
committed he was to his wife and decided he was going to take her last name. That’s right! He became Marco Perego Saldana and she also
took his name and became Zoe Saldaña-Perego! The move caused a heated debate on social
media about men who refuse to take their wives’ last names because they’re afraid their
“legacy” will disappear with it. Zoe was worried about exactly this kind of
backlash and tried to talk her husband out of the decision. “I told him, ‘If you use my name, you’re
going to be emasculated by your community of artists, your Latin community of men, by
the world. But Marco just looks up at me and says, ‘Ah,
Zoe, I don’t give a shit.’” The actress also addressed the controversy
with a Facebook post where she encouraged men to think outside the box and redefine
masculinity. She also went on to say that men will not
cease to exist by taking their partner’s surname but will rather be remembered as a
man who stood by change. Their ground-breaking lifestyle doesn’t
end there though. The couple welcomed twin boys Cy ( and Bowie
() in 2014, and son Zen in 2016. The pair have agreed to raise their sons in
a gender-neutral environment to break the stereotypes of what men or women should or
could do. They created a gender-neutral environment
by including toys for both boys and girls in their home. Zoe and Marco also make sure their kids can
see them engaging in activities that would usually be targeted as something only one
gender can do. She will put the TV together and fix things
that break sometimes and her husband will cook and clean. Teaching their sons not to conform to gender
stereotypes has been a treat for the couple. They love that it allows their boys to be
vulnerable and sensible and not just let them fight physically because “boys will be boys”. Those kinds of terms don’t exist in their
home, and neither do terms like “Daddy’s little girl” and “Mama’s boys”. The actress is also very protective of her
and her family’s privacy. She doesn’t want her children to be exposed
to the stress that is caused by the media at such a young age. Shortly after Zoe and Marco were married,
news of her pregnancy was leaked. She addressed the news head-on with a tweet
that read, “I would like to thank all the f--king media for invading our privacy." She wants to protect her privacy for her children’s
sake because they don’t understand why there are cameras in their faces or why people are
always trying to tug and pull at their parents. They want their children to reach a stage
where they are starting to become curious naturally and organically and then they will
be able to explain it to their kids. “It all has to do with respecting the privacy
of our family members because they’re too young. I realized through the years of being in this
business that the only way to maintain some kind of sanity is to protect that which is
most dear to you,” she said. The actress has many controversial ways of
doing things and many normal ways. One of her more normalized views is that she
doesn’t remain friends with her exes even if they are A-listers she is cast with. Given how happy Saldana seems with Perego-Saldana,
can you blame her for not wanting to keep in touch with her exes? Saldana’s exes include Keith Britton and
Bradley Cooper and she had a revelation in those relationships and that was not to settle. Although the actress still kept her mentality
of keeping her relationships private, even with her exes, she did divulge a little in
an interview. Although she did not name Cooper, we can only
assume it was him as she said just after they broke up that if you’re not happy with a
person you should leave. She also said, "I have been in relationships
where a man has disrespected me, and I don't need to be friends with that man anymore. I don't want to be the one going, 'I'm cool
because I'm friends with all my exes.' There's a reason why you're called an ex. I crossed you off my list. You cross a line; you need to know that you're
going to walk this earth knowing that there's an individual who has no respect for you." You go, Zoe! Although she isn’t friends with her former
flame, Cooper and Saldana are prominent players in Guardians of the Galaxy—and yes, they're
friendly on set. But Zoe is sure to keep all of her attention
on her husband. It’s almost a decade into their marriage,
and Marco and Zoe couldn’t be happier. They’re continually supporting each other
in their endeavors and work to be strong and kind human beings. Perego-Saldana isn’t very active on social
media, but he never hesitates to put a doting post about how proud he is of his wife. He’s also supportive in ways beyond her
professional accomplishments. He has been a constant supporter of her humanitarian
efforts, especially during the #MeToo movement, joining affiliated groups and having conversations
with her about how men can make positive change. “My husband has been an inspiration in this
whole thing. The conversations we’ve been having, safely
and intimately, have been evolving and it’s been very rewarding. He is part of a #MeToo group. We must broaden the narrative of #MeToo,”
she said. She also made a precious Valentine’s Day
post about how in love she is with her husband and how proud she is of him, saying “My
Valentine. He can juggle three children, a mercurial
wife, his work, the house, and the weight of the world in the same way he kicks this
ball. After 8 Valentine’s days together, you still
manage to take my breath away just by walking into the room." How cute is that? It’s possible that Zoe will reveal more
about her marriage once her children get a little older. Until then, it’s likely she’ll continue
to dodge the celebrity news columns as she strives for privacy. But from what we can see, this couple is going
places together. They have undeniable love, respect, and trust
for each other as well as the most gorgeous little family.
