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Zoe Saldaña and her husband, Marco Perego, have been giving fans a peek behind the curtain of their relationship, revealing a charming yet dramatic anecdote about their engagement. During a recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, the couple shared the heartfelt story of how Perego proposed to the Avatar actress – a tale marked by a “dramatic” communication mishap.
As Perego recounted on the show, the proposal adventure began with a trip to the Dominican Republic, where a significant portion of Saldaña’s family resides. Perego had a special mission: to visit the grave of Saldaña’s late father, Aridio Saldaña, who passed away in 1987 and seek his blessing for the marriage.
© GettyImagesHowever, Perego’s plan took an unexpected turn when he returned to London, where the couple resided at the time. In an attempt to keep the proposal a surprise, Perego told Saldaña that he had been away for work in New York. But the situation quickly escalated when Saldaña questioned his whereabouts upon his return.
“[He went to see] my father’s grave,” Saldaña interjected, shedding light on Perego’s clandestine trip to seek her late father’s blessing.
Perego faced a difficult situation when he tried to balance the need to keep the surprise a secret and explain his sudden absence. In his attempt to maintain the element of surprise, he ended up causing some tension. Saldaña, who was understandably curious, kept asking him for answers.
“I’ve been in a place, but you need to wait a couple of hours, and I’ll let you know,” Perego recalled telling Saldaña as she reacted by abruptly exiting their taxi amid London traffic.
© GettyImagesThe scene unfolded dramatically, with Saldaña recounting, “We’re in a cab in the middle of London... I just got out of the cab and I’m walking in the middle of the street, and it was very dramatic.”
Despite the chaos, Perego persisted in sharing his gesture with Saldaña by showing her something she was initially reluctant to see. “And she said, ‘Absolutely not.’ And I said, ‘No, but please, I need to say something to you,’” Perego recounted, describing the tense moment.
Eventually, Perego convinced Saldaña to listen to him, unveiling the video he had taken during his trip to the Dominican Republic. In the emotional footage, Perego can be seen visiting Saldaña’s father’s grave and expressing his intention to marry her.
Amidst intense emotions and with the surprise finally revealed, Perego took the opportunity to propose to Saldaña. Despite the unconventional journey leading up to it, the proposal resulted in a resounding “yes” from the star of Guardians of the Galaxy.
How Zoe Saldaña and her husband, Marco Perego met?
The two met in 2013 on a flight to New York. “I just saw him from behind. It was 6:30 in the morning, and I was on a flight to New York,” she told USA Today in 2015. And I can’t even describe to you—it was a vibration. He turned in that moment because he felt the vibration as well.“ “I know people don’t believe in it; I didn’t believe in it. I’m a very Sigmund Freud person, I’m very logical,” she added. “But that — I’m OK not having an explanation for that. Because I don’t need to explain that. It was enough that I felt it. And that was it.”
They are family and co-workers
Saldaña is starring in “The Absence of Eden,” a film trailing an undocumented immigrant who flees Mexico in order to seek sanctuary, running into many dangers along the way. It marks her first time being directed by her husband, Marco Perego.
© GettyImagesPerego co-wrote and directed the project, which serves as his feature debut. “I was really proud of him, that out of all the subjects that he could be, you know, building a story around, he chose immigration and the angle of humanity, which keeps us very neutral, but also keeps us in the form of art of telling stories that are compelling about human beings, about people,” said Saldaña in an interview with CBS Morning.
