Who is Zoe Saldana's hot husband? The Oscar nominee's movie-worthy love story

BarcelonaBeyond the awards, during the Oscar night that will be held this Sunday the cameras of the photographers will look for the most outstanding couples of the night. One of those that will surely receive a lot of attention will be the one formed by Zoe Saldana, nominated for the Oscar for best supporting actress for Emilia Perez, and her husband, Italian Marco Perego. The couple, who married in 2013, have three children.

Although her first Oscar nomination came this year, Saldana has long been a part of the Hollywood industry and has participated in blockbusters such as Avatar either Guardians of the Galaxy. In the sentimental field, she had an eleven-year relationship with the actor Keith Britton, but they separated in 2011, when they had already announced their romantic engagement. It was after that romantic disappointment, and from a short relationship with Bradley Cooper, that Saldaña met her current husband, who has attracted media attention during this year's Oscar race. Perego, born in Lombardy, had dreams of becoming a footballer, but an injury caused him to put the sport on hold and focus on painting. Determined to be a great artist, he moved to New York, where he worked in restaurants and bars until he managed to catch the eye of film producer Gilda Moratti, who became interested in his work.

The details of how Saldaña and the Italian painter met seem straight out of a Hollywood romantic comedy. The pair met in 2013 on a flight from Los Angeles to New York and the actress says she felt a spark "before seeing the face" of Perego. "I saw him from behind. It was six thirty in the morning and I was on a flight to New York. I don't know how to describe it, because it was a vibration. He turned around at that moment because he also felt that vibration," Saldaña recalled a few years ago in USA Today. The actress says she understands people who think love at first sight is a fantasy, because she thought that too. "I know people don't believe it; I didn't believe it either. I'm a very Sigmund Freud-type person, I'm very logical. But that happened, and I'm fine with not having an explanation for why it happened, because I don't need one. Feeling it was enough," she argued.

Last year, during an interview they did together on the show The Drew Barrymore Show, the couple gave more details about how their relationship began. During that flight they had their first conversation, through which they realized that they had crossed paths on several occasions over the course of three years. "I had been passing by this gorgeous guy, and every time I saw him I thought: 'My God, don't come near me, he's probably a scoundrel.' And Marco must have thought: 'Oh, look at this beautiful actress. Let's see if I can make love to her, and if I can't, I'll try.' For his part, Perego explained that, during the times they crossed paths, the actress was not too friendly with him, but things changed after they met on the flight to New York. A month later, she wrote to him to ask if she could visit his studio. "Since that day we have not been separated," added the artist.

After getting married, Marco Perego decided to add his wife's surname to his own, in a gesture totally contrary to what is usually done in the United States, where it is women who assume the surname of their husband. Since the wedding, the Italian artist is called Marco Perego-Saldaña. It is not the only gesture of love he has made towards his wife: he has her face tattooed.