Zoe Saldaña once swore that she’d never get married — and then she met Marco Perego.
In fact, the Italian-born artist and filmmaker also had a similar no-nuptials policy before getting to know the “Emilia Pérez” actor. But everything changed when they fell in love with each other 12 years ago.
Not only did the pair open their minds to matrimony, they’ve since built a family together, as well as forged a creative partnership.
Want to learn more about the man who put the Oscar nominee on a personal path she never expected to take? Just read on to find out all about him and their romance.
Their love story begins on an airplane
While Saldaña, 46, was familiar with Perego, 45, before they started dating, having told The Hollywood Reporter that she “knew of his work” and “knew of him” years earlier, their love connection didn’t happen until the spring of 2013, when a shared flight led to flirtation.
“I just saw him from behind,” she said in an interview with USA Today. “It was 6:30 in the morning, I was on a flight to New York. And I can’t even describe to you, it was a vibration. He turned in that moment, because he felt the vibration as well.”
Soon the pair were vibing together in a whirlwind romance.
His proposal almost went wrong
It wasn’t long before Perego knew he wanted to settle down with Saldaña, so he decided to make a secret trip to the Dominican Republic to meet with her family and to pay a visit to her father’s grave.
“I asked him if I can marry her,” he recalled during a 2024 visit to “The Drew Barrymore Show.” He even made a video of his graveside request.
Since he didn’t tell Saldaña about any of that before popping the question, she wondered where he’d been when he reunited with her after the trip.
In an attempt to buy some time during a cab ride, he simply told her, ‘I’ve been in a place, but you need to wait a couple of hours, and I’ll let you know.”
The actor, who was furious about his evasive response, then bolted out of the cab.
“I’m walking in the middle of the street, and it just was very dramatic,” she told Barrymore.
Perego followed her, but she refused to hear what he had to say — until he showed her the video he filmed at her father’s grave. Once Saldaña realized what was happening and why he’d been away, her mood quickly turned around as she accepted the proposal.
They married months after they started dating
During the summer of 2013, just months after the pair started dating and weeks after that proposal, they swapped vows in a private ceremony held in London.
“I don’t do the ABCs,” the “Avatar” star explained in an interview with Marie Claire the following year. “I do what my heart says, what my heart feels. So, from the moment I met my husband, we were together. We knew.”
Perego took Saldaña’s last name
When the couple wed, Saldaña’s name stayed the same professionally, but privately, she added Perego to her name. As for her husband, while he also maintained his original name in his work, officially, he became Perego Saldaña.
The latter was a decision that made headlines.
“Why is it so surprising, shocking- eventful that a man would take his wife’s surname?” Saldaña wrote in a 2015 Facebook post on the topic. “Women have never been asked if its ok for them to give up their names — why doesn’t that make the news?”
She went on to recommend the name-change tradition to other men, adding, “Men, you will not cease to exist by taking your partner’s surname. On the contrary — you’ll be remembered as a man who stood by change. I know our sons will respect and admire their father more because their father (led) by example.”
They have three kids together
The sons Saldaña referred to in that social media missive were Cy Aridio and Bowie Ezio, twin boys the couple welcomed on Nov. 27, 2014. And in 2017, they expanded their family with the arrival of another son, Zen Anton.
And if it were solely up to Perego, they might not have stopped until they had a daughter.
“I pulled my feminist card out. I (told my husband), ‘No. The answer is no,’” Saldaña shared with Us Weekly. “I’m like, ‘You only give me boys, so just get over it. You need to come to terms with this. It’s like, ‘Let’s raise amazing, elegant men that will bring home even better women,’ you know? That’s it.”
They have tattoos of each others’ faces
Saldaña is always by her husband’s side — even when she’s not. That’s because Perego keeps her close with a portrait of her he had tattooed on his left forearm.
Saldaña has a tattoo of her husband’s face on her rib cage, she told ET.
Perego became a US citizen while he was married to Saldaña
On July 20, 2016, Perego became an American citizen.
“Marco has been dreaming about this moment for a long time,” Saldaña wrote in an Instagram post to mark the occasion. “It was a process- as it should be, but we are finally here. We are aware it isn’t as easy for many immigrants to obtain their citizenship, we say to them NEVER GIVE UP. Stay the course, America would not be what it is if not for the immigrants that come for better opportunities. We send love and good vibes to you all today.”
The couple has collaborated on projects together
The couple’s partnership goes beyond their home life.
Perego directed and co-wrote the 2023 thriller “The Absence of Eden” and the 2024 short film “Dovecote,” both of which star Saldaña in the leading roles.
He’s proud of his Oscar-nominated wife
On Jan. 23, 2025, Saldaña became an Oscar nominee when she learned she was up for the best supporting actress award for her work in the musical crime film, “Emilia Pérez.”
Perego’s reaction to the news can be summed up in a photo Saldaña shared on Instagram that same day.