Matteo Guidicelli
Actor-triathlete Matteo Guidicelli stressed this when asked about how he and Popstar Royalty Sarah Geronimo are handling their finances now that they are married.
“You and your partner should be transparent. Don’t hide anything from each other,” the 30-year-old actor declared at his virtual media launch as an endorser of a life insurance firm.
“I believe in two people synergizing and becoming one, in becoming better people together.”
He added: “I believe in sharing, so what’s mine is hers. If I go to work today, whatever I bring home is now for my family, for our future. My no. 1 priority today is my wife, not my parents anymore. It’s very important to have that mindset when you’re starting a family.”
Matteo said it’s also necessary to reward oneself after working so hard. “I recently bought a really nice TV. It’s very expensive, but it’s worth it. Aside from that, the plants we have here at home are also kind of pricey. We’re trying to create a garden here,” he said.
In terms of controlling each other’s spending, Matteo said they’ve set boundaries. “A good balance between spending and saving is necessary. We guide each other when it comes to this matter. We remind each other about life’s realities. Together, we determine what we need and don’t need.”
Matteo laughed off rumors that his 9-month-old marriage to Sarah is now on the rocks. The couple was married in Christian rites in a church in Taguig City on Feb. 20, 2019. They had kept to themselves the details of their controversial union so intensely that even Matteo’s family found out about it only the day prior. Even Sarah’s family was kept in the dark.
“We popularized the secret wedding!” he quipped.
“Everything is great. Every day is a blessing. I’m grateful for the fact that I wake up every day with this beautiful person beside me. Now is a wonderful time,” he said.
“In fact, I recommend marriage to everybody, as long as you’re sure you’ve found the perfect person, as long as you are able to synergize with that person,” Matteo explained, adding that it’s really difficult to achieve a perfect relationship. “That’s what makes ours really exciting. Of course, there are days when you quarrel, when you wish that it wasn’t happening; but I think it’s all part of it. You just have to learn how to go through it. It’s easy. If you’re the husband, you just say, ‘It’s my fault,’” he said, laughing.
Turning serious, Matteo insisted that “being humble does help. You admit that you were wrong and then learn from your mistakes. You also want to be proactive all the time, so you should not dwell on the past. You don’t bring up the past. You try to grow together.”
As to whether they plan to have a baby soon, especially since his sister Giorgia gave birth to a girl recently, Matteo quipped: “I pray to have one next week. Seriously though, we’re not really trying to have one right now. We’re just living the moment, enjoying each other’s company. To be honest, we may have been boyfriend-girlfriend for a long time but we never really got to spend much time together then. That’s why we’re not rushing. We just saw my sister give birth. We want to savor that. I can’t wait to have our own, but in God’s time. We’ll see.”
Matteo, however, proudly said that if ever the baby comes sooner than they expected, they are financially ready. “It’s important to be ready for things like that. We’ve been blessed because we’ve been working for a long time and were able to save enough. I’m lucky, too, that my parents have taught me how to invest properly in different ventures.”
Asked how they tried to lift up each other’s spirits during this time of a pandemic, Matteo replied: “We had wanted to have a lot of adventures together. We felt sad at the beginning that we couldn’t travel together. This is something we’ve not had the chance to do when we were still in our boyfriend-girlfriend stage. But we also reminded ourselves of how blessed we are. Because of this, the time we spend together now, even if we’re just at home, means so much more. The time for travel will come eventually. For now, we want to focus on health and safety.”
Matteo said having Sarah as his wife “made me a better person. She always reminds me about humility, about keeping my feet on the ground. Dati kasi ang tigas ko, but for her, I now want to become more understanding,” he declared.
He also said he was willing to change his lifestyle to accommodate Sarah’s interests. “Sarah sometimes likes to stay late at night to watch films. I try to watch with her, but I always fall asleep ahead. It’s because I wake up early at 5 a.m. I’m proud of her. Lately, she’s already up between 5:30 and 6 a.m., and we go out to run. I think I have to exert more effort to stay up late and watch films with her, too,” Matteo shared with reporters.
When asked which particular part of his life would he like to redo, given the chance, Matteo said: “I don’t have any regrets. All the ups and downs in my life happened for a reason. Without them, I would not be able to find Sarah. I guess my only regret was not being more educated in accounting. I wish I had paid more attention to accounting class before. As a husband, I find it very useful.” INQ