Originally appeared on E! Online
The 2025 Oscars nominations marked a golden day for Zoe Saldaña.
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The actress received a nod in the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category for her performance in Emilia Pérez, a Best Picture contender that racked up 13 nominations in total (see the full list here).
And of course, Saldana celebrated with her nearest and dearest. Posting a photo montage of joyful moments she’s shared with her loved ones — including her husband Marco Perego-Saldaña, 10-year-old twins Cy and Bowie, and 7-year-old son Zen — to Instagram Jan. 23, the Avatar alum wrote, “How today feels :-).”
While Saldana and Perego-Saldaña have collaborated on a few films together — including his 2023 directorial debut “The Absence of Eden” and the 2024 short “Dovecote” — their relationship began out of the spotlight — and a few thousand feet in the air.
“It was a Virgin America flight from Los Angeles to New York post-Thanksgiving,” the Lioness star recalled on an April episode of The Drew Barrymore Show about how she met the artist. “We just had a conversation. And then we realized that in a span of three years prior to that, we kept bumping into each other. And it was always like, ‘Oh my god. There’s that guy, that really gorgeous Italian. Oh my god, don’t ever talk to him—he’s probably a player. And Perego-Saldaña was probably always like, ‘Oh, look at this beautiful actress. Let me try to make love to her, and if I don’t, then let me try to sell her a painting.’ I wasn’t really friendly.”
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“I left my email to her best friends,” he added, “and in the night, they sent an email and said, ‘Do you want to go out?’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t feel it.’ And she answered me, ‘Womp womp.’ And I didn’t know what this means. And I said, ‘OK.’ And like a month after, she text me and say, ‘I come into your studio?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I would love that.’ And she came down to the studio. From that day, we never separate.”
Of course, they aren’t the only couple to meet outside of Hollywood.
For instance, Lana Del Rey married wildlife tour guide from Louisiana Jeremy Dufrene, and Bella Hadid found love with her cowboy boyfriend from Texas Adan Banuelos.
“If it wasn’t for horses, I’d have never met the love of my life,” Banuelos told W Magazine in September. “We met at a horse show.”
