There’s an old Filipino saying that goes like this: “No matter how long (or arduous) the procession is, chances are, it would end sooner or later in church.” And so it was for long-time celebrity sweethearts Matteo Guidicelli and Sarah Geronimo. The pair, who first publicly confirmed their relationship in 2014 after a year of being officially together, is now officially engaged. The actor, singer and former race car driver went on Instagram a few days ago to virtually announce their engagement through a pair of photos. Simply captioned “I love you my love, now and forever,” the photos show the couple in light, playful moments and Sarah wearing a new accessory: a highly visible diamond engagement ring.
Much has been said about Sarah, dubbed as the country’s one and only “Pop Princess.” But, apart from his home province, which is Cebu, his karting days when he was much younger and his Filipino and Italian lineage, little is known about Matteo, one of PeopleAsia magazine’s Men Who Matter awardees in 2015. To help you get to know him more, we’re reprinting the article titled “TV’s Golden Boy” by writer Maan D’Asis Pamaran. Congratulations, Matteo and Sarah!
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He strides into the shoot, greeting everyone with the warmest of smiles, causing PeopleAsia’s Monica Tiosejo to remark, “he should change his name to Apollo, like the Sun God. He’s just so radiant!”
In local showbiz, Matteo Guidicelli is a demigod. The former racing enthusiast left the tracks for showbiz, and then he got hooked on the tri-life.
Iron man with a heart of gold
He admits that he can’t train for his triathlons as much as he wants to, because of his busy schedule. “My first priority is my job, especially my teleserye. When I have a project, my tri-lifestyle changes. My last race was the Ironman in Subic (Olongapo) and I was not training as much as I want to, but I reminded myself that I am not a professional triathlete or anything.
“The sport demands a lot of time and demands a lot on your body. It’s three sports in one race, and you need a lot of time to rest and to improve yourself. In fact, if you have a race next week, you should be resting this week.”
He says that he has a new team called Ford Forza, which he formed together with his dad Gianluca and sister Georgia. They created this group to support their advocacy of helping local athletes.
“It started out as a group of friends who liked to do triathlon. We were looking for a sponsor, and it so happened that Ford wanted to connect. Their tagline is ‘Go Further,’ and it really fit what we wanted to do.” Among the athletes that they are helping out is Elmo, a jeepney driver who drives around Cebu from seven to 11 p.m. and trains bikers in the day. “He now lives in my home and helps train me and the other members of the team.”
His family is into an active lifestyle. His dad was the first to get into the sport, back in the time when Matteo was still into racing cars. The actor became overweight from a trip to the US and decided to get into fitness. His dad now organizes a biking event in Bohol, called Gyro d’Luca, where cyclists ride around the island for three days. “It’s hard, but it’s a fun ride. We are all there to enjoy the Bohol countryside and each other’s company.”
His brother is into racing, too, and his sister just graduated with a degree in Nutrition. “I don’t believe in dieting, because I eat everything in moderation. But when I have a race, I ask for her advice on what to eat or how many minutes I should drink. She also helps me when I am dieting for a teleserye or a photo shoot.”
Action man
He is wrapping up his ABS-CBN fantaserye Inday Bote, which he really likes doing because it has been years since he has done a primetime soap. Coming next is an action film called Tupang Ligaw. “What does it mean?” the Cebuano asks and laughs.
Here, he plays a Marine out to exact vengeance for his brother’s death. “I’ve always wanted to make a movie like this, and I am very excited about it because I will be handling firearms, which I got into about three years ago. I hope this will open other doors for me in this genre.”
As for his action star idols, he recounts watching Jean Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone and Steven Seagal when he was growing up, and says he watches movies starring Liam Neeson, Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx.
“Actually, when I was a kid, I wanted to be Tarzan!” he reveals. “I wanted to do something outdoors, involving the jungle, the ocean, trees, mountains, things like that.” He also recently did a stunt for Head and Shoulders Anti-Dandruff Shampoo that required him to bike underwater — pretty dangerous stuff, considering the possibility of his lungs bursting if he surfaced too quickly.
He hasn’t done kontrabida (villain) roles yet; the most he has done was to show a dark side in an indie movie, Saturday Night Chills. “It was super different from anything I have ever done. It was about these guys who had just finished college and were bumming around until they got into drugs and illegal activities. I enjoyed it a lot because it was so cool and liberating; winning Best Actor for this felt like a bonus.”
He also has a show called Wheels TV on the same channel, which brings him back to his first love, motoring.
Love and lightness of being
Speaking of love, showbiz is abuzz about his relationship with actress-singer Sarah Geronimo. Their blossoming romance sends fans into swooning frenzies, and Matteo glows when he talks about her. “My dream is to be able to go to a store and just buy something with her. I also want to be able to sit somewhere quiet where we can just look at the stars.”
Everything seems to be coming up roses for him, but he politely disagrees. “I wish it were,” he laughs. “Everyone seems to see the roses and the tulips, but there are always challenges,” he admits. What he does is to focus on the positive side of things instead of the negativity. “If we are to talk about my challenges, I could speak the whole day,” he teases.
“Kapag negative ka (When you’re negative), all you get are eye bags. I just surround myself with positive people. I get energy from the people around me. I can’t be with people who are negative or heavy. That will just get me tired.”
He claims that he hasn’t changed much from the Matteo who grew up in Cebu. “I still get together with my friends there. The only difference is that I now speak Tagalog,” he grins. “It is important to have other stuff outside of work. I have my tri, family, girlfriend and my friends. This helps to let out steam and take it easy. It is important to have people remind me that it is okay to sit down and chill. If I do nothing, I feel like I am wasting a day.”
This demigod is grounded all right. Before the interview started, the hotel room’s phone rang, and he picked it up himself — the caller having no idea that it was the actor he was talking with.
When asked about his future plans, he lights up once more. “I can’t wait to get older. I am now 25, and when I was 23, I was different from what I am now. My base is the same, but the way I look at life is different. I got wiser, I guess. So from 25 to 27, we will see. I am so excited for it.”
Time is gold
“My workouts help with my endurance. One of the challenges of my job is puyat (sleepless nights). But I really try my best to live a healthy lifestyle.
“You always have to remind yourself that your body is your main tool. If your body is broken, you can’t do anything anymore. That is why we workout, why we train. I go to the gym, and I do tri, so you can have the endurance to fight sickness. I believe that if you have a healthy lifestyle, everything will follow.
