Zoe Saldana reveals her husband Marco Perego has taken her last name

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Zoe Saldana reveals her husband Marco Perego has taken her last name

By Deborah Cicurel

Updated 8 years ago

In what can only be described as excellent news for a Monday morning, Zoe Saldana has revealed that her husband Marco Perego has taken her last name – and she didn’t even put pressure on him to do it.

"I tried to talk him out of it," Zoe, 36, told InStyle in an interview published this week. "If you use my name, you're going to be emasculated by your community of artists, by your Latin community of men, by the world."

But Italian painter and sculptor Marco’s response was perfect: "Ah Zoe, I don't give a shit."

The couple, who have been married since 2013, welcomed twins Cy and Bowie into the world six months ago – and the twins also share the Saldana name.

Zoe also discussed how far her relationship with Marco, 36, has come since the couple have become parents."Since I've been with Marco, I've been lowering my guard,” she said. “Finally when we had our boys I looked at my husband and I realised: I was meant for you and you were meant for me.”

“I've always felt comfortable around men as long as they were friends,” she added. “Now I finally feel comfortable with my lover. I don't want to be separate. I want my church. I want to live inside the religion of our own little family."

Addressing the issue of comfort, Zoe pointed out that she never had problems around men – but her independent nature meant past relationships have been harder.

"It's not like I've had issues with men; I've always just been independent to a fault. I've always believed it's my birthright to behave as an equal on this earth and to be entitled to everything and anything," she said.

"That said, I've had my experiences of heartbreak when it comes to choosing partners who wanted to be equals but didn't have the ability to actually reciprocate the respect."

Zoe was also unafraid to respond to critics who have argued that she is too light-skinned to play the role of Nina Simone in her upcoming film Nina.

"I didn't think I was right for the part, and I know a lot of people will agree, but then again, I don't think Elizabeth Taylor was right for Cleopatra either,” Zoe said.

“An artist is colourless, genderless…It's more complex than just 'Oh, you chose the Halle Berry look-alike to play a dark, strikingly beautiful, iconic black woman.' The truth is, they chose an artist who was willing to sacrifice herself," she added. "We needed to tell her story because she deserves it."

Zoe finds those critics particularly harsh as it goes against how she was raised.

"What was important for my mother is that we married somebody who still had dreams and aspirations—not what colour or class they were from," she said. "We were all colours but we never talked about it. We all ate the same food. I look at Cy and he looks almost Cambodian. I look at Bo and it's like, 'Oh, our little pharaoh.'"

Lastly, Zoe discussed the pressures of getting back into shape after giving birth to the twins, insisting that being healthy, rather than skinny, is what she is aiming for as a mother.

"I don't want to get back to where I used to be,” she said. “I want to feel healthy, and not just fit into the old jeans I used to wear. I'm a woman now. My body has changed forever. It's softer... and stronger."

Main Photo: Rex Features

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