Red Flags In Zoe Saldaña And Marco Perego-Saldaña's Relationship From Our Matchmaker

Occasionally, real life is stranger than fiction, as "Emilia Pérez" actor Zoe Saldaña found out when she experienced her own bit of Hollywood magic in 2013. She boarded a plane, glimpsed a handsome stranger, and that was it: love at first sight. "I just saw him from behind. 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," Saldaña told USA Today two years later. The man turned out to be Italian artist Marco Perego, and within a few whirlwind months, he and Saldaña would go from meeting to dating to married. "I know people don't believe in it; I didn't believe in it. I'm a very Sigmund Freud person, I'm very logical," Saldaña continued, explaining the breakneck speed of their instant romance. "I'm okay not having an explanation for that. Because I don't need to explain that. It was enough that I felt it."

Sudden as it all sounds, the duo must be onto something. Not only do Saldaña and Perego-Saldaña now share three sons together, but their relationship has also passed the 10-year mark — an extra big deal in the entertainment industry. But with such strange beginnings (and a few other quirks), some onlookers wonder: Is this marriage built to last?

For expert insight into this almost-too-good-to-be-true celeb couple, Glam spoke exclusively to Susan Trombetti, matchmaker and CEO of Exclusive Matchmaking. "When it comes to Zoe Saldaña and Marco Perego-Saldaña's relationship, it seems like it's a very loving and caring relationship," Trombetti observes. However, that doesn't mean they have nothing to worry about. For a successful, long-term partnership, love is only one part of the equation, and Trombetti points out a few red flags of which both Saldaña and Perego-Saldaña should remain wary.

The precise timeline isn't totally clear, but we do know one thing about Zoe Saldaña and Marco Perego-Saldaña's swift romance: It happened in a matter of months. As matchmaker Susan Trombetti exclusively tells Glam, "We don't know exactly when they met, but we know they went from dating at some point in 2013 to married in the summer of 2013. That's a pretty quick timeline. They were first spotted on a date in April and married over the summer."

By all accounts, this secretive wedding was a small, private affair that was planned in a hurry. Trombetti acknowledges that "[t]he quick marriage seems to have worked for them" so far, but adds that "that's a red flag for sure." At the very least, fans may not want to use this speedy escalation as a template for their own love lives. Hopping quickly from being single to married life isn't always problematic, but it can be a sign of rushed intimacy and unstable commitment — or that you're getting married for the wrong reasons.

In fact, sudden wedding bells are such a notorious red flag that Trombetti still has reservations even with Saldaña and Perego-Saldaña's longevity. "So far, everything seems like it worked in their favor, but that's way too fast," she says. And even if it turns out that Saldaña and Perego-Saldaña did hit the romantic jackpot, not everyone may be so lucky. When in doubt, examine your situation for signs you're moving too fast in your relationship, like pushiness surrounding your commitment level, finances, or social circles.

The story behind Zoe Saldaña and Marco Perego-Saldaña's first meeting is certainly charming. Who wouldn't want to look at a potential partner and just know? And Saldaña's repeatedly doubled down on the soulmate-like connection they share. "I looked at my husband and I realized: I was meant for you, and you were meant for me," Saldaña told InStyle in 2015 (via People). "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." Talk about a spiritual connection. But Susan Trombetti warns that all this romanticism could boil down to a case of viewing the relationship through rose-colored glasses.

"She claims it was love at first sight. ... As a matchmaker, I don't believe in love at first sight," declares Trombetti. If this seems surprisingly cynical for someone in the love business, consider this: Perhaps better than anyone, a matchmaker knows how much real work and elbow grease goes into a healthy relationship. In real life, those happily-ever-afters don't just build themselves.

Rather, Trombetti thinks that the idea of a head-over-heels fairy-tale romance is actually built in hindsight. As she exclusively explains to Glam, "If something worked out with 20 people you looked at from across the room, you would say the same. It just never worked out with those people. That probably happened to [Saldaña] before, but it didn't amount to anything. This one did, so it's memorable." We don't want to rain on the couple's parade, but a movie-worthy meet-cute isn't enough to form the basis of a relationship. So, if the couple leans on their origin story rather than setting deeper emotional foundations, that could be a red flag in the making.

Before apparently finding her soulmate on an airplane, Zoe Saldaña had been dating fellow actor and "The Words" co-star Bradley Cooper on and off for two years. In fact, they'd only officially called it quits a few months before Saldaña started dating Marco Perego, adding another layer of emotional complexity to the whole situation. As Susan Trombetti points out to Glam, Saldaña might have been "on the rebound when she met her spouse. That could even be behind the quick wedding."

However, Saldaña has suggested that, rather than making her desperate for connection, breaking up with Cooper actually put her in the perfect headspace to start fresh. "I was finally able to spend time without being in a relationship, and even though it was a short period of time, it was beautiful. I lost that fear of being alone," the "Avatar" actor told E! News in 2014.

With years behind them, Saldaña and Perego-Saldaña seem to be moving in the right direction — namely, one that has nothing to do with their exes. "For Hollywood, this is a marriage that has lasted for the ages. It seems that she has plenty in common with her husband and plenty of differences to make it interesting," Trombetti observes. However, she adds that bouncing quickly from one serious relationship to another can leave behind buried roots. As Trombetti cautions, "Rebounds can sneak up at any time and work against you." Just one more reason for Saldaña and Perego-Saldaña to remain conscientious about this and any other red flags lurking in their respective relationship histories.

Superstitious people might point to a number of factors that can supposedly jinx a relationship, from talking up a new beau to your friends to planning a distant trip together. And without a doubt, tattooing a partner's name or portrait has to rank high among the gestures that seem to invite trouble from the universe. Even matchmaker Susan Trombetti is leery of this supposed sign of commitment. "Tattooing your person anywhere on your body — marking permanence in any way — seems to always jinx it in my book," she exclusively tells Glam.

So, what does it say that Marco Perego-Saldaña has a black-and-white portrait of his wife, Zoe Saldaña, displayed prominently on his left forearm? And that she returned the favor a few years later by getting her husband's portrait on her ribs? "Maybe I am just superstitious, and they seem fine, but it always seems to be the kiss of death in a relationship," says Trombetti.

Is it ever a good idea to get a tattoo with your beau? It can be, if you take your time and choose a design that's independently meaningful, but getting a partner's face is pretty specific. It certainly doesn't help that Perego-Saldaña's tattoo came right on the heels of their marriage in autumn 2013, making it yet another suspiciously fast step in the couple's relationship. Jumping in with both feet seems to be the vibe between Saldaña and Perego-Saldaña, but adding hastily chosen body art into the mix seems like a red flag all of its own.

Some celebrity couples make great efforts to keep their love stories out of the public eye, reasonably wanting something just for themselves. For instance, Anna Kournikova and Enrique Iglesias are super-private about their long relationship. But for someone who claims to be discreet, Zoe Saldaña can't stop cooing over her beloved husband, Marco Perego-Saldaña.

Unfortunately, matchmaker Susan Trombetti suggests that this could be asking for trouble. "She puts her relationship out there too much and gushes about it. I feel like that makes the paparazzi look for dirt," Trombetti exclusively tells Glam. "In general, the more private you can be about your romance and partner, the better off your relationship will be."

Media scrutiny can definitely add pressure to a star-studded marriage. There's also the idea that publicly overhyping a relationship may actually indicate secret insecurities. In essence, when celebrities like Saldaña rave about their partner and home life, it can suggest a red flag in two ways: Either they're unintentionally giving the media fodder to start nosing around in their marriages, or they're covering up the less-than-perfect reality of their relationships. Here's hoping that neither is the case for Saldaña and that she really is just too ecstatically in love to keep it to herself.