«The secret of happiness? The pact of pajamas »- Corriere.it

Fabio Caressa And Benedetta Parodi they have just returned from a “weekend” in Franciacorta on Monday and Tuesday. At their home, the “weekends” are midweek because on Sundays he always has the match reports on Sky; in addition, at any time of day, even at four in the afternoon, you can find the table set with apple shank or stuffed turkey because she prepares the recipes for her books, sold in three million copies, in the family kitchen . In this period, however, “You eat in a fluctuating way»Confesses Benedetta,« when I lead Bake Off, I stay on the set until evening and I don’t cook at home ». Husband and three children see his delicacies right on Real Time on Friday nights.

This summer, while historical couples such as Totti and Blasi, Amendola and Neri, Marcuzzi and Calabresi Marconi, Benedetta and Fabio were celebrating their 23 years of marriage. First meeting at the Telepiù canteen, which will later become Sky1997, 29 years old he, who began to be the voice of football, 25 she started as a film journalist and, today, when something bores her to death, she says “it bores me like a football match”. Neither is struck by the other. Him: «Benedetta had very black hair, blue nails with stars, she seemed a bit dark to me». Her: «I was living a period of joy, I didn’t want a story». Then, Benedetta began to have Fabio dubbed the interviews of the American actors (she: «They all had the same voice and the low r’s»).

First step forward?

Fabio: «I invited her to the cinema».
Benedetta: «But no: I invited him, but only because I always needed people to accompany me to see the films I was working on. The film was Romeo and Juliet with DiCaprio, Fabio only came because he had other aims ».
Fabio: «Ressi only because we had been coming for an aperitif for three hours, I was almost fainted. It took us a month to understand what we wanted and, after 10 days, we lived together ».
Benedetta: «Actually, I went to live with him only because I lived with two students, it was summer, we had to leave the house, I said: I’ll stay with you for a couple of months».
Fabio: “I closed the door and I didn’t let her out anymore.”

What had conquered her?

“Benedetta has an aura of white light surrounding her which I find irresistible. She still has it, it’s impossible not to see it. ”
Benedetta: «We are different, he is tumultuous, impulsive, volcanic, I calm, more calm: we compensate, we found ourselves like two pieces of a puzzle».
Fabio: «My book Thank you Lord for giving us football has just come out for Sperling & Kupfer, where there is also the story of my thirtieth birthday: I had taken two areas to report Borussia Dortmund-Bayern Munich, taken the third to have dinner with Bene and the next day at six I had to catch a plane. It was our very early days, she was still not convinced, I was hoping for fireworks after cinema and Indian dinner. Instead, I take her home at three in the morning and she shows me Disney’s Pinocchio ».

The turning point?

Fabio: “When we bought the house, in November 1998. On New Year’s Eve, we had a spectacular party in the empty rooms, which gave an imprint to the kind of family we would have been: with us, it’s a seaport”.
Benedetta: “Kids bring friends all the time, it’s a house full of exchanges, joy, energy. Did we sleep eleven the other day? Fourteen?”.
Fabio: «You had three breakfast shifts: who ordered pancakes, who scrambled eggs. We wanted many children, we come from the same type of family: all our brothers have three children. However, on that Christmas 1998, I also gave her the engagement ring ».

What was the marriage proposal like?

Benedetta: «A pragmatic thing. We lived together, he always said “come on, let’s get married” and I “but no”. Then one day, I replied: Ok, come on ».

How little are you romantic?

Fabio: «Less than me it’s impossible, but I’m the only one who can beat Benedetta. We are not the ones who watch the sunset and say “love”, we are the ones who watch the sunset having an aperitif with 25 friends ».

Who says “I love you” most often?

Fabio: «This is easy: me, one to zero. It is not a demanding match ».
Benedetta: «We consumed all our romanticism in the Maldives: three years ago, for the twentieth anniversary, we renewed the promise of marriage together with the children. It was nice to see our yes through the eyes of the boys. We had started laughing, but there, we were all moved, the boys were crying, laughing, it was a very strong emotion ».

Another unforgettable moment?

Fabio: «When I become so disordered that I make life impossible for everyone. There are times when I can leave iPods in the fridge. Beppe Bergomi, with whom I share many trips, if I invite him to my room at the hotel, he replies: for heaven’s sake, you will have blown up your suitcase. I am a pathological disorder. Benedetta doesn’t get angry, she gets angry. And she is also jealous of her things about her, if I touch a charger, I risk my life, she could hire a killer ».

What else are you fighting over?

Benedetta: «We have never had major crises and we are not even jealous. Maybe we discuss why I am more permissive about children ».
Fabio: «We call her the paper mom. I’m the bad cop. ‘
Benedetta: «However, we have raised very good children, more aware of the dangers than we were and the two grown-up girls, Matilde and Eleonora, are very independent and with their heads on their shoulders».

Diego, 13, is his name like Armando Maradona?

Fabio: «Of course».
Benedetta: «Like Don Diego de la Vega di Zorro».
Fabio «Anyway, if we argue, maybe she’ll poke me, I’m not capable of it. For me, it works like this: you have problems, you get angry, if necessary you scream and, after five minutes, it’s all over ».

On what, however, do you agree?

«Benedetta:« In keeping each other down to earth: we did it after his World Cup or when, for me, after leaving the management of Studio Aperto, the success of Cotto e Mangiato arrived ».
Fabio: «The key word was: out of gas. If one tends to stardom, the other immediately pulls him down ».

In the end, what is the secret to lasting happy 25 years?

Fabio: «Accepting the other’s spaces of freedom, respecting his passions, sharing problems and values. Couples move on if they can talk to each other and deal with problems right away, otherwise a small thing becomes a monster. In this, I am a black belt ».

R.
Are you from Caressa?

Fabio: «We made the pact of pajamas, never stay in pajamas or overalls. Now, she puts it on. So, I’ll put it on too, then I look at myself, I disgust myself, take it off and leave it on the ground ».