MANILA, Philippines — After four years of marriage, Matteo Guidicelli fully trusts his wife Sarah Geronimo’s “gut feel” when it comes to making decisions on major investments and purchases.
“I guess four years ago, when we got married, we established our template on how our long-term goals or our short-term goals are, and where we want our family to go, etc., and I’m very happy because Sarah and I, we have been hitting those goals.
“Two years ago, we established our production company (G Productions). So basically, we reinvested our money into our business that’s also part of entertainment,” shared Matteo during a recent one-on-one chat with The Philippine STAR.
“And then as the years go by, we see new things. For example, there’s a nice investment. Sarah always has the gut feel of good things so sasabihin, ‘Love, ito, ito,’ I’ll ask, and (then she’ll say), ‘Love, no, ‘wag yan’ or ‘love, yes, yan.’ So, she has that touch.”
Sarah, on the other hand, pointed out that there are other influential people in their lives, like Matteo’s dad. “He would tell him, ‘Matteo, is this practical?’ ‘Do you need it now?’”
Agreed Matteo, “So we have different people around our lives that really guide us. But at the end of the day, the decision makers really are Sarah and I.
Matteo and Sarah with fellow Sun Life endorser Piolo Pascual during Sun Life Philippines’ launch of its new game, ‘Play for Life: A Game of Choices.’ —Photo from Sarah Geronimo’s Facebook page
“And Sarah is the person who has that intuition and she has a very strong feeling na she feels if it’s good. ‘Love, let’s study it more, or game.’ If not, she would say, ‘Love, let’s pass on this one.’
“Ako kasi I’m very ‘atat,’ impulsive,” the actor-athlete added.
“So I’m very blessed to have Sarah as a partner. Love, teka lang, analyze muna natin kung ano ito.”
While Matteo happily credited Sarah, for the latter, they complement each other. The pop star also noted that both of them — their partnership, in business and in life — has matured and grown a lot since they became husband and wife.
Aside from establishing G Productions, they have since built G Studios in Alabang. “So yung partnership po naming mag-asawa, nag-mature din kasi whether we like it or not, mas creative side po ako,” explained Sarah. “Mas sinasabihan ako ng asawa ko na, ‘Love, you have to be informed about the details when it comes to finances.’ Kasi kami bilang creative, kung ano lang yung gusto namin i-produce, parang minsan gusto mag-produce right away,” Sarah said.
“But we have to be aware kung kakayanin ba financially and yung returns, okay ba. So malaki yung growth din na naibigay sa amin as life partners.”
As business partners, the couple said that their focus now is to really keep the business running and making sure that there’s “good return.”
“The main mission vision of the whole company is for creatives, to build Sarah’s creatives and mine also,” said Matteo.
Sarah added, “We want to be part of the creative journey of other artists… Kami yung magiging venue for them parang playground nila yung G Studios.”
The STAR was able to speak to Matteo and Sarah on the sidelines of Sun Life Philippines’ launch of its new game, “Play for Life: A Game of Choices” at Conrad Manila.
The celebrity couple, as Sun Life brand ambassadors together with Piolo Pascual, introduced the online version of Play for Life, which is now live on the Sun Life website, and how it works. The free, single-player game allows Filipinos to experience real-life financial scenarios through engaging game play. A board game version will be made available in all Sun Life branches nationwide. There are also versions of Play for Life designed for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), business owners, and professionals.
“Play for Life marks a significant step forward in Sun Life’s goal to make financial literacy fun and accessible for all Filipinos,” said Carla Gonzalez-Chong, chief client experience and marketing officer of Sun Life Philippines.
Playtime has an important role in Sarah and Matteo’s married life as well. Describing their idea of play and recreation, Matteo said, “We travel a lot. We just came from a nice trip to Europe. I think these trips are good investments in our life because we can gain wisdom, create memories and strengthen the relationship. But more importantly, I think this is the best school of life, seeing different cultures and talking to different people.”
Said Sarah, “Importante yung play sa buhay, sa partnership, sa relationship within the family, the bonding. Even though you work so hard, pagod na pagod ka na, at the end of the day, kung wala ka ng good health, if you don’t spend time with your loved ones, parang balewala din lahat ng pinaghirapan ko.”
The STAR also asked how important is giving back in their financial planning goals.
Sarah said, “Number one po yun. I think that the reason why we’re doing this and we are given, I think, more than enough is to really give back and share kung ano man yung na natatanggap namin. Yun naman ang purpose ng humanity… kung sino man yung mas nakakagaan and nakakaluwag, yun ang magbibigay.”
The couple currently has the Guidicelli Foundation that supports various advocacies and causes. They are known to have lent their star power to charity work benefiting children, animal welfare, among others. Their foundation has committed to several charity events for this year.
“I’m very proud of and inspired by Sarah,” said Matteo. “She always inspires me na ‘Love, we have to give back, we have to do more activities of giving back and changing people’s lives.’ So that’s number one in our priority list.”
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