Matteo gives credit to parents

Matteo Guidicelli is one young celebrity who is admired by a lot of people. Not only is he talented and good-looking, but he is well-born, courteous and always polite when you run into him in the corridors of ABS-CBN. In all the years that I’ve known him (and the few times he’s guested on The Buzz, even when he’s on the hot seat or doing a live interview), he’s never spoken a bad word about anyone.

Direk Wenn Deramas, who Matteo worked with in Galema, attests of how Matteo was raised well by his parents. “Napakaganda ng foundation na binigay sa kanya in so many ways,” acknowledges direk Wenn, who really got to know the young actor during the bonding moments they had on the set of Galema. They would have deep and intense conversations about all kinds of things during taping breaks, and whenever direk Wenn would give him advice about something he was going through, or wanted to talk about, Matteo would always listen intently to what he had to say.

Matteo acknowledges that his parents have played a big role in who he is, and how he treats other people. Respect is one value that they taught him to always have, no matter who is on the receiving end. They impressed upon him, growing up, the need to treat everyone with respect, celebrity status or not — and Matteo is grateful that he learned these lessons early in life because it helped him navigate the tricky waters of showbiz.

The values Matteo’s parents taught him have really helped because they gave him a sense of identity and, as direk Wenn said, a solid foundation. “Our parents are the foundation of who we are. We learn from them; almost 80 percent of who we are comes from our parents,” acknowledges Matteo. “They teach us what’s right and wrong, and they set our values and morals. At importante talaga ang respect.”

His parents have actively supported all of his activities, from the time he was still actively racing, to now, with all of his showbiz endeavors and his growing interest in triathlons. Work-wise, Matteo just wrapped up work on his latest project, which was co-hosting the third season of the Promil I-Shine Talent Camp with Dimples Romana and Xian Lim. But even in the middle of all that he’s doing, and no matter how busy he gets, Matteo knows that his parents always have his back. The support and encouragement they have provided enabled him to find his wings and fly, even beyond the comfort of the parental nest.

Of course, Matteo would be the first to admit that his relationship with his parents is not perfect. “Siyempre may maliliit na mga bagay sa buhay natin na sometimes I disagree with them, but of course, everything becomes equal, di ba? My parents totally support me, and we sometimes have our discussions, but at the end of the day I agree with them, it’s all about a fair game, and you have to be realistic about everything.”

At the same time, they also trust him to make the right decisions about everything in his life, including his relationship with singer-actress Sarah Geronimo, which is now out in the open. “I think when you’re of age, it’s also up to that person to make their own decisions in life because their parents also have to trust that they taught them the right things,” says Matteo. “My parents trust me, and they know that when I go into the outside world, I make decisions, and if I fall, I’ll stand up and I learn from it. It’s always a learning experience. And we end up stronger because of that.”