“Fall in love at 43 is even better”

When they met backstage at “Malhação” back in 2002, Bárbara Borges and Iran Malfitano never imagined that one day they would experience a beautiful love story, worthy of a soap opera and with a happy ending. Twenty years have passed and the actors, aged 43 and 41 respectively, found themselves completely in love after meeting again on a reality show in which the ex Paquita was the champion, walking away with a prize of R$ 1.5 million… a new boyfriend. The official request was made last week by the actor, complete with a ring and many promises of love.

“I was completely surprised by life. Falling in love at 43 is still better than at 20 because of maturity, ”the actress reflects. In the interview below, she Bárbara opens her heart and details the couple’s first kiss and she also responds about the plans for the future of the two.

You and Iran met behind the scenes of “Malhação”. Was there any interest from either party at the time?

No, never had anything. I attended both at the time of “Malhação” and when we made the soap opera “Bela, a feia”, in 2009.

When did you realize you were in love with him?

When “A Fazenda” was over I realized that I was in love, because I missed it and I also saw the videos of our moments together. I felt my heart pounding, I watched it several times… When I saw the video of our shower together at the after-party, on the eve of the show’s finale, where I asked him if he would miss me because I was going to miss him , and I made a heart for him in the mirror, there I realized that I was already very much in love and I didn’t even notice it (laughs).

And how did it go? Who took the first step?

We took this step together with a little push from Shay (Haghbin, an influencer who participated in the reality show with them). We went to her house for dinner on December 21st and spent the night talking, laughing, remembering moments from the show, and no, we couldn’t get away from each other. Shay was the matchmaker. She said: “I think you need to be together. I think you could kiss…”. And we laughed while talking and, at the same time, we didn’t let go of our hands. By the time we were ready to leave, it was already 6am and Shay was so insistent that we sleep there that we both stayed. And then, alone in Shay’s room, our first kiss finally happened. And it was wonderful.

Bárbara Borges posts photo from 20 years ago with Iran Malfitano after she started dating actor: ‘Who knew…’

Bárbara Borges shows night of love in a hotel with Iran Malfitano after taking over

How is Iran’s relationship with your sons, Martin and Theo? Did they accept the relationship well?

My kids loved Iran before they even knew we were dating. I already knew that Iran was going to spend New Year’s with us and, the day before, I talked to my children. I told them: “My mother’s heart beats for Iran. Mommy likes it, he likes Mommy, and we’re dating. And then, I told him he was coming to the New Year’s party, and the kids asked, “Is Laura (Iran’s daughter with Nany Albano) coming too?” It is a relationship that is being built with a lot of love.

Do you and Iran already live together? Are there any plans for this?

We don’t live together, but we are together a lot. Sticky (laughs). We haven’t planned anything. We live fully in the present.

And the wedding, do you plan to formalize this union with a wreath?

Calm down (laughs). We are really enjoying this dating start. Dating is so delightful. A step at a time.

Today you are in a more mature relationship. What is it like to fall in love at 43? Is it equal to 20?

I was completely surprised by life. Falling in love at 43 is even better than at 20 due to maturity.

You have a huge crowd out there and you’ve become a crowd favorite couple. How do you handle all this backlash from the novel? Do you feel the pressure of having to share everything with fans?

We feel no pressure. We are very happy with all this support and harassment we are getting. People are happy to see us happy. People tell us how much they rooted for us to be together. It is a love so great that it is priceless. We understand that the public has become accustomed to following us 24/7 and that it is natural that they want to continue following us and miss us.

Changing the subject, have you thought about what you will do with the prize for “A Fazenda”?

My prize belongs to my family, I only think about my children in this sense. I haven’t decided anything yet, because I haven’t received it yet. But the money will be used for my children, I keep thinking as I said in the game: everything for them and for them.

In “A Fazenda”, you were accused by a participant of being “Patricinha de Copacabana”. Are you annoyed by this? What was your financial life like before getting into the reality show?

I’m a Copacabana resident, more than that: I grew up in Copacabana. And I simply live here, I go to the beach with my children, I take the subway, I go around the neighborhood shops, I always talk to everyone. They tried to nail me with this preppy talk, I don’t care what they say, so it didn’t bother me. Anyone who makes a living with art, and also works in television, knows that there are periods of low season. I was having a similar moment. I went through some difficulties. We adapt, sometimes we shrink a little bit, and then we manage to stretch our legs again.

What are your plans for this year? Are you already planning a job as an actress?

People think that when we leave reality we have all the directors calling us for soap operas, right? It does not work like that. We’ve talked to some jobs products, we’ve had meetings on some projects, I’m also understanding the opportunities in this digital marketplace. Many projects are moving from the field of ideas to meetings and then to production. I will soon have news to share with you.