Nico Bolzico and Solenn Heusaff consider marrying each other as one of their greatest accomplishments. He remembers meeting her for the first time in a noisy club. There were too many things going on. “I noticed her,” he recalls. “She’s beautiful but I didn’t have a chance to focus. I have a short attention span.” Nico is poking fun at himself. He has a funny bone that has caught the attention of netizens who follow his IG posts. Solenn has considerably more followers, being an artist who is also in the entertainment field. She doesn’t always find him funny, especially when he pranks her, but she takes his jests good-naturedly.
Farmer and the Artist
While there was no strong connection at first sight, two meetings later they had a chance to talk and he was impressed by how down-to-earth she was despite her celebrity status and how caring she was. “It didn’t matter who she talks to, she always respects that person. She’s talented, easy-going and humble.”
Solenn speaks just as warmly about her Argentinian husband. “He’s adapted to me and to Filipinos. It’s not easy for a foreigner. He understands people and what they like. Nico is funny. People message him saying how they enjoy his IG stories. He’s smart, too. He built his agriculture company from scratch. He’s done so much and he is so respected. He recently opened an office. It’s only the beginning.”
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Out in the Open
When they became a couple, Solenn and Nico were open about the relationship. Solenn didn’t deny that they were together, regardless of the show biz norm to conceal partners. “I refused from the onset to be in love teams just to sell the movie,” she says. “I didn’t want any relationship to define me as an actor.”
Solenn didn’t think she was not the marrying type and was caught off guard when Nico asked her to marry him. “Nico’s proposal was my most unforgettable experience,” she shares. “Nico is very bad at keeping secrets when he is excited. He’s good at keeping secrets if you confided in him; he won’t even tell me, but if he’s excited about something, he won’t know how to keep it.”
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The Secret
Solenn marvels at how he managed to prepare for the proposal in two days. She had gone to the US for work and while she was away, he started working on his plan.
“When I came back, my mom said that dad was leaving for Palawan and asked me to pass by,” Solenn recounts. “I knew Nico was in one of his fields, in Gen San so I went to their house at 4AM straight from the airport. I was in the TV room having coffee and suddenly Nico was there on the TV screen. I started to panic and began crying. I sat down and my mom played the video. It was a 40-minute video . He had all my friends, even those he hadn’t even met from Paris send a message on what’s so great about me and why he should marry me.”
Nico interjects from the living room. “I had all my friends telling me why I should marry her and telling her why she should not marry me.”
Proposal at Dawn
Solenn resumes her narration. “At the end of the video, he had a collage of our four years. How did he even have those photos?” she exclaimed. “ As a guy, he’s not the type to keep things. “
Nico chimes in. “I had pictures of her before me, pictures of her with me, picture of me before her and pictures of us together and how we’ve changed each other, how we grew as a couple.”
Solenn continues, “At the end of the video, he said ‘If it was raining, ask your mom where I am in the house. If it’s not raining, I am outside waiting for you.’ So I went outside. The sun was rising and the garden was full of white balloons. He was there waiting for me. It was very quiet proposal with just me, my parents and Nico. I was amazed that he did it in two days.
“He probably did it that weekend because if he did it for a week, I would have found out for sure. He did everything in two days, including the video edit. The ring was perfect. I don’t wear jewelry and if you asked me before what jewelry I want, I wouldn’t be able to tell you because I really don’t know. This one was so simple. It’s rose gold. I love rose gold.”
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Family Plans
The Bolzicos have been married for two years now. They are moving to a bigger place and planning a family. Before the baby comes, however, they are awaiting the arrival of a pet dog to join #negroni, their cat and #patato, their tortoise. It’s a happy household, albeit not quite conventional, although they both consider themselves homebodies. Some of their life is captured on social media. It’s a slice of their reality that they are willing to share with the world and even if it’s just snippets and it’s all for real.
Read the full cover story in Lifestyle Asia’s May 2018 Beauty, Health & Wellness Issue in leading bookstands now. For the digital version, download the FLIP100 app now.
Cover Story Shoot Credits:
Photography by Shaira Luna
Behind the Scenes photography by Floyd Jhocson
Styled by Roko Arceo
Makeup & Grooming by Owen Sarmiento
Hair for Solenn by John Valle
Art direction by Marc Pagdilao
Photography Assisted by Lance Luna
Shot on location at Big Ben Farm, Pulilan, Bulacan
