Today, Saturday 15 June, at very truethe last interview done by Silvia Toffanin will be re-proposed at Federica Pellegrini in the talk show she hosted on Canale 5, and for the occasion we thought we’d retrace the salient points of the Olympic champion’s private life, starting from discovering something more about husband Matteo Giunta until you reach the birth of his daughter Matildeto the relationship with Filippo Magnini and the betrayals he experienced. Let’s see together what happened to Federica Pellegrini in recent years.
Federica Pellegrini, who is her husband Matteo Giunta
Matteo Giunta, born in 1982 (42 years old), was born and raised in Pesaro, in the Marche region, but continued his studies in Turin, where he graduated in Sports Sciences. In 2008, having concluded his career, he began to dedicate himself to the preparation and training of athletes of different levels, including his cousin – the former swimmer Filippo Magnini and ex-boyfriend of his current wife, Federica Pellegrini -, soon becoming one of the most esteemed and requested coaches in Italian swimming. In 2013 he replaced Philippe Lucas as Federica Pellegrini’s trainer, leading the former swimmer to win gold in the 200 meters freestyle at the World Championships in Budapest in 2017 and Gwangju in 2019. In 2018 Giunta was awarded by the Olympic Committee Italian national team with a Palme d’Or for technical merit. Finally, in 2022 he participated with Pellegrini in Beijing Express: the Newlyweds, we remember, came second, conquering everyone.
After six years of engagement with Filippo Magnini, Federica Pellegrini fell in love with Matteo Giunta: “I step first, he kisses first“, declared the champion in the past. The two kept the love story secret for a long time before coming out: “It was exciting. I decided to free ourselves and reveal this open secret. Now we’re living everything out in the open and it’s beautiful“. And then, during an interview with Silvia Toffanin, he told some more details about the marriage proposalwhich took place at the famous Hotel Danieli, where they also spent their wedding night: “It was a moment I will never forget. I didn’t expect the proposal to arrive so quickly, I thought that after my retirement from racing Matteo would make more time pass“. The wedding took place in great secrecy in the summer of 2022 with a religious ceremony celebrated in the afternoon of Saturday 27 August in Venice, at the church of San Zaccaria: Pellegrini was accompanied to the altar by her father Roberto, while her brother Alessandro acted as her best man. The couple’s four French bulldogs were also at the event.
In January 2024 she was born Matilde, the daughter of Federica Pellegrini and Matteo Giuntawho made the announcement via social media: “It’s been a complicated two days… You’ve finally arrived“. In an interview following the happy event, the champion declared: “Sleep? It’s a huge word, let’s say you survive. But then if you have to stay awake for this little creature, you do it very willingly, even the lack of sleep, even the fatigue, sport teaches you a little, it turns into immense pleasure“. On that same occasion Giunta added: “Despite the goals that Fede has already achieved in sport, this is different, everything is different, completely, it is the magic of life, in fact, perhaps the maximum expression of life and creativity. I think there is no greater joy for her, for me, for us. Fede says that when I look at her I have heart-shaped eyes, she might even be a little jealous because deep down they are the same heart-shaped eyes that I have for her, the same look that I direct at her. Instead, with the arrival of our little girl, I understood, we understood, that love cannot be divided: love multiplies, it’s something we are discovering little by little thanks to her“, concludes Giunta.
The ex-boyfriend Filippo Magnini and the betrayals
Federica Pellegrini and Filippo Magnini, Matteo Giunta’s cousin, were together for six years, from 2011 to 2017, but today both are happily married to other people (the former swimmer is in love with Giorgia Palmas and has his daughter Mia with her). When the two ex-boyfriends met they were already romantically involved: she with Luca Marin, he with his partner Cristina. Then the photos of a first kiss with Filippo, Marin’s scene in the hotel and the formalization of the relationship with Magnini in September 2011. The former couple’s relationship was full of crises, the first in 2013, when with an official press release they announced: “We are very sorry but our story is over“. The two became closer when Divina asked Matteo Giunta, who was already following his cousin, to train her. In August of the same year, in fact, the weekly Who showed photos of the two champions at the seaside together while cuddling and kissing. “I got busy, I made my moves and Federica let me“, Magnini declared to the weekly Oggi.
Two years after the alleged flirtation with the champion Gianluca Maglia and then the final farewell in 2016when Who spoke of a relationship crisis, due to sport: “At this moment Federica is trying to maintain a strong and decisive concentration in sport. If she had thought about family or marriage she would have made other choices. Her choice today is only and exclusively swimming“, explained Pellegrini’s spokeswoman on that occasion. In reality, it seems there was a betrayal on Pellegrini’s part, but there was never any official confirmation in that period. Finally, despite having been paparazzied several times together in the following year, the two took different paths: “She wasn’t sure about love anymore. She left me. I suffered a lot, I hoped for a year but now I have moved on“, said the former swimmer. Later, it was his own cousin Giunta, to talk about the relationship with Magnini before the wedding with his current wife: “He is married and I hope that what happened led him to find the true love of his life. But I see it difficult for him to come to the wedding… The balance is positive, because the experiences were beautiful, and even if there was something negative, it was still something that made me grow and become a better person“.
Finally, let us remember that the former swimmer, speaking about her past and in particular about betrayals in an interview given to SevenHe admitted: “I was betrayed. I’m jealous, partly by nature and partly because my past stories have led me to be on guard against the favorite sport of men, betrayal. I was burned, I suffered infidelity quite systematically. Trusting completely is difficult. Sometimes, those fears come back and make themselves felt. I cheated, I can’t say no. But I only cheated when the story ended shortly thereafter. Cheating systematically is different. I don’t conceive of someone who cheats for sport“. About jealousyPellegrini confessed to feeling calm at Matteo Giunta’s side, even if “every now and then I make a scene at him, but I don’t live with constant doubt. If I’m in doubt, I dial into his phone. I have all the codes“.
