Zoe Saldaña Reveals the ‘Spicy’ Reaction She Had to Husband Marco Perego’s Marriage Proposal

Zoe Saldaña’s husband Marco Perego revealed the couple ran into a “dramatic” communication error during his proposal.

On April 3, Saldaña and her husband, both 45, made an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show to discuss their marriage — and the heartfelt story of how they got engaged.

During the episode, Perego, an Italian producer and director, recalled how just before he proposed to the Avatar actress, he traveled to the Dominican Republic — where much of Saldaña’s family lives — to visit her father’s grave, where he filmed himself asking for permission to marry her.

“Zoe is a little spicy as a Latina, and I say to Zoe, ‘I’m going to New York. I need to do something for work,’ ” Perego recalled. “I actually went to the Dominican Republic, [to say] thanks [to] her stepfather and all the family who support me.”

But Perego went to ask another family member for permission to marry Saldaña, too, her father, Aridio Saldaña, who died in 1987.

“[He went to see] my father’s grave,” the actress chimed in.

“I asked him if can marry her,” Perego added. “But when I arrived back to London… she said, ‘Where you been?’ And I say, ‘I’ve been in a place, but you need to wait a couple of hours and I’ll let you know.’ ”

Saldaña, he recalled, did not take this information well, and instead got out of their taxi in the middle of traffic.

“We’re in a cab in the middle of London,” Saldaña added, “… I just got out of the cab and I’m walking in the middle of the street, and it was very dramatic.”

Perego recalled telling his now-wife in the moment that he needed to show her something. “And she said, ‘Absolutely not.’ And I say, ‘No, but please I need to say something to you.’ ”

Eventually, the Guardians of the Galaxy star relented and Perego was able to show her the video taken during the trip, as well as ask her to marry him.

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Saldaña and Perego first met on a flight in 2013, and only dated for a few months before they eventually tied the knot in a private wedding ceremony, which they confirmed to PEOPLE in September 2013. Now they are parents to three boys — twin sons Cy Aridio and Bowie Ezio Perego-Saldaña, 9, and Zen Anton Hilario Perego-Saldaña, 7.