Shivangi Sinha
Netflix’s ‘Love is Blind: Italy’ season 1 featured Benedetta Parodi and Fabio Caressa as hosts, both highly respected professionals in their fields. Benedetta is a beloved television presenter and author known for her successful cooking programs and bestselling recipe books, while Fabio is one of Italy’s most recognizable sports journalists and commentators. Beyond their individual achievements, the couple has been married for 25 years and is often praised for their strong, supportive, and affectionate partnership. Their long-lasting marriage, built on trust, communication, and mutual respect, perfectly embodies the show’s message that genuine connection can stand the test of time.
Benedetta Parodi and Fabio Caressa’s Childhood in Italy Was Full of Dreams
Benedetta Gaia Parodi is the daughter of Pietro Parodi and Laura Casabassa. She was born on August 6, 1972, in Alessandria, Italy, and grew up with two older siblings, Cristina Parodi and Roberto Parodi. Benedetta’s father worked as an engineer while her mother was a literature teacher. One ethos that was imbibed in all three children was a sense of hard work and making their own way in the world, something they all eventually did. Benedetta found her way out of the house after finishing high school and joined the University of Milan. She graduated in 1997 with a degree in modern literature and followed in her siblings’ footsteps, who were both on their way to becoming journalists and presenters themselves.
Fabio Caressa was born on April 18, 1967, in Rome, Italy. Not much is publicly known about his childhood or early years, although he has described his upbringing as normal, like that of anyone else. From a young age, he aspired to build a career as a writer, and his first opportunity came when he was just 16 years old. That moment marked the true beginning of his professional journey.
Benedetta Parodi Has Come a Long Way From Being a Presenter to a Culinary Expert
Benedetta Parodi’s career began in newsrooms and quietly pivoted into something altogether warmer and more personal. After launching her television presence as a presenter on the 12:25 p.m. edition of ‘Studio Aperto’ on Italia 1, she gradually moved away from headline news and found her voice in food programming. By the end of 2008, she had left the daily news desk to create and present the short-format cooking segment ‘Cotto e Mangiato,’ filmed in her own kitchen, a format that connected with viewers and became the seed of her publishing success.
In 2009, she turned those recipes into a bestselling cookbook, ‘Cotto e Mangiato,’ which sold nearly 1.5 million copies, and followed it with ‘Benvenuti nella mia cucina’ in 2010, another popular collection. Her growing profile led to a move in 2011 to LA7, where she hosted ‘I menù di Benedetta.’ Over the next decade, she diversified across TV, books and live formats: guest spots and competitions on shows such as ‘La prova del cuoco’ and a long-running role from 2013 to 2024 as host of ‘Bake Off Italia – Dolci in forno’ (including its junior edition), plus new series like ‘Molto bene,’ ‘La cuoca bendata’ and ‘Pronto e postato.’ She also explored radio, fronting morning shows on Radio Capital between 2020 and 2022.
Beyond recipe books, Benedetta branched into children’s fiction with the fairy-tale series’ Le fate a metà.’ Most recently, in May 2025, she launched ‘Specialità della casa,’ a multimedia cooking show produced with Mulino Bianco, which is available on YouTube, Spotify, and Instagram. It is a clear continuation of her move from newsreader to one of Italy’s most recognizable culinary media personalities. She remains active in television, publishing and digital content, while keeping a measured and professional public presence.
Fabio Caressa’s Legacy as a Sports Journalist Lives On Vividly
Fabio Caressa’s rise reads like the story of someone who turned an early obsession with sport into a decades-long media career. He earned his first byline at 16, writing for Cioè, and by 1986, he was already appearing on local Roman TV with Canale 66 and TeleRoma56, hosting the weekly football show Golmania and honing his skills in sports news. Soon after, Sandro Piccinini brought him to TeleRoma56, where he spent several formative years presenting sports news and delivering his first radio commentary during a Cesena–Lazio match. Through the late 1980s, Fabio balanced his political science studies at LUISS with ambitious self-development, studying Public Speaking at UCLA in 1988 and Spanish in Salamanca in 1990.
That same period saw him travelling across Italy, covering Lazio and Roma. In 1990, he helped shape the official film of the World Cup in Italy as a co-author and consultant. A year later, he joined Tele+, moved to Milan, and hosted his first televised Premier League match, marking the start of his national television presence. By 1994, he was a professional journalist, and during the 1997–98 season, he became one of Tele+’s main commentators for major matches. He also created +Gol Mondial, which later evolved into Mondo Gol after Sky’s arrival in 2003. The 2000s cemented his place in Italian sports culture. In 2006, Sky Sport chose him to be the voice of all of Italy’s World Cup matches in Germany.
His passionate commentary during Italy–Germany became iconic, inspiring his book ‘Andiamo a Berlino’, and his partnership with Giuseppe Bergomi became a defining duo for Sky Sport and EA Sports’ FIFA games until 2014. Fabio continued to expand his repertoire, hosting youth programs, appearing on Oscars specials, exploring poker commentary, and narrating documentaries. He produced impactful reportages such as ‘Buongiorno Afghanistan’ and ‘SOS Lampedusa’, showing a willingness to step beyond traditional sports coverage. His leadership roles grew as well. In 2013, he became the interim co-director of Sky Sport, with responsibility for Sky Sport 24, and later transitioned to Sky Calcio Club.
As a commentator, he covered the 2006, 2010, and 2014 World Cups, and in 2021, he narrated Italy’s triumphant Euro 2020 campaign. In recent years, Fabio has ventured into entertainment, appearing on Pechino Express with his daughter in 2024 and launching ‘Money Road – Every Temptation Has a Price’ in 2025. He has also written several books, including ‘Andiamo a Berlino,’ ‘Quella sporca ultima Carta,’ and ‘Scrivilo in cielo.’
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Benedetta Parodi and Fabio Caressa’s Book Gives a Glimpse Into Their Family Life
The love story of Fabio Caressa and Benedetta Parodi truly feels like something out of a novel. They first crossed paths in the Tele+ cafeteria in 1997, when both were working there. Benedetta was still an intern at the time, and Fabio was already established at the network; the connection between them was instant. But before romance entered the picture, what grew between them was a genuine friendship, and that became the real foundation of their strong relationship. They moved in together soon after, and both clearly saw a future together.
The story of their proposal is one of their funniest anecdotes. In an interview, Fabio once revealed that the first time he proposed was on a plane while they were flying back from the US, but he never got an answer. He thought something might be wrong, but Benedetta later explained that she had been so frightened during the flight that she hadn’t even heard or registered the question at all. A few months later, Fabio asked again, and the couple married on July 11, 1999. On September 28, 2002, they welcomed their first daughter, Matilde. Their second daughter, Eleonora, arrived on October 20, 2004. On October 28, 2009, their third child, a son named Diego, was born, completing their family.
It appears that their home base is in Milan, Italy, but for the longest time, the two chose not to share much about their private lives. Their focus remained firmly on raising their children. It was only in September 2024 that they opened a window into their personal world by releasing their co-authored book, ‘Calcio e pepe. Insieme è meglio’, written to celebrate their 25th anniversary. In it, they offer an intimate look at their love story, their family, and the challenges they navigated together. They reflect on how they never depended on grand gestures, preferring instead to work things out their own way and grow naturally as a couple. And now, with their dog Snoopy, their home feels complete.
