Niccolò, shall we start with you? Can you tell us a little about what you think of everything that has happened to you over the years? And what you felt before.

When I was with my friends and saw them with their fathers, I was a little envious of them. I wished my dad was there too, to explain things to me, to talk to me, to teach me how to ride a bike, to take me to the park to play. But it was only when I was with the others that I had these thoughts. With a clear mind, even if vaguely, I remembered that at night, while I was sleeping, he would enter my room and talk to me, cry, caress me. He told me he couldn't do it, he had to work to keep his mind busy from bad thoughts, not to think about people's wickedness. He always told me to do what my heart told me to do, not to be envious, to always try to help others. And he apologized for not being able to be a dad. It's certainly not his fault if I feel attracted to men. This is a thing you are born with, each of us has impulses. Compared to many guys, I was lucky enough to be able to freely choose how to behave in life. In others, a certain way of thinking has been instilled in them. I believe that if everyone had a dad like mine, there would be many more people happy with what they do. When I met Guido, my first instinct was to make him meet him. I wanted to share my joy with him. But I always postponed. It didn't seem right to go up to him and tell him I was happy when I saw how sad he always was. I never stopped loving him, not even for a second. And I knew that he loved me dearly too. He just couldn't show it. Even when he discovered us that evening, even while he was hitting me, I knew that those punches, those kicks, it was as if he was doing it to himself, that he didn't want to hit me. That he didn't want to hurt me. Then Mario arrived and everything changed. I am delighted with how happy my dad is now and today I can say that I share something important with him, something that few children can have in common with their parents: love, without being bothered by people's comments. Mario is a role model for me to follow, I would love to be like him and I will do everything I can to be able to make him and my loved ones proud of me.

Thank you Mario!

Pamela, we can for all intents and purposes consider you the injured party - in quotes. How are you feeling today? 

When Roberto and I met, we immediately fell in love. He was my first real boyfriend. He was handsome, tall, fit, his eyes were beautiful, his smile dazzling and his gaze magnetic. All the girls at school hung off his every word and would do anything to please him. But he chose me. I never expected him to like me and I couldn't believe it. We started dating two days later and we were inseparable for two months, then he went to Milan. I was in my first year of university, he was in his third, but he received a great opportunity, Bocconi University. Before leaving he told me: «Wait for me, you will be my wife!» And I did. The first few years of marriage were great. We were very much in love and never parted. Then suddenly he changed, because of a man he considered a second father. He didn't expect it and was literally shocked, that's when the nightmare began. I felt sorry for the children who didn't deserve such treatment. I tried to fight, to make him come to his senses, but I couldn't and I gave up. Then Mario showed up and managed to perform a series of miracles. He brought back the real Roberto, “my” Roberto and finally my children can get to know their real father and he has helped each of them find happiness. The two of them? It's nice to see how good they are when they are together, I am very happy for them and I am also a little jealous. Now Roberto has found an even greater balance than in the first years I knew him and he feels something much stronger than what we had. And Mario… an angel that the Lord sent us and that I will never stop thanking. I had a good feeling about him immediately. When he came home with Guido, looking for Nick, I was struck by his calmness and determination. He immediately threw in our faces how things were and what was the right thing to do. It makes me laugh... that evening he was so upset with Roberto that if he had been within reach, who knows what would have happened. Now, when I see how they look at each other, how they can think the same thing just by making eye contact and how happy they are, I'm happy for them and for us. Mario is a beautiful person. He didn't hesitate for a second to help us, he didn't worry about risking his life for us, and he was ready to give up his happiness in order to see us happy.

Thank you Mario!

Elisa, Chiara... you, as members of this beautiful family, tell us what you think.       

Elisa                                                            

Roberto and Pamela's daughter

I, unlike my siblings, had the best of dad as a child. And I remember it well. He taught me how to ride a bike, he taught me how to swim, to ride horses, to ski. To respect people. Not to brag about my economic situation and help those in need. It hurt me so much seeing how he behaved with Fabio, it's true. He didn't believe he was what he is, but that time for him, must have been terrible. That's why I stood by him and tried to help mom at home. The greatest joy was when, thanks to Mario, the good, strong and determined person he was came back. But I will forever be grateful to Mario for so much more. If it were not for him, Fabio wouldn't be here, and not only in my life! As much as I want to find an example, the only one I can imagine for many people might be blasphemous, so I'll avoid mentioning it. And the joy I feel, in seeing my dad so happy, is incredible. Thank you Mario!  

Chiara 

Roberto and Pamela's daughter

I'm happy. And dazed. It is difficult to express the feelings that overlap in my mind. I missed my dad, like everyone did, even if he didn't show it, I felt that he loved us. In the end, he made sure we had everything, he always wanted the best for us, if he didn't love us, he wouldn't have done so much. Unfortunately for him, his goodness led that person to take advantage of him and traumatize him. I think that meeting Mario was the right compensation for all that he suffered over the years, because it is true that we did not receive many gestures of affection from him, but it is also true that because of that he did not live the joy of raising his children, teaching us to become good people like him. I think mom has played a double role brilliantly, but this will always be something in his life he missed out on. I am also extremely grateful to Mario. If it were not for him, I would not have met Fabio, and he also made me more decisive and self-confident.

Roberto... it's your turn. 

As a boy, I had many dreams and ideals. Goals. Thanks to the upbringing I received from my parents, humble people who have always worked and have been honest and selfless, I had the strength to distinguish myself. Today, I have everything I dreamed of, I have achieved all the goals I set for myself, but my greatest regret, which will accompany me until the end of my days, is having made my wonderful family suffer. And it's not true that it's not my fault. I had to be stronger, I had to snap out of it. I was in a sort of abyss, from which I couldn't get out of. I suffered for that betrayal, but it is nothing compared to the pain I felt by neglecting my loved ones and the pain I caused them. I reached the climax that night with Nick. I still can't give myself an explanation for how I behaved. Until then, despite everything, I had never raised a finger against them. Maybe Nick is right. Those beatings were something I wanted to inflict on myself, but I have no excuse. Fortunately, sometimes miracles happen. An angel, that night, began to pull me out of that abyss that was swallowing me up. Not just saying… now you have to do so because it's right. No. That way, everything would have gone back to the way it was. He showed me the the right path, he made me find the exit on my own, he made me understand what I had and what I was doing, forcing me to draw my own conclusions. The night I beat my son and he intervened, I was so furious that I tried to attack him several times, but he didn't hurt me even though he could have. He would stop my attacks without reacting, without hitting me to defend himself. I marveled to the point of running away. When my family left the house, I took the first step. I began to think more clearly about Nick, about what I had done to him, even if I still couldn't understand him well. I took another small step towards the light, when we met for the second time, at the villa on the coast. Even then I tried to hit him and he didn't react. He stopped me but didn't hurt me. I was struck by the calmness he showed. He faced me head on and forced me, with his serenity, to listen to him. And he made me wonder, but I thought… what does he want from us? Why does he interfere? G.D. also helped me a lot. The same story, but with a different ending. Learning what had happened to his son and how he felt responsible almost made me think about suicide. I was sick with worry it could happen to my son too. Then there was the episode at the club. Never, ever, would I have imagined doing such a thing and behaving so badly in the end. That opened my eyes. I had been with a man! How could I at that point, despise my son so much? But the path was still long and arduous. I was amazed at how he empathized with me, managing to understand what I was feeling and finding a way to make me understand. He treated me harshly, his decisive manner, throwing reality in my face, upset me. I have always been a self-confident, authoritative, decisive man, but in front of him I became an insecure person, I felt the need for his guidance and slowly I was no longer able to be without him. He taught me that expressing your feelings, even crying, doesn't mean showing yourself as weak, actually it can be good for you. And I made him suffer. I can imagine, because I lived it, how it could have been for him, having me by his side and not being able to have me. He immediately understood that were made for each other, but he didn't take advantage of my weaknesses, the opposite, he said several times that for the good of my family he would step aside, suffering, but for him seeing us happy was more important than his own happiness. I have always been an impulsive person, we are similar in this aspect, who always followed his instincts, but he has the ability to always be lucid and understand what is the right thing to do. I made him suffer so much, physically and emotionally. He almost died twice because of me, but he never complained. Even when I was drugged and deceived he thought of my happiness, giving up his own. I will never forget his sad eyes, when I saw him on TV digging through the ruins to help others. That phrase he said to you before leaving... “I died on July 1st”, was like a stab in the heart. Luckily you and him were there. What an exceptional person and how lucky I, we, have been to meet him.

Thank you my love!

I know you don't want to, but you MUST.... 

Let me begin with the phrase that has accompanied me for most of my life: “Did I make the right choice?”

…

This time YES!

I consider myself a normal person, I don't deserve so much praise. Sure, I have a strong personality, I know what I want and I often get it, but I'm also lucky. I had to grow up alone, the relationship with my father was never easy, it was actually nonexistent. We were the same, same temper, therefore in constant contrast. Of one thing I'm sure, he always believed he was doing the right thing for me. And even if not as he thought, he did. I grew up with strong values, trying to help those who were less fortunate than I was, I can say that my childhood was carefree. Growing up though, seeing them living their quiet and boring existence, I started dreaming of a different life! Not always the usual routine... at work in the morning, at home in the armchair in the afternoon, the holidays always in the same period and in the same place, visiting the relatives for special occasions... I wanted something that would continually give me new emotions, new challenges. The best time of my life was in fact when I visited America, alone, hitchhiking and without a destination. Chasing after something indefinite, that I could not decipher. Whatever I did, wherever I was, I had to change after a while. Today I know what I was looking for. I was in love with three people before I met him: Jasmine... we were good together. We had fun, everyone said we were a great couple. I regret letting her go, but I did it for her, for her career, so she wouldn't regret giving up on a great career. Only later did I realize I was in love with her, but she wasn't in love with me. Julien. We had wonderful moments together even if he was the one who abandoned me in a particularly dramatic moment for me. Once we returned to civilization, minutes after learning about the deaths of both my parents. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe if we'd stayed together, I would have never met my son. Finally Giacomo. We were good together, we understood each other perfectly. I spent two wonderful years with him and thanks to him I finally got over that awful moment. But he was also – and above all else – in love with his wife. He would never be just mine. In all three cases I backed down without a fight, believing I was doing the best thing for them. It was happening to me with Roby as well, but this was the right time and something – or someone – wanted things to go differently. Who knows, maybe it was time for me to finally be happy. Yes, I've helped many people, that's true. But many have helped me. I think back to those - fortunately few - that I was unable to help. One regret above all, George Saiden who, due to my carelessness, due to a delicate moment I was experiencing, committed suicide. They had set him up, filming us in bed together. He could not stand his wife, who he adored, leaving him and the consequent scandal. More regrets… Harby. I misjudged him. Filled with gratitude towards him for giving me the opportunity to live an adrenaline filled life, I gave him trust he didn't deserve. I let myself be manipulated and he made me pay for it… by hurting the people I was closest to. I think back to Brandon who I considered a second father. How proud I was when he confided in me that if he had a son, he wished he would be like me. To the good relationship with Bill Wallace - which continues to this day. And a special place is taken by Kala, the mother of little Mario, who sacrificed her life to save him. I can't help but think of Esterina, shipwreck companion and second mother to me and her son Walter who helped me in the darkest moment of my life, and who didn't deserve what fate had in store for him. But in general, from everyone I've met, I've tried to take the best, and learn from their mistakes. And then, my new family. That evening something told me to go to that place, and I didn't have a moment's hesitation in intervening. I noticed those two frightened boys immediately. I saw their goodness right away. Guido, what a good boy. Even after everything he has gone through he is so good, he isn't mad at his family in the slightest. I immediately thought that I could very well have been in his place. And little Nick. When, while I was taking him to the emergency room, he begged me crying, not to say that it was his father who had reduced him like that... he didn't think in the slightest about the pain he felt, he thought about not getting his dad in trouble. But the thing that amazed me the most about them was that they always wanted to defend their father/husband. And I could not understand why. Until I met him. Apart from his beauty, I noticed in him great goodness but a deep sorrow that drove him to behave in the wrong way. And when I decided to help him, I did it with all my heart, without ulterior motives. I just wanted to reunite that beautiful family. How pissed I used to get when he persisted in hating Guido. I could see him for what he was, him as the person who had deviated his son. In that moment I understood that he loved Nick deeply. Knowing them was my greatest luck. They gave me the opportunity to understand what I really wanted from life. At that time I felt dissatisfied again, I had fallen into the routine from which I have always escaped and they offered me the opportunity to come full circle. I have finally found the person with whom I am in complete harmony. When I was in a coma, feeling his despair, I knew he was a part of me. This gave me the strength to recover and the certainty that I will never live a boring life with him, because I am sure that he will always need someone to keep him in check... I will always have, with him, the opportunity to get him out of trouble! When I feared he might not make it, I regretted for a moment. Pulling myself back too many times, believing I was doing the right thing for others. Jr? I haven't forgotten him. He is the love of my life. I've always dreamed of becoming a father, but I was afraid of it. And the beginning wasn't the easiest, I will never forget the bad things I said to him when we argued. When he was born on the island, I immediately felt a bond that went beyond just helping him into the world. And I think he too subconsciously felt connected to me. I remember that he always wanted to be in my arms. Either with me or with his mother. He was always smiling when he was with me... he stuck those little fingers in my eyes, in my nose, laughing out loud at my funny faces. Now I understand why, the days before going back to civilization… that little child suddenly refused to come in my arms, he felt that I was about to abandon him. And when, just before we said goodbye, Kala and Kai stepped aside and talked for a long time. I'm sure Kala wanted to confess that I was the father. I am so proud of him and, borrowing the phrase Brandon told me: he is just how I wanted my son to grow up. No, I haven't forgotten. You will forever be my hero. If you hadn't saved me that day, none of us would be here now!

Thanks Pierpo.