Veronica Peparini: “It’s tough”. When a mother says what so many feel
Family life, missing Andreas and a lasting passion for dance. On Verissimo, Veronica Peparini speaks openly about the effort involved, making room for an experience many women may recognise.
Two words spoken honestly can feel more comforting than a long motivational speech: “It’s tough.” Veronica Peparini uses them on Verissimo to describe family life while Andreas Muller takes part in Grande Fratello Vip. It is an everyday sentence, far removed from images in which everything seems to fall effortlessly into place. Perhaps that is why it can reach someone watching while folding yet another load of laundry.
In her interview on 25 October, the choreographer discusses missing her husband, their twin daughters and her other children. It is her account of a specific situation. Yet it opens a wider conversation: how much room do we give women’s tiredness before asking them to smile again?
Admitting it is difficult does not cancel love
Veronica explains that Andreas’s absence is felt at home. Their twins, Penelope and Ginevra, were born in 2024; she is also mother to Daniele and Olivia from her previous marriage. Her words make room both for the organisational strain and for wanting her husband to have this experience. These feelings can coexist without either making the other less true.
That nuance matters. We can support someone and miss them at the same time. We can love our children and reach the evening feeling drained. We can welcome a family project and discover that its practical demands take more energy than expected. Emotional life is not a survey offering only one possible answer. Accepting its complexity makes conversations more honest.
Work that becomes visible only when it stops
Here CHIARA!’s reflection moves beyond Veronica’s personal situation. Think of an ordinary family day: schedules, school messages, clothes to prepare, appointments and a fridge to fill. Then think of whoever remembers that all these things need doing. It is not only carrying out tasks; it is keeping them in mind. Quiet work can seem almost invisible until someone stops doing it.
That is why “tell me what to do” does not always solve the problem. It can leave the entire job of coordinating with the other person. A practical alternative is to take full responsibility for an agreed task: noticing what is needed, organising it and completing it, without waiting for another reminder. Cooperation also shows in how many things somebody can finally stop having to remember.
Women do not need to pass an endurance test
When a mother admits she is tired, comparisons often follow: someone does more, has less help, never complains. But an endurance contest makes nobody’s day lighter. We can hear someone’s struggle without first deciding whether it is the greatest in the world. Acknowledging it does not withdraw attention from harder situations elsewhere.
Even a compliment can change shape. Rather than simply saying “you’re so strong”, we might add “how could I make this week easier for you?”. The first sentence encourages; the second opens a possibility. If we are the ones who need help, we can try making a specific request. Asking for an hour alone, a lift or an evening free of duties does not reduce the value of what we do for others.
There is Veronica, as well as the mother
The interview makes room for dance too. Peparini expresses sadness about the distance Andreas has described feeling from that world; speaking of herself, she says her own passion remains alive. In another official Verissimo segment, she remembers Amici fondly and does not rule out returning if asked. This is not the announcement of a new role, but a stated willingness.
We like this detail because it widens the frame. A woman is not exhausted by the roles she fulfils for others. She can be a mother, partner and professional while still having a wish that needs time. Protecting that space is not always easy. Those who love us can help by remembering that our curiosity, work and passions deserve a place in the diary too.
A sentence to take beyond television
If today you thought “I can’t keep up with everything”, you do not have to turn it into a confession to hide. It could become the start of a conversation with someone you live with, someone you trust or someone able to share part of the load. No magic sentence redistributes the days, but naming their weight allows a beginning.
Veronica has spoken about her own experience. From her account, we can take a small but meaningful freedom: caring for others without pretending to have endless energy. Because even someone holding many things together deserves, sometimes, to have her hand held.
