Cleo: ‘Everyone I’ve ever loved has made me cry’

Ah, that feeling of “My world has fallen”, the heart in tatters… Who never? Cleo knows very well what that is and makes it clear in the title of the book she has just released: “Everybody I Loved Already Made Me Cry”. The texts mark the actress’s debut in literature and were written in partnership with Tatiana Maciel. They are presented as a fictional work, but not so much.

There is much of the authors’ experiences in the texts, but fiction, says Cleo, was necessary “to bring a
distance from the work”, since the book was not designed to talk exclusively about the relationships that the two lived. “The idea was to show how we are all constantly involved in relationships that can hurt us”, says the multi-artist, who launches in the next few days a film adaptation of the book in webseries format.

Author of “The Little Anti-Racist Manual” and columnist for Sheet, the philosopher Djamila Ribeiro signs the back cover and highlights the importance of this type of work, which she classifies as “political art”. “‘Everybody I Loved Ever Made Me Cry’ engages in an engaging dialogue with women who resist patriarchy’s attempts to wreck them.”

Cleo gave the following interview to F5:

Are the published stories entirely fictional?

There’s a lot of my experiences and Tati’s in the stories, but fiction was necessary to bring us away from the work, in addition to the literary tone we wanted to tell in the stories.

The book wants to pass some message?

It was not made to talk exclusively about what we experience, but to show how we are all constantly involved in relationships that can hurt us. It’s so that people can identify, find themselves in these stories too and analyze themselves.

Does the title of the book apply to reality?

Yup. Everyone I’ve ever loved has made me cry, but some of those crying have been resolved later, which is the most important thing. After all, we are not perfect and sometimes we hurt people.

You grew up as a sex symbol in the public eye. Is it difficult to deal with this status?

It’s not hard to deal with this status when it doesn’t limit you. It’s nice to be considered sexy, as long as they don’t try to reduce you to that. The moment they started labeling me just as a sex symbol, it hit me and I saw the need to break this stereotype.

Does therapy?

I do therapy, yes. She was and is an essential ally for me in solving these conflicts and many others. Unfortunately, this possibility is not a reality for everyone, but I highly recommend it to anyone who can afford it.

Did you get married last year [com o modelo Leandro D’Lucca]. How is the relationship?

It’s okay with us.