Ex-paquita talks about sexless dating with Romário and fights with Xuxa

Ana Paula Almeida, 45, is yet another ex-paquita to launch a book about the times she worked as a stage assistant for Xuxa Meneghel. for eight years [dos 10 aos 18], she became better known as Pituxita, at which time, like the presenter, she worked under the strict command of director Marlene Mattos. “No one went out at night and couldn’t have a boyfriend or flirt. Kissing on the mouth, no way,” she says.

Today a businesswoman (she owns a beauty clinic) Ana Paula was a plus size model and came to frequent the police pages in 2019 when she self-mutilated to incriminate her ex-husband. The ex-paquita was denied by the security cameras of the condominium where she lives, which filmed her in action cutting her own arms. The episode became public and caused Xuxa to cut ties with her. “I made a mistake and asked for forgiveness,” she admits to the F5. Ex-girlfriend of now Senator Romário in the 1990s, Ana Paula says the two were together for two years and never had sex. “He was my first boyfriend. He respected me and didn’t force the bar because my dream was to marry a virgin”. Neither of the two subjects is mentioned in “Pituxita Bonequinha – Minha Vida de Paquita”, a book divided into six chapters, which has just arrived at bookstores.

Why did you decide to write a biography?

I love biographies and have always wanted to tell my story. It’s the story of a girl who didn’t have many prerequisites to be a paquita and managed to work with Xuxa by sending a single letter, drawn on stage. So I got the opportunity to do the tests.

What were the prerequisites?

I was completely incapable of dancing and I suffered horrors to learn the choreography. She was also chubby. So much so that Marlene Mattos even asked my mother to see a doctor so I could lose five kilos. My sister, who is a nutritionist, was the one who took care of my diet.

Being a paquita was the dream of many Brazilian girls who were children and teenagers at that time. Was it that good?

It was very good but it also had a difficult side. We didn’t go to clubs, bars and parties. Nobody went out at night and couldn’t have boyfriends or flirts. Kissing on the mouth, don’t even think about it. Marlene used to say that it was always necessary to walk with a tight belly, to have good grades in school, to take care of food, to always be tidy. A complicated routine for a teenager.

Feels like you’ve skipped stages of adolescence...

(Interrupting) I lost some things, but my biggest dream was to meet Xuxa and live with her. I was also able to get my family out of the suburbs and even bought an apartment in Barra da Tijuca when I was 18. My life has always had many ups and downs, and I have never lost the support of my fans. Being a paquita gave me that too: people who liked and still like me without asking for anything in return.

In the book you talk about your relationship with Xuxa in the past. We know you broke up after the confusion surrounding your breakup. How are you today?

Xuxa is very faithful to her friendships, and in that whole process of separation, I omitted a fact and she was very hurt. At the time, we still talked, but we stopped talking. I respected her time. We got back to talking a little while ago. She looked for me, sent me a message saying that she wanted the best for me. And only.

All because of that episode with your ex husband?

The reason for our removal was because I had omitted a situation [Ana Paula foi flagrada por câmeras do condomínio onde mora se automutilando antes de acusar José Roberto Barbosa, de quem estava se separado, de agressão]. She even put a security guard at my disposal and felt betrayed, quite rightly. I respect. I made a mistake and asked for forgiveness.

You talk in the book about your relationship with Rafael Ilha, leader of the band Polegar, but you don’t mention Romário.

Rafael and I dated by letters. He was my one-kiss boyfriend. Romario, on the other hand, was really dating and ended up gaining the biggest repercussion. He was 30 and I was 18. My brother-in-law played with Romário at Vasco and he knew me since I was little. When he returned from the World Cup in the United States in 1994, he was living in Barcelona, ​​we met again and I was an 18-year-old woman. We stayed together for two years.

But he was an older man….
(Interrupting) Romario was always respectful. A dear to this day, we talk, but it’s each to his own. He was part of my life and he is a welcome person in my family. I had the dream of marrying a virgin and he respected it. We didn’t have sex and that was public. This question of my virginity eventually led Playboy to ask me to pose nude. It was a million-dollar offer and I declined.

if regret?

I come from a more conservative Portuguese family. My father was in the military and didn’t think of me as a sensual woman. I also already had my car, an apartment and what would I expose myself to? I questioned myself and thought how this could harm me in the future. The exposure did not fill my eyes and I think that many women pose nude not only for the fee, but out of vanity. Because they think they’re beautiful and that’s okay. I didn’t have it. I’ve always been very reserved.