Gugu Liberato: Understand the family’s fight in court over the presenter’s inheritance

In 2011, eight years before he died, Gugu Liberato left a will ready for the sharing of his inheritance. The amount is estimated at R$ 1 billion and was validated by the Supreme Court of Justice. After the presenter’s death in 2019, a real dispute over the presenter’s assets began.

Gugu’s testament

A month after Gugu’s death, Rose Miriam, mother of Gugu’s three children and who had been in a relationship with him for two decades, filed a lawsuit to have her stable relationship with the presenter recognized. The reason? The will —the same one validated by the Brazilian Justice— did not include her as one of the heirs. Therefore, she is not entitled to receive any value or properties from the journalist.

The process hearing began in May and, little by little, the scenario is unfolding. On one side are the twins Sofia and Marina, 19 years old, who stand beside their mother in the legal fight. João Augusto, 21, the eldest son of Gugu and Rose, does not agree with the action brought by his mother and is next to his aunt Aparecida Liberato, sister of Gugu and opposed to Rose.

The three are entitled to receive 50% of the fortune. The other half, according to the will, would be divided between them again, who would keep 75% of it, and the five nephews. If stable union between Gugu and Rose is proven, she would be entitled to receive 50% of the total amount.

Alleged son and the DNA test

In the second part of the hearing, which began last week, the family was notified of the existence of an alleged fourth child. Ricardo Rocha, a 48-year-old merchant, filed a “post mortem” action to investigate Gugu’s alleged paternity. He claims that his mother met the presenter in 1974, when she worked as a nanny for a family in Perdizes, São Paulo.

In an interview with the program Domingo Espetacular (Record), he stated that Gugu’s death was a trigger to investigate his ancestry. “I want to have the surname Liberato on my birth certificate. I can’t deny that I don’t think about the inheritance money. If the DNA proves it, I am entitled to a part, yes, as well as the other children.”

Siblings, like the family, are not opposed to having a test. But the twins say they find it absurd that Gugu is actually the merchant’s father. “My father would have been 14 if that happened. I think it’s a little difficult to have happened”, said Marina in an interview with Fantástico (Globo).

Thiago Salvatico

Another side of the story that intrigues everyone is Thiago Salvatico. The Brazilian chef who lives in Europe claims to have had a nine-year relationship with the presenter. He also filed a lawsuit in court for recognition of a stable union with the presenter, but the court determined that the two were just friends. Last week, the São Paulo Court of Justice reopened the action.

Letter from Rose Miriam about Gugu’s sexuality

In a letter attached to the lawsuit filed by Rose, she claims to know that Gugu had relationships with other men and that she intended to cure him with prayers and fasting.

“But that kind of sexual behavior of yours doesn’t come from your spirit, it’s not yours. You’re a wonderful man. And I have a way to transform this problem.”

In another passage, she cites an address in Moema, in the south of São Paulo, where Gugu would meet with male partners. “I know about Viagras and drinks, I know about cell phones that cannot be entered with their owners, etc.”