We saw each other a few weeks ago in the late afternoon, in a gap in his devilish schedule in which he combined the presentation of Big Brother VIP, his presence at Todo es lie and the rehearsals and tests for the gala and the show dress, with which he will ring the bells of Telecinco on New Year's Eve. Since we are both very pressed for time and there is a huge traffic jam in Madrid at Christmas, we met in a cafeteria next to his house and agreed that I would notify him when he arrived and came back down. This is how she makes the most of the minutes she spends with Berta, her one-year-old baby that she gave birth to with the comedian Edu Galán. She appears, resplendent in TV makeup, and doesn't seem to be in a hurry. She is a professional.
Those who know her tell me she is a workaholic.
Complete. I am very passionate and live everything in life intensely. Work too.
In the debate about “Everything is a lie,” he doesn’t shy away from controversy. Do you stand on puddles?
Not particularly, I don't usually engage for the sake of engaging, rather I like to pose dilemmas that make me think and think, but not puddle by puddle. Let's say I don't encourage them, but when I need to get wet, I get wet, I don't hide.
How long is your armor? The thickness of TV makeup?
I have quite a bit of self-control, that doesn't mean I'm not a real person, but I take good care of myself. Makeup also plays a role. For me, that’s also part of being professional.
He studied economics and international trade. Are finances still your plan B?
I hope not. Now it would be terrible. The work is done and I have lost muscle. I don't want to work in a bank. It's a very competitive job, you work long hours and you have to like it. And that is not my calling, but communication, creativity.
Her blog about economics for all audiences on YouTube made her famous. Did your success surprise you?
Well, not so much. This was a way to create a personal brand and differentiate myself. When I was little, I studied piano and then, when I was already working in a bank, I also took acting courses. I have always wanted to dedicate myself to communication and for me there was no easy way to achieve this.
How much of your success do you think you owe to your looks?
I don't know it. I guess it's a set. A more or less graceful picture with solid work and language. Sometimes my looks played against me. When I traveled through Europe, I wasn't taken seriously. Because she was a woman and because she was young, more than because of her build, although sometimes she noticed that she looked like a piece of meat.
Have you suffered from machismo?
No, because I know who I am. They represent themselves. Machismo is very common in this country, but it doesn't just happen to me. I didn't stop and kept going. I'm proud that I didn't stop doing things and that they were always there for me.
Marta Flich, journalist, photographed at the Telecinco facilities in Madrid. Bernardo Perez Tovar
He started watching television in his late thirties. It doesn't happen often.
And I'm super proud. Do you know the rush it causes when someone sees you in something completely different than you always have?
How long did you hesitate before agreeing to present Big Brother VIP?
Zero. Absolutely. They told me that right in an office and I didn't believe it. I asked them if they were clear, they said yes, and if they were clear I was thrilled. I always throw myself into the pool, and then when I see that I lack training, I look for a life, but I never say no to something I want. I don't know what imposter syndrome or comfort zone is. I haven't spent a day of my life in it.
Will it rust if left standing?
I let life take me, I like challenges, I always strive for more. I'm a hyper-perfectionist and I take risks with my head, yes.
And there were no beatings?
Personally, many. I was very wrong, but I also changed a lot. It's called evolution, it's called maturation. These people scare me. I think differently now that I'm an adult.
Were you less tolerant when you were younger?
As a young person you don't have patience, you don't listen. Now I'm infinitely more patient, even though I have less time. I learned to listen: That's why we have two ears and one mouth, listening twice as much as speaking. I've learned to empathize, to put myself in other people's shoes, I'm less radical, less instinctive, I don't think I'm always right and I often question myself. It is super hygienic and healthy.
What was he like at 25?
Well, super insecure. I always felt like society wanted me to be a certain way. At home I was raised and given all the tools to be happy, free and powerful, and yet you feel like you're never enough, that you don't like me enough. This heals with age.
Can you now handle criticism well? Because many have fallen.
Yes, much better: It's also true that I don't read social networks much, it takes up a lot of time and is very destructive. I try to surround myself with people who are smarter than me and of course I listen to what they have to say to me. I try to take note of them and improve myself, because it's not worth hiding behind the image you think you're projecting. Complacency is worthless, but you must decide who you want to listen to.
It is famous. Would you take part in Big Brother VIP?
Well, you can never say no, who knows. Not at the moment because I'm presenting it, but it seems like a great format to me. Maybe in 10 years you'll remind me that I've changed my mind. I don't know where life will take me and what decisions I will make.
What will the carillon look like in 2024? Do you have anything planned?
I will wear a fantastic dress because it is a special evening but very real. Both Jesús Calleja and I are not characters, we are people, we understand each other very well and we will give everything and let ourselves go. It's been a bad year from a global and planetary perspective, but it's a nice moment to take stock.
And what is yours?
Fantastic, 2023 was my happiest year, the best of my life. I became a mother at the end of 2022. I got it when I was 44 years old. I am an old mother and it was very difficult for me to get pregnant. I've always wanted to be a mother, but until last year I hadn't found the time or the person to be one with. Berta was a miracle.
Arturo Pérez Reverte, godfather at his wedding to Edu Galán, goes from puddle to puddle on the networks. Are you joking about it?
Arturo is wonderful, a genius. The guy who has the best time on social media is a provocateur, a free thinker, a generous person and an intellectual like the tip of a pine tree. I understand that those who don't know him may have a different opinion about him, but I know him and I adore him. It's like what I told you before: you can't control other people's opinions of you. I won't get frustrated because someone I don't know doesn't like me. What stress. In that sense, being a mother and having a person hogging your attention is a lot of nonsense. Popularity doesn't matter to me. It is a consequence of my work. It's nice that they love you, but what I like is the work.
Once I heard Esperanza Aguirre blurt out in the face of her husband, Edu Galán, that the two of you are not compatible at all. How good and diplomatic she is, right?
Hahaha. It happens to us often. Stereotypes work very well there. Edu jokes about it all the time: They look at you and they look at me and they can't believe my luck, he tells me, but the luck is mine. Edu is the most incredible person I have ever met in my life.
From 0 to 10, how happy are you?
I am super happy, I am in the happiest moment of my life. 2023 was a fantastic year and for 2024 I wish only health, love and the continuation of my work.
As a child, Marta Flich (Valencia, 45 years old) wanted to be an artist and government president, not necessarily in that order. But with a decidedly practical mind, he decided to study economics as a diet while continuing his piano lessons and combining his work in a bank with acting classes. Until he decided to combine his two passions and start an informative video blog about business for all audiences on the Huffintong Post. It was his introduction to television. In 2023, it reached its peak popularity with the presentation of “Big Brother VIP” and “Everything is a Lie”. This New Year's Eve, the Telecinco chimes will be presented with Jesús Calleja.
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