Mario Hart, the Peruvian race car driver and television host, grew emotional as he asked his former wife, Venezuelan model and actress Korina Rivadeneira, not to take away his chance to be a present father to their children.
Hart made the appeal during an episode of his podcast "Sin mas que decir," which airs on the YouTube channel of television host Maria Pia Copello. He addressed several of the claims Rivadeneira has made recently about the dynamics of their relationship and the reasons behind the end of their marriage, saying the moment was difficult for both of them.
Fear of a life abroad
The most emotional moment came when Hart spoke about his biggest fear following the split: that Rivadeneira might one day decide to rebuild her life outside Peru. He said he could not imagine life without his children.
He said he hoped she would never want to rebuild or resume her life outside the country, referring to the possibility that she could start a new relationship and eventually decide to live abroad again. Hart, the former captain of the green team on the reality competition show "Combate," acknowledged that any proposal to move his children abroad would be especially difficult for him to accept.
He explained that although Rivadeneira has not currently raised that scenario, he would have to weigh very carefully any decision that meant being separated from his children.
His voice breaking, he said it would be very hard and very tough, and that they would need to talk about it extensively before he could accept his children leaving the country and losing the chance to see them or keep up visits. He said it was not something happening now, that she had not proposed it, and that he hoped it never would.
Worried about being pushed out
Hart also spoke about one of his deepest fears since separating from Rivadeneira: that distance or family circumstances could damage the bond he has with his children. He said that although he does not currently live with them, he tries to be present for the most important moments in their daily routine.
He expressed concern about situations in which children, after a separation, end up being used as a tool in conflict between their parents. Hart said he hoped this would not happen in his case, adding that both he and Rivadeneira are clear that their children need to maintain a close relationship with both parents.
He said he has many friends who are separated, where one side or the other uses the children to get what they want, denying the other parent the chance to see them. He said he hoped that would never happen between them, adding he did not believe it would, because it is something he and Rivadeneira have made very clear to each other. Their children deserve to be with both their father and their mother, he said, and that is something that can never be taken away.
Hart ended by acknowledging that the possibility of losing that closeness with his children is what worries him most as he enters this new stage as a family. He called it the biggest fear he has about the separation.
