Zoe Saldana defends husband's name change

Zoe Saldana has come to the defense of her husband Marco Perego after he took her last name following their wedding, insisting she was "proud" of his choice.

The Avatar beauty and the Italian artist exchanged vows during a low-key wedding in 2013, and in a recent interview with InStyle magazine, she confessed that when Perego came to her with the idea of going against marriage tradition, where the wife takes the husband's name, she had doubts about his choice.

She said, "I tried to talk him out of it. I told him, 'If you use my name you are going to be emasculated by your community of artists, by your Latin community of men, by the world'. But Marco looks up at me and says, 'Ah, Zoe, I don't give a damn.'"

After the story hit headlines, Saldana and Perego received both support and criticism, the latter of which the actress responded to on her Facebook.com page on Tuesday (09Jun15).

She wrote, "Fathers, sons, brothers, men everywhere: Your legacy will not perish if you take your partner's surname, or she keeps hers. I've been made aware that a comment I made regarding my marriage has garnered some attention. I felt proud that my husband decided to take my last name as his own... and I his.

"I shared my hesitation with him when he told me about his decision, not only did he say, 'I don't give a shhheeeetttt!! (s**t)' (with a very strong Italian accent!!) he also asked me, 'Why not? What are you so afraid of?' And it made me wonder... What am I so afraid of?... Why is it so surprising, shocking- eventful that a man would take his wife's surname? Women have never been asked if its ok for them to give up their names - why doesn't that make the news?

"Men, you will not cease to exist by taking your partner's surname. On the contrary - you'll be remembered as a man who stood by change. I know our sons will respect and admire their father more because their father lead by example.

"Gentlemen, I implore you to think outside the box- remove the box altogether. Let's redefine masculinity. A real 'man' leads along side his partner. A real man accepts his mortality. A real man acknowledges that nothing can be done alone.

"I hope that the 'buzz' behind this topic isn't just for gossip - but an inspiration for us all to look within and see what is truly important. Let's start by letting go of some of the limitations we have inherited from the past, and forge a new path moving forward.

With Love, Zoe and Marco."