In his brother's shadow: How Joao Monteiro helped Zaza through difficult times and the two became inseparable – Nacional

Psychological health. This was it 28-year-old Francisco Montero's entrance banner for Big Brother 2023and it was maintaining it that made him give up, even though he was one of the heroes of the “Desafio Final”.

The life path speaks for itself. Feelings of insecurity, depression, and the fact that “life never made sense” made the winner of the last edition of “BB” always feel “lost.”. And in the midst of this difficult journey, there was a man who never left him: his brother. Joao Monteiro, 30, is only 15 months older than FranciscoAs the big brother he was always behind Zaza's constant search for happiness, as Francisco is called by his friends.

He supported him entering the reality show when everyone “looked aside” upon his entry and supported “the cause” during more than three months of coordination. So present that he ends up falling in love and For winning the heart of broadcaster Christina Ferrera. Francisco and João were together in joy, but also in pain… even Everyone compared Zaza to who their reference model was.

Depression and tennis

“I have always lived in my brother's shadow,” Francisco said in an interview with Manuel Luis Gocha., days after winning the “BB” award. And so it was, even with regard to one of his greatest passions: tennis. “He's always been a people person [o irmão] “Who was more successful than me in tennis, for example.”

Francisco would have liked to go further in the sport, but he admits that his lack of discipline never allowed him to reach what Joao did (he was a national champion). However, he suffered greatly until he decided to give up the competition. It is a promise he keeps to this day and which has led him to never pick up a tennis racket again. “I just wanted to be something in tennis. I felt like there was always a comparison: “He really has no one next to his brother.”. I didn't feel anything for him.“But anyway, Joao Monteiro never stopped standing by his side. Especially since this was just one of Francisco's dark periods. Zaza admitted that he had felt lost his whole life. He never liked studying and to this day he doesn't know what he wants to do with his career. During the academic period he went to Valencia, on the Erasmus programme, and there he suffered the deepest cases of depression.

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