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He was the ultimate heartthrob of the 1980s and 1990s with his fancy hair, muscular body, and intense gaze. But after the romance novel covers, Fabio Lanzoni disappeared. Here’s what happened.
In the late 1980s and 1990s, one man became the dream of many women around the world. His long hair, strong face, and muscular body appeared on many romance novel covers.
Women imagined him as the perfect hero in love stories. But the surprising thing is that the man did not even know he was famous at first.
That man was Fabio Lanzoni. His face was everywhere — on books in stores, supermarkets, and people’s homes. Readers looked at the covers and imagined exciting love stories before they even started reading the book.
For about a year and a half, Fabio worked as a model in photo shoots. But he did not know the pictures were being used on romance books. However, one night in Miami changed everything.
“Three girls come up to me, and they go, ‘Oh my God. You look exactly like the guy on our books.’” Fabio said on People Magazine’s podcast People’s in the 90’s.
Fabio Lanzoni
At first, Fabio thought they were flirting with him. He joked and replied:
“Honey, that’s a great pick-up line,” Fabio replied, but the women were serious.
They continued, “No, no. Trust me, it’s no pick-up line. You’re like exactly like the guy on my books.”
Fabio Lanzoni was confused. He said he had no idea what they meant. He thought the photos were just normal pictures and did not know where they were used.
One of the women decided to prove it.
“I live about 20 minutes from the club. I’m going to go home, pick up all my books, and I’m going to come back and show you, I’m not lying to you,” one woman said.
She later returned with the books, and Fabio was in shock. After looking at the covers in disbelief, he uttered,” Oh my God, that’s me.