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We love a Netflix romance, even more so when there's a true story involved. And the platform's latest heartbreaking series, From Scratch, has officially got everybody tearing up.

Starring Zoe Saldaña, the series follows American Amy Wheeler who moves to Italy to study abroad. There, she falls in love with Sicilian chef Lino and, when Lino falls ill, their two families come together to face it.

The series was released on Friday (21 October), and has already jumped up to the No.4 spot in Netflix's TV top 10. It's an emotional watch and (tragically) it's actually based on a true story. Here's a run-through of the real events that inspired the show.

Netflix

The true story behind From Scratch

From Scratch is based on the true story told in actress and author Tembi Locke's 2019 memoir of the same name. As per Tembi's memoir, she met her husband Saro Gullo while in Italy, though Saro tragically died in 2012 after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

Though the characters' names have been changed for the Netflix adaptation, the series largely follows Tembi's memoir, with the writer serving as a co-creator and executive producer on the show. Meanwhile, Tembi's sister Attica was also a showrunner on the series.

Like Amy in From Scratch, Tembi lived in Italy after graduating high school, where she met Saro. Tembi then moved back to the US while Gullo stayed in Florence, although they eventually reunited in New York before moving to Lose Angeles together.

Netflix

The couple got married in 1995 then, in 2002, Saro was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called leiomyosarcoma. Following ten years of treatment, Saro sadly passed away from the illness in 2012.

As in the Netflix series, Tembi and Saro did adopt a daughter, named Zoela, during Saro's treatment.

Tembi has said that she gave From Scratch's Netflix characters different names in order to create a "psychic distance" between the real people and those on screen. Still, the characters' new names do have some special meanings, with Tembi telling Today, "We had fun creating these alternate versions of us."

Tembi and Saro's daughter Zoela chose her on-screen name Idalia, while Attica chose to be called Zora after writer Zora Neale Hurston.

Netflix

Meanwhile, Amy in the show is short for the South African name Amahle. In real life, Tembi's full name is Tembekile, and she was nicknamed Tammy when she was younger. Tembi told Today, "Amy's name was a wink and a nod to having an Afrocentric name and the ways in which it changes. But her parents always call her Amahle."

Tembi Locke's memoir From Scratch was published seven years after Saro's death, in April 2019.

From Scratch is streaming on Netflix now.

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Former Editorial Assistant/Junior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer

Emily Gulla was Cosmopolitan UK’s Former Editorial Assistant/Junior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer, covering celebs, TV and film for the site, magazine and video. She’s interviewed the casts of your favourite TV shows, from Bridgerton to Derry Girls and Stranger Things, as well as dozens of Love Islanders. She also loves getting stuck into long-read features, writing on all things digital culture (including her favourite topic: memes), and dating - having appeared on the radio to discuss dating.

Emily's work has also been published on ELLE, Women's Health, Harper's Bazaar, Digital Spy and more. She holds a First Class degree in English with Film Studies from King's College London, and even wrote her dissertation on Love Island. You can find Emily on Instagram and LinkedIn, and can see more of her work on her website. 

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