Top 8 Mateo/Vanessa Moments from ‘The Baker and The Beauty’ Season 1
I’ll admit: I was hesitant to watch ABC’s newest show The Baker and The Beauty, even though the premise is right up my viewing alley – because I was afraid that ABC was going to pull the plug and I didn’t want to get attached too soon. But because the global pandemic ended all of my regular programming early, I decided to tune in to the first episode and am so glad I did. The Baker and The Beauty is the perfect summer show, striking just the right balance of cheese and heart. Not to mention, it features a mostly Latinx cast, which is unfortunately a rarity on network television.
But what took me by complete surprise is the couple I found myself shipping the hardest. Yes, Noa and Daniel are super cute, but week after week, I found myself yelling at the TV for Mateo and Vanessa to just get together already. David Del Rio and Melissa Veintimilla have such INSANE chemistry that each scene between them left me wanting more.
Even though ABC unfortunately pulled the plug on the show (still hoping for another network to pick it up), I still wanted to highlight such an underrated part of the show. So without further ado, here are my top 8 Mateo and Vanessa moments from season 1.
Mateo stops Vanessa from outing Noa to the press when leaving their house — 1×04
This scene is small in the grand scheme of the Mateo/Vanessa relationship, but I think it says a lot. Mateo rushes after Vanessa to stop her from outing Noa’s location to the press when leaving their house. As he’s trying to convince her, he tells her that she’s better than this and that a man who loves her strength, her intelligence and her beauty will be waiting for her and treat her like the “amazing person” she is. It’s the first scene where you really see some sort of connection between Mateo and Vanessa and while his speech doesn’t stop her from storming out of the bakery, she doesn’t rat out Noa either. A small victory for Mateo.
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Mateo apologizes to Vanessa — 1×05
Mateo goes over to Vanessa’s place to apologize to her for lying to her about being sick the night before. She’s been burned many times in the last few weeks by the Garcia family and she doesn’t really want to hear what Mateo has to say — but yet she still chooses to anyway. He tells her that she was right all along; she’s done so much for him and he needs her to manage his career. She reluctantly agrees to give him one last chance, but if he messes up then that’s it — she’s done.
I also really love the smile on Vanessa’s face as Mateo raps to her on the way out. Even though she’s still mad at him, she can’t resist the Mateo Garcia charm.
Credit: GIFS are mine
Vanessa and Mateo’s first kiss — 1×07
If you think that I didn’t scream at the TV when this moment happened, then you would be wrong. I love how playful this scene is, starting with Vanessa trying to put Mateo’s headphones on him and him stopping her. But then their sexual tension becomes too palpable and they kiss. Their chemistry is AMAZING and I love how Vanessa grabs his headphones when she kisses him instead of grabbing his face. If only she didn’t run away after this…. these two, man.
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Vanessa watching MC Cubano perform — 1×08
There isn’t much to this scene but I loved seeing Vanessa watch “MC Cubano” do his thing. She’s so proud of him and clearly his #1 fan; it’s just the cutest little scene.
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Mateo takes Vanessa to her property and tells her to buy it/THE KISS — 1×08
If I hadn’t already been shipping Mateo and Vanessa, this scene would have convinced me that they were meant for each other. From Mateo telling Vanessa that there’s “nothing you can’t do” to him reminding her that she “sees value where others don’t” as evident by her faith in him and his music career, every single line he spouts to her as he tries to convince her to buy her own property makes me swoon.
And as for the kiss, I love that Vanessa takes charge and stops Mateo from leaving. Seeing her pull him in for a kiss not only made me scream like a 13 year old fangirl but also just confirmed that whatever is happening between them is mutual and not just in Mateo’s head.
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Mateo tells Natalie that he likes Vanessa — 1×09
Natalie overhears Mateo working on a new song in his room and notes that she can hear the “passion” in his voice while he sings it. She also mentions that Vanessa asked her to give him his necklace back. Once she sees the look on Mateo’s face when she says this, she puts two and two together and realizes they slept together. But Mateo tells her it’s more than that – he really likes her and he thinks she likes him too.
Natalie and Mateo are super close, so it makes sense that he would confide in her first about how he feels about Vanessa. And I love that she doesn’t tell him to break it off immediately; she just tells him to figure it out before mentioning anything to Daniel. That’s the mark of a great sister.
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Mateo comes clean to Daniel — 1×09
Mateo’s biggest worry, as evident from his talk with Natalie, would be how Daniel handled the news. And of course Daniel was furious at first, especially when he thinks Mateo isn’t serious about Vanessa. But he convinces Daniel that he is indeed serious about her. “When I fall, I fall towards her,” he tells his brother.
Like Natalie, Daniel can tell by the way Mateo talks about Vanessa that he’s serious about her and tells him to go after her. Cue me screaming at the TV, “YOU GO GET YOUR GIRL, MATEO!”
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Mateo shows up to Vanessa’s door — 1×09
Mateo shows up to Vanessa’s door, confident that he’ll be able to win her over with his song and excited about what might happen between them next. She, understandably so, slams the door in his face when he gets there so he resorts to playing his song for her through the door. As she listens to the lyrics, you can see from the look on her face that she clearly feels the same as he does but conflicted too. She opens the door and tells him she likes the song, but unfortunately Marlo steps into the door frame right at that moment. Mateo leaves the two of them, walking away heartbroken.
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Did you ship Mateo and Vanessa as much as I did? If so, what is your favorite moment of theirs? Let me know in the comments below!