The best things happen when you least expect them, and Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez are the perfect example. It was written in their stars to meet, and their first encounters happened by pure chance. Love caught the model off guard during a workday that lasted longer than usual, while for him, it was a routine shopping trip.
It sounds like the plot of a romantic movie, but it came true for the couple. Since that moment, nine years have passed in which they’ve built a large family based on love and values, support and respect, loyalty and admiration. Nearly a decade later, they are now engaged and preparing for another major milestone, their wedding.
They already saw themselves as husband and wife, but now it will be official. The soccer star surprised the model with a diamond ring, and her answer couldn’t have been clearer. “Yes, I do. In this life and every other one,” she declared.
This is a long-awaited commitment, not only for them and their close circle but also for their millions of fans around the world, who went wild with the news. Their wedding will be the crowning moment of one of the most followed relationships.
Their love story:
To understand how it all started, we go back to 2016, when Georgina was working as a sales assistant at Gucci on Madrid’s Golden Mile. “It was a summer Thursday. I was supposed to leave at 5, but a colleague asked me to stay an extra half hour to help a client. As I was leaving, a stunning man walked in, nearly two meters tall, with a child and a group of friends. Absolutely gorgeous. The child greeted me politely and laughed. I started to feel butterflies in my stomach. I thought: What’s happening to me? I didn’t even want to look at him, I was so shy,” she shared in her Netflix reality series ‘Soy Georgina.’
© Georgina Rodriguez/InstagramIt was love at first sight, but time allowed things to develop naturally. Georgina started attending to him more frequently, until one day he mentioned a fashion event and asked if she would be there too.
“I said yes, that I’d drop by. I spent the whole day thinking about what I’d wear, how I’d style my hair… When I arrived, he looked incredibly handsome. We toasted with a glass of champagne and then I had to leave for a work dinner. I really didn’t feel like going, but I had to. But it was good, because it left us wanting more,” she recalled.
The first real date:
Weeks later, they saw each other again at another event, and the football legend, there with his brother and some friends, invited her to join them.
© Georgina Rodriguez/Instagram“He said, ‘Gio, do you want to come to dinner?’ and I thought, the moment has come. I was so excited. On the way to the restaurant, our hands brushed. It felt like those hands had been with me forever. And when they brushed again, we held hands. They were familiar hands, they fit perfectly. We had dinner, I went home, and my heart… was pounding.”
That was the start of their first one-on-one dates, during which their feelings deepened. With a sense of humor, Georgina recalled the time she resisted texting him, but ended up having two dinners.
© Tullio M. Puglia“I was dying to see him, but I didn’t want to text first. He messaged me after a game, and I told him I was already at home about to sleep. He asked me to dinner and I said yes—even though I’d already eaten. I left happy with my backpack, he picked me up at home. We got to his place, he had his purée, veggies, chicken, and I had dinner again like a proper lady.”
That authenticity is what made Cristiano find her “a super interesting and mature girl”, and he quickly “started falling for her.”
How Georgina’s life changed:
In the beginning, they kept things discreet, but her coworkers couldn’t ignore the fact that she arrived at work by city bus and left in a Bugatti. That duality is one of the reasons Georgina has fascinated people from the start.
© Georgina Rodriguez/InstagramAfter ¡HOLA! published the first photos of the couple on a secret trip to Paris, the frenzy began. She went from anonymity to becoming a global phenomenon. Georgina shines with her own light and is now an icon in her own right. Part of her appeal is how she has remained true to herself, keeping her essence intact while her surroundings changed dramatically.
Georgina stopped selling handbags and started collecting them. She left her modest rented apartment to move in with Cristiano in his mansion in Madrid’s exclusive La Finca neighborhood. It was the start of her transformation into a real-life “fairy tale princess.”
© Getty ImagesAs she puts it, “Thanks to love, my life is now a dream.” But the dream is also Cristiano’s. When they met, he was already one of the most beloved and admired footballers in history, and among the highest paid athletes in the world, but with Gio, he found what money can’t buy: peace, loyalty, unconditional support, shared values, and understanding.“She’s a part of me. She’s helped me a lot… She’s the love of my life,” he once said in a rare comment on his private life.
Building a life together:
They soon began building a life together and fulfilled their dream of a large family. Cristiano Jr., Eva, Mateo, Alana Martina, and Bella Esmeralda are the five pillars of their lives, always guided by the angel watching over them from above.
They’re hands-on parents, taking the kids to school, attending activities, doing homework together, and having dinner as a family to share their daily stories. They give their children the freedom to develop their own personalities while teaching them to understand their privileges and the importance of helping others.
© @georginagio“They’re the most important thing. And since I have the resources and flexibility that many mothers don’t, I ask myself: Why would I leave home and do other things when what truly makes me happy is being with my children and being present as they grow, teaching them values and giving them the security of having their mom close? I’m lucky, and I know many moms would love this opportunity, so I make the most of it. I try to manage work around their schedule. I go in the morning and try to be back by bedtime, and if not, I kiss them when they’re asleep and sleep peacefully,” she shared with ¡HOLA!
Their new chapter:
Their journey has taken them from Madrid to Turin, then Manchester, and now Riyadh, their home since January 2023. From the Saudi capital, where they were warmly welcomed, they’re now joyfully preparing for their wedding, while details remain a mystery.
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