Who Is Selena Quintanilla’s Husband? All About Chris Pérez

Selena Quintanilla and Chris Pérez eloped in 1992

Selena Quintanilla’s relationship with her husband Chris Pérez started as forbidden love.

The Grammy-winning singer and icon — who was dubbed the “Queen of Tejano Music” and the “Tex-Mex Madonna” for her mastery of the Tejano style that fuses Tex-Mex, pop and polka — met Chris when he joined her band, Selena y Los Dinos, as a guitarist in 1990.

The couple eloped on April 2, 1992, and were married just short of three years before Selena was murdered by Yolanda Saldívar, the former president of her fan club, on March 31, 1995.

In the 2021 documentary episode True Hollywood Story: Death of Innocence, Chris told E! Entertainment that Selena’s death was the “hardest thing” he ever had to deal with, and the loss still affects him today.

Related: Selena Quintanilla's Family: All About the Late Singer's Parents and Siblings

“I miss her face, her laughter. She was just an amazing soul, an amazing spirit,” he told the outlet.

After Selena’s death, Chris continued his music career and won a Grammy with his own band in 2000. He has two children from a second marriage that ended in divorce, but credits Selena for helping him open up emotionally and playing a large role in the trajectory of his life. Nearly three decades after her death, the musician keeps honoring her legacy on social media and in interviews.

So who is Selena Quintanilla’s husband? Here’s everything to know about Chris Pérez and his relationship with the late singer.

They met when Chris joined Selena’s band

Chris knew he wanted to be a rock star from a young age, but growing up in San Antonio, Texas, he tried out almost every instrument, including the French horn, trumpet and keys, he told the Los Angeles Times in 1999. At 15, he got a job at McDonald’s to buy his first electric guitar, and by 17, he had his first gig in a tejano band.

After making a name for himself in San Antonion’s tejano music scene as a guitarist, he auditioned for Selena’s band, Selena y Los Dinos, in 1990, and was hired by Selena’s brother, A.B Quintanilla.

Chris wrote about his involvement with Selena’s band on social media in 2020, just after the release of the Netflix show Selena: The Series.

“I loved her music even before I joined the band,” Chris captioned a promotional photo of the Netflix series on Instagram. “I was intrigued by the fact that her brother [A.B] had his name on everything as producer. Her dad ran some amazing sound when I went to see them at an event in San Antonio.”

Chris highlighted the rest of the band member's talents as well, like Selena's sister Suzette played the drums. “I will forever respect the band and the people involved in it," he added.

They fell in love on a trip to Mexico

The first time Chris saw Selena, the first words that came to his mind were “beautiful and talented,” he told Entertainment Tonight in 2018. “I’m a shy person by nature, and there was something about her that was just able to pull me out," he shared.

Still, Selena and Chris kept their relationship strictly professional in the early days after he joined the band. However, sparks flew when the band took a trip to Mexico.

In his 2013 memoir, To Selena, with Love, Chris wrote that their relationship deepened while the band was on a trip to Acapulco, courtesy of Selena’s sponsor, Coca-Cola. On that trip, Selena was “truly free to be herself,” he wrote, and they sat next to each other at dinner throughout the trip. Their feelings turned outwardly romantic on the flight back to the U.S.

Turbulence on the flight was bad, and Selena held Chris' hand the entire trip, he told the Anything for Selena podcast in the 2021 episode “Selena and Chris.”

“[I thought], ‘maybe she was just being [a friend], she knows I’m freaking out from the turbulence,’ ” he explained. “At the same time, I knew there were sparks.”

Selena and Chris eloped in 1992

Selena and Chris began their relationship in secret, knowing that Selena’s father, Abraham Quintanilla, would not approve. The two snuck around as their relationship grew, and confessed their feelings to each other while on tour.

“We were in Laredo when we had our conversation about how we both felt the same way about each other. Selena had the biggest smile on her face when we were walking back to the bus afterward,” Chris told Texas Monthly in 2010. “I’m smiling right now just thinking about it. I wanted to tell her, ‘Hey, quit smiling! You’re going to give it away.’ ”

When Abraham found out about their relationship, he kicked Chris out of the band. Although Selena insisted that he be let back in, her dad had the final word. Shortly after, though, the couple eloped on April 2, 1992, at a Texas courthouse — Chris in jeans and a T-shirt for the quick, casual ceremony, per Texas Monthly.

On what would have been their 25th wedding anniversary in 2017, Chris posted a heartfelt message on Facebook alongside a photo of the pair's marriage license.

“It's hard to believe that today marks 25 years since Selena and I decided that the only way to be together...was to run away and get married (at 20 and 22 years old) in secret,” he wrote. “What a rollercoaster ride that day was.”

After their wedding, the two were no longer shy about their relationship. At the 1993 Tejano Music Awards, Selena thanked Chris onstage after accepting the award for female entertainer of the year.

“I’d like to thank my husband. I love you,” Selena said.

Selena borrowed Chris' shirt for an iconic music video

Chris was on set for Selena’s most iconic music video, “Amor Prohibido” ("Forbidden Love" in English), the title track of what became one of the best-selling Latin albums in the U.S.

Throughout the clip, which was released in 1994, the singer wears a red men’s button-down shirt tied in the front as she dances around the desert in Joshua Tree National Park.

According to the Anything for Selena podcast, the day of the music video, Selena’s record label sent her a wardrobe full of options to wear. Instead, she chose a shirt she brought with her: Chris' red button-down.

On the anniversary of Selena’s death in 2021, Chris returned to Joshua Tree, California, to honor her memory. He posted a photo on Instagram of chairs overlooking the desert with the caption, “Get away they said.....OK...just me and some music....and a few beers...to the place Selena and I came to film her Amor Prohibido video.”

Related: Selena Quintanilla's Best Outfits: Her Most Iconic Fashion Looks of All Time

He credits Selena with opening him up to love

Selena and Chris were married for almost three years before the singer was murdered by her former fan club president and business associate Saldívar on March 31, 1995.

A few years later, Chris wed Venessa Villanueva in 2001, whom he met through mutual friends, and they welcomed their children Cassie and Noah. Although Chris and Venessa divorced in 2008, the guitarist still credits Selena for encouraging him to love — even after her death.

“She taught me a lot. I used to never tell people I love them ... or I miss them, or just give them gifts just because,” Chris told E! Entertainment in 2021. “I learned those things and many, many other things from her.”

Though the couple had their ups and downs, the two talked about starting a family together before her death, Chris told CNN in 2021. While he didn't get the chance to welcome kids with Selena, in his memoir To Selena, with Love, he notes that their relationship opened him up emotionally, allowing him to eventually have a family of his own.

“[Selena’s] way of being made me realize the power in being vulnerable,” Chris told The New York Post in 2020. “Like no matter what, you’re going to take your heart out, figuratively, and get on one knee and hand it to that other person. And I’d never done that.”

Chris is depicted in multiple Selena biopics

Most notably, Selena and Chris' relationship is depicted in the 1997 biopic, Selena. In it, Selena is portrayed by Jennifer Lopez and Chris is played by Jon Seda. Chris and Seda have become friends since the movie’s release, posting photos with each other on social media.

“​​Hanging with my bro @chrispereznow at #rivachicago, thanks for showing us a great time! @navypierchicago @chicagojustice #friendsforlife,” Seda captioned an Instagram photo of the two enjoying a plate of desserts at a restaurant in Chicago.

In 2020, Netflix debuted Selena: The Series following the star’s life and death, starring The Walking Dead's Christian Serratos as Selena and Jesse Posey (the younger brother of Tyler Posey) as Chris. While the guitarist wasn't involved in the project, he connected with Jesse when it was completed.

He carries on Selena's legacy

After Selena’s death, Chris formed the Chris Pérez Band — which won a Grammy Award in 2000 for their album Resurrection. It featured the song, “Best I Can,” which he dedicated to his late wife.

“I remember the day I wrote ‘Best I Can,’ ” he told the L.A. Times in 1999. “I’m still not comfortable with that song. It’s pretty straightforward, in that you know people are going to know what it’s about by listening to the lyrics.”

When Chris released his memoir, To Selena, with Love, he told The Hollywood Reporter that he intended to carry on Selena’s legacy.

“For years, Selena’s fans have been wondering if I was ever going to write about her. Their voices had an impact on me but, more than anything else, I wanted to show a different side of her,” he told the outlet in 2012.

Chris continued, “People need to remember what she stood for, the values she had. If people remembered her in that way, I’d be happy and I’m sure she would be happy, too.”

He also honors her memory on social media, often posting throwback photos of the two or highlighting new projects such as Selena: The Series and newly released or remixed music released by Selena’s family.

“Let’s all continue to celebrate the greatness of #Selena and her music! Nobody did it (or still does it) quite like her,” Chris wrote on Instagram, announcing the release of Selena’s posthumous album Moonchild Mixes in 2022. “Thanks to all of you, again, for keeping her legacy and her music alive.”

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