Who is Cristiano Ronaldo’s girlfriend? All about Georgina Rodríguez

The love story of Portuguese soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo and his influencer/model girlfriend Georgina Rodríguez has all the makings of a fairy tale. There she was, working as a salesclerk for Gucci in Madrid in 2016 when one of the most famous soccer stars in the world walked in — and they sparked. Seven years later, he’s bigger than ever, and she’s got her own Netflix reality series, “I Am Georgina” and nearly 58 million Instagram followers. They have five children between them, including two of their own.

“I never imagined I would fall so heavily in love with her,” Ronaldo, 38, said in “I Am Georgina.” “But after a while, I felt that she was the one for me.”

Ronaldo’s been a star since he was a teenager and first signed with Manchester United. At nearly 40, he currently plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr after signing in late 2022. But the spotlight is relatively new for Rodríguez, 29, who is experiencing heightened levels of fame since her reality series premiered last year.

So what do we now know about Georgina Rodríguez? Read on to find out more.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez met at a Gucci store in 2016

Rodríguez was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1994, as reported by The Independent, and grew up in a town called Jaca in northeastern Spain.

In her Netflix reality show "I Am Georgina," she recounts turning 18 and feeling ready to move to the big city: Madrid. There, she worked retail during the day and tended bar on weekends, eventually landing a job working in a Gucci store.

At 22, the fairy tale began. During a shift in 2016, she noticed a “really handsome guy,” she said in the show, who turned out to be Ronaldo. As time went on, they occasionally turned up at the same social events — and eventually, he asked her to dinner.

At the restaurant “their hands brushed against each other,” she recounted, a moment Ronaldo also called “special” in the series. Their hands fit “perfectly,” she said. The next day they went out on another dinner date — this time at his house. She’d already eaten, but “I had dinner again, like a lady,” she said on the show. They became an item, and she kept working at Gucci — though sometimes taking the bus to work and leaving at night in his Bugatti.

In 2017, Georgina Rodríguez and Cristiano Ronaldo became an official couple — and started their family

The next year was a whirlwind for the couple. They made their first official appearance as a couple on Jan. 9, 2017, at the FIFA Football Awards in Zurich, Switzerland, accompanied by his oldest son, Cristiano, Jr. Ronaldo, who's never been married, had Cristiano with a woman who hasn't been publicly identified. In 2017, he had twins, Eva Maria and Mateo Ronaldo, via surrogate, People magazine reported.

On May 25, 2017, Rodríguez and Ronaldo went Instagram official — and just in time, because on July 18 they announced they were expecting their first child. Alana Martina came along on Nov. 12.

Georgina Rodríguez has supported charities and nonprofits

Though being associated with Ronaldo certainly didn’t hurt, Rodríguez continued building her modeling career, her social media presence and became an influencer. (Needless to say, she quit the Gucci job.) She leaned into charity work with organizations like Nuevo Futuro, a nonprofit organization for vulnerable children. The Independent noted she received an award at the 2021 Starlite Gala in Marbella, Spain, reflecting her charity work. All this is on top of being a stepmom to three and mother of two.

“I don’t think I’m extraordinary, but I do think I’m a lucky woman,” she said at the start of “I Am Georgina.” “I know what it’s like to have nothing, and I know what it’s like to have everything.”

Georgina Rodríguez and Cristiano Ronaldo experienced loss of a baby boy after revealing they're expecting twins

In October 2021, Rodríguez and Ronaldo announced they were expecting again, with a photo of the couple holding up a double sonogram. The next April, she gave birth to twins. Baby Bella was healthy, but Ángel did not survive.

In an Instagram post, Ronaldo wrote, “It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away. It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel. Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness.”

After thanking the doctors and nurses, he added, “We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time. Our baby boy, you are our angel. We will always love you.”

Rodríguez spoke of her pain during her Netflix series. “Over 40 million people follow me, but no one knows how I really feel,” she said. “This year, I had the best and the worst moment of my life in an instant… I have reasons to move on and be strong.” She said Ronaldo encouraged her to find a way to move forward. “He said, ‘Gio, get on with life. It’ll do you good.’”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com