Billionaire footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has married his long-term partner Georgina Rodríguez in an intimate living room ceremony at their home in Portugal.
The couple, aged 41 and 32 respectively, exchanged vows on Tuesday in the living area of their new £30 million Lisbon mansion in Cascais, surrounded only by their five children and four official witnesses.
The wedding took place on the exact tenth anniversary of the day they first met, when Rodríguez was working as a shop assistant at a Gucci store in Madrid, Spain. It was also held exactly one year to the day after they announced their engagement on social media.
Gucci Outfits and Living Room Vows
Both bride and groom chose outfits from Italian luxury fashion house Gucci as a tribute to their initial meeting in Spain, calling the decision a full circle moment. Ronaldo wore a custom light beige cotton suit jacket with a T-shirt and loafers, while Rodríguez wore a skirt suit featuring a sheer white shirt, satin shoes, and diamond jewellery from Swiss maker Chopard. Their five children wore matching outfits.
Speaking about their choice of attire, Rodríguez explained that the couple wanted to avoid dressing up unnaturally for an intimate home setting. "He's not going to dress us up," she said. "I didn't want us to go into a day that was so simple for us in costumes."
In an interview published in Vogue magazine's Summer digital issue, Rodríguez shared why they opted for a simple ceremony in their primary living space. "We've chosen to do it in the living room of our house here where we have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and where we live the reality of our lives," she said.
"In 30 years' time I want the children to think, something wonderful happened at this table - the wedding vows of our parents."
Rodríguez admitted that her childhood expectations of marriage had changed dramatically over time. "When I was a little girl I dreamt of the biggest castle, the biggest carriage, the longest dress, a crown full of diamonds," she said. "And now I'm saying: no. I want something intimate, with my partner and our children, at home."
Although the couple chose a quiet gathering for their legal vows, Rodríguez promised that they plan to hold a big wedding in the future to celebrate with their wider family and friends, though she did not elaborate further on their plans.
Church Blessing and Marriage Registration
Following the civil vows in their living room, the newlyweds drove an hour away to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, a famous Catholic pilgrimage sanctuary in central Portugal. A priest delivered a blessing at the church, where Rodríguez could not hold back her tears during the service.
The civil ceremony was officially registered by Maria Manuel Ferreira de Campos Folhadela de Oliveira, a registrar who travelled from the northern Portuguese city of Porto to Cascais to conduct the proceedings.
A copy of the couple's marriage certificate, published late Thursday by Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias, confirmed that only four witnesses were present alongside the children. The official witnesses were Rodríguez's sister Ivana, Ronaldo's longtime friend Miguel Paixao, and Spanish couple Jose Rodríguez Sangil and his wife Monica Gonzalez Martinez.
Ronaldo confirmed the marriage to his fans by sharing a photo of their wedding bands on Instagram with the caption "C❤️G." A representative for the athlete also released an official statement confirming: "Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez were married today in a civil ceremony in Cascais, Portugal, and are now officially husband and wife. The ceremony was a private and intimate moment attended by their five children."
Family Absence and TV Commentary
Despite the celebration, reports emerged in Portugal that Ronaldo's family was absent from the wedding. His mother Dolores Aveiro and his three siblings, Hugo, Elma, and Katia, were not present at the civil ceremony, with local reports claiming they learned of the marriage just 30 seconds before it took place.
The situation sparked immediate discussion on Portuguese television. Presenter Cristina Ferreira noted on the TVI programme Dois às 10 (Dois at ten) that the absence could cause friction within the family. "It will cause a lot of problems because the family wasn't present," Ferreira said. "And they shouldn't even have known. Or if they did know, it was 30 seconds beforehand."
Her co-host Claudio Ramos expressed hope that the public commentary would not cause emotional distress, stating: "I really hope that what we said here, which had to do with the impressions we get from what exists on social media, did not actually cause sadness in the family, that things were not as they apparently seem."
Ronaldo's mother Dolores, who has previously refuted claims over the years of a bad relationship with her daughter-in-law, gave her blessing to the union by posting a heart emoticon under Ronaldo's wedding ring photo on social media. Ronaldo's sister Katia, who is based in Brazil but travelled to her native Madeira at the weekend to meet family and friends, also posted a heart emoticon, though she has not publicly addressed reports of her absence from the Cascais ceremony.
Children and Pre-Nuptial Agreement
The couple share two biological daughters together, Alana and Bella, and welcomed twins Eva Maria and Mateo through surrogacy. Bella had a twin brother named Angel, who passed away shortly after birth. Ronaldo also has an eldest child, Cristiano Jr., from an earlier relationship. In family photographs, Cristiano Jr. hugged his baby sister Eva while Rodríguez cradled Mateo on her lap, and Ronaldo held his two daughters, baby Bella and Alana Martina.
Ahead of the ceremony, the couple defined their property regime by signing a pre-nuptial agreement on August 10 at a public notary's office in Lisbon. The agreement specifies that they will keep their pre-nuptial assets separate despite tying the knot after a decade-long romance.
The couple will not be going on a honeymoon and have already jetted back to Saudi Arabia, where Ronaldo plays professional football.
