Luis Rubiales, a former professional footballer and Spanish football official, has made headlines because of corruption and sexual harassment recently in the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
As a result, FIFA officials have suspended him until he faces disciplinary proceedings.
The controversies have caused conflicts with the Spanish official’s family and put his reputation and career at stake.
This isn’t the first time Rubiales has been accused of inappropriate behaviour. He has encountered cases of corruption and nepotism alongside his past partners, which we shall discuss further in this article.
Who is Luis Rubiales’ wife?
After the Jenni Hermoso controversy, many people were wondering if Luis Rubiales was married.
Well, Rubiales isn’t married at the moment. The Spanish football official previously married Manuela Vega, a professional lawyer, but they divorced.
Marriage to Manuela Vega
It is unclear when Manuela Vega and Rubiales got married, the duration of their marriage, and when they got divorced. It’s also unclear when and where they first met.
Manuela Vega has managed to keep herself out of the public eye during the marriage and after the divorce.
In an interview with the TV program Viajando con Chester (Travelling with Chester), Luis talks about his family and children and states that his marriage with Manuela Vega ended 11 years ago.
Therefore, the relationship had ended before corruption scandals and controversies made headlines.
He states that the split was mutual and that he has been raising the children on good terms.
Luis Rubiales and Roberta Loberia
After his divorce from Manuela, Luis Rubiales has been in several relationships. A Mexican painter, Roberta Loberia, was Luis Rubiales’ partner after his divorce from his ex-wife.
Roberta has made paintings for the Netflix series La Casa de las Flores and was reported in a Spanish press to be Luis’ girlfriend after his split with his ex-wife.
Rubiales faces accusations in a corruption and fraud case where he took Roberta on a work-funded holiday to New York. The evidence is based on a selfie posted of the trip on social media in the fall of 2018.
He allegedly made up a meeting with the UN and the Major League Soccer as an excuse for the romantic getaway with his partner.
The case is currently under investigation, and if proven guilty, he may face three years in prison for embezzlement.
Luis Rubiales and Brigitte Tenorio
Luis Rubiales was linked to dating model Brigitte Tenorio, with whom they had a romantic relationship since 2016 when he was the president of The Spanish Footballer’s Association (AFE).
The Spanish model studied Economics and later joined AFE as a Communication and Events Department member with no experience.
In 2018, she left AFE when David Aganzo became the president of AFE, and Rubiales found her a position in DDP SL, a media, advertising, and events company.
When he became the head of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, he hired her as the senior secretary of the organization. At the end of 2020, the former model became the secretary of the general secretary of the Federation, Andreu Camps.
Hiring Tenorio, among other sagas, has been revealed among the numerous cases of nepotism under Luis Rubiales’ reign.
Are Luis Rubiales and Jennifer Hermoso dating?
No, they are not dating. While Rubiales hasn’t married after divorcing Manuela Vega, Jennifer Hermoso hasn’t confirmed to date anyone either. There have been speculations of Hermoso dating a fellow female footballer.
According to Reuters, on August 2023, Rubiales is reported to have forcefully kissed Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth at the Women’s World Cup medal ceremony in Australia.
Rubiales states that the kiss was consensual, something he would do to his daughters. However, Hermoso stated that the situation left her vulnerable and a victim of aggression. The kiss was completely without consent on her part.
The FIFA officials decided to suspend him for 90 days as the regional leaders of the football federation demanded he resign from his position.
On the other hand, Rubiales has refused to resign and said he wasn’t in the wrong.
Who are Luis Rubiales’ children?
Luis Rubiales and Manuela Vega are parents to three children during their marriage. He repeatedly referenced his daughters Lucia, Ana, and Elena in the ongoing football saga.
With his wife and daughters present in the massive press conference, he included them in his speech about equality while defending himself against the accusations.
In the moving speech, he also states that the passions in his life are his family, his daughters, and his friends, who are also his family. It’s with no doubt that his daughters play a crucial role in his life.
During the Risto Mejide program, he stated that his daughters are stronger than him and detailed their attributes and personalities. In addition, he expressed gratitude to his ex-wife for doing a good job raising them.
The Spanish official pleaded with Jennifer to appear with him in an apology video as his position is at stake, but she should do it for his daughters.
In an interview in Travelling with Chester, he describes the worst moments of his life when one of his daughters had an accident and was close to dying on the spot.
She was admitted for two weeks, which stuck fear to Luis during the whole admission and recovery process.
He said one of the doctors informed him that his daughter would have a kind of edema in an area near the cerebellum. Nonetheless, she will be very fine and well.
