They got engaged in May 2018, during a romantic trip to Rome.
A year and a half later, the Spanish daily
El Pais
announced that Rafael Nadal, 36, and Mery Perelló, 33, were getting married.
The
Daily Mail
then specified that the ceremony would take place on October 19, within the La Fortaleza complex, in Mallorca.
The photos of the event had been unveiled three days after their union.
If the news of their engagement had been made public in January 2019 by the world number 4, the tennis player has already been in a relationship with this young Spanish woman, nicknamed Xisca, for more than a decade.
Full screen
Rafael Nadal and his wife Xisca, with the player's sister Isabel Nadal.
(Paris, June 6, 2022.) Abaca
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The romance of Mery Perello and Rafael Nadal
In images, in pictures
See the slideshow10 photos
See the slideshow10 photos
A promising career
Born July 7, 1988 in Palma de Mallorca, Maria Francisca Perelló met Rafael Nadal in high school.
Her love story with the tennis player did not begin, however… until 2005, when a mutual friend arranged their reunion.
Already a graduate in business in London, Mery Perelló joined the University of the Balearic Islands in 2006, where she studied administration and business management.
At the end of her studies, she was hired by the company IMG, within which she organized sporting events.
In 2011, she began a career in the insurance sector for Mapfre, a company based in Majadahonda, Spain.
Since 2012, Xisca Perelló has also taken on the role of director of projects for the Rafael Nadal Foundation, aimed at the education of children and their regular practice of sport.
If Mery Perelló works behind the scenes to promote the charity, there is no need to watch for her - rare - presence near the court.
In video, Rafael Nadal stops his match because a mother lost her little girl
“He needs his space”
“He needs his space during competitions, and the idea of me hanging around meeting his needs all day tires me out,” she said in an interview with the
Telegraph
in 2011. would asphyxiate.
And then he should be worried about me… No.
If I followed him everywhere, I think there would be a risk that we would no longer get along.
If I followed him everywhere, I think there would be a risk that we would no longer get along
Xisca Nadal
Very discreet about her romantic relationship with Rafael Nadal, the 30-year-old is firmly committed to her private life.
So much so that the tennis player refuses to talk about his girlfriend during press conferences.
In order to preserve herself and evade the onslaught of the paparazzi, Mery Perelló has no account on social networks and has, moreover, moved in with the sister of her future husband, Maria Isabel, to whom she has become very close to beginnings of their relationship.
However, she celebrated with the tennis player the latter's 14th victory at Roland-Garros, on Monday June 6, and participated, on this occasion, in a photo shoot on the Alexandre III bridge.
With the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop, the couple held the Coupe des Mousquetaires with a smile on their face.
The player's sister, Isabel Nadal, was also present at the event.
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Desire for children
Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, has never departed from his reserve.
With the exception of an interview, in 2017, in which he spoke about his desire for children: “I would love to have children, boys, girls…, he declared in the program “Con Amigos Así” .
I am a person who loves children and I am a family man.
The world number 4, however, said that his demanding routine prevented him from founding one for the moment.
More than a decade after the start of their relationship, Mery Perelló and Rafael Nadal had celebrated their marriage … in the presence, in particular, of the former king of Spain, Juan Carlos I.
*This article, originally published on October 18, 2019, has been updated.
