It all started with a photo, that Irish footballer Stephanie Roche was tipped to become Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘next girlfriend’ back in 2014. The paparazzi never fails to entertain, and such was its desperation that bookies had backed the 33-year-old to be the next ‘Mrs Ronaldo’ after the Portugal captain split with his then girlfriend Irina Shayk. The female footballer has now shed some light on the whole incident.
Roche, who had been nominated for the Puskas Award during the Ballon d’Or award ceremony was clicked with Cristiano Ronaldo, which had sparked rumours of the two getting together soon. More pictures were published wherein the 37-year-old, who eventually won the Ballon d’Or over fierce rival Lionel Messi, could be seen having a glance at t Roche as she made it to her seat at the ceremony.
Roche makes ‘crazy’ admission about people thinking her to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s next partner
The Cristiano Ronaldo-Irina Shayk episode ended a couple of weeks after the Portugal captain had met Roche at the Ballon d’Or ceremony. It was speculated that the then Real Madrid forward couldn’t stop himself from getting attracted towards the Irish footballer, who actually took the ceremony by storm with her gorgeous outfit. However, years later, Roche, now 33, has explained the whole scenario. She told The Irish Mirror:
“I think that photo is something that has stuck in people’s memories because it really was an amazing photo, you know? It was mad that I was in the photo. Funny story: a couple of weeks after Ronaldo broke up with his girlfriend at that time, there were bookies odds on who his next girlfriend was going to be and I think I was one of the favourites. I was like, ‘Ah, for God’s sake!’ So, it was a bit crazy at the time. Even now, people talk to me about the goal.”
Roche was contender for the Puskas award at the ceremony when she first came across Ronaldo in person. However, apart from the ‘Ronaldo anecdote’, the Ireland international rather had a heartbreak at the ceremony as she lost the Puskas award to Real Madrid forward James Rodriguez. who had scored ‘that’ banger in the FIFA World Cup against Uruguay.
While the bookies tipped Roche to be the next woman to hitch with Cristiano Ronaldo, it however didn’t happen as the reigning Ballon d’Or winner at that time soon started seeing 28-year-old Spanish model Georgina Rodriguez. The former Manchester United forward had met Georgina at a Gucci store in Madrid, where she was working as a sales assistant.
The two then started making public appearances and finally announced their relationship officially in 2016. Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez have two biological children together, and she is also the stepmother to the striker’s three other children. Their first child together, a daughter, was born in November 2017, and in April 2022, Georgina gave birth to twins. Unfortunately, the male twin passed away during labour.