Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal and his wife María Francisca (Mery) Perelló have been loved-up for nearly two decades.
First introduced by one of his family members, Mery has been by Rafael’s side through the highs and lows of his career, and was no doubt there to cheer him up when the 38-year-old announced his retirement from professional tennis on Thursday.
Here’s everything we know about the couple’s relationship as they prepare to enter a new chapter of their lives:
When it comes to how they met, Rafael has his younger sister María Isabel to thank for serving up an ace.
Mery and Rafael were introduced by María and they began dating in 2005 when he was 19 and she was 17.
The couple went public with their romance two years later in 2007.
After announcing their engagement in January 2019, Rafael and Mery spared now expense when it came to celebrating their love that October.
The couple tied the knot in front of a ceremony of 350 people at ancient Spanish fortress La Fortaleza in Majorca.
The estate, which is also where Gareth Bale and his wife Emma Rhys-Jones said ‘I do’, boasts seven luxurious villas complete with 17 en-suite bathrooms, two swimming pools and its own helicopter landing pad.
La Fortaleza, overlooking the bay of Pollensa in north-east Majorca, was bought by UK Conservative Party donor Lord Lupton in 2011 for €35.8million, €53.8million below the asking price!
Rafael and Mery’s little bundle of joy arrived on October 8, 2022, three years after they tied the knot when the couple welcomed a baby boy, also named Rafael, to the world.
It’s been reported that the couple wanted to wait until towards the end of Rafael’s career to start a family as he wouldn’t be able to lend adequate time to his personal life while being so focused on his tennis career.
Speaking at a press conference before welcoming his son, Rafael said: ‘I don’t know what will change in my life because I don’t have experience, but I don’t think it will change my professional life,’ he said of becoming a father.’
Mery, a business graduate, has worked for the Rafa Nadal Foundation since April 2012.
Initially, she began her career at the foundation as a project manager but she was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in November 2019. Mery is also a secretary on the board of trustees.
Per its website, the Rafa Nadal Foundation, set up by Rafael and his mum Ana Maríá in 2008, helps children in Spain and Italy experience ‘transformative power of sport and education’.
There’s no doubt Mery’s a supportive wife, but she prefers to keep that support out of the limelight and rarely appears in the crowd at Rafael’s matches.
The mum-of-one is susceptible to stress and believes that staying away from Rafael’s matches makes their relationship stronger.
Speaking to The Telegraph in 2011, she said: ‘He needs his space when he is competing, and just the idea of me hanging around and waiting on his needs all day tires me out.’
‘It would asphyxiate me. And then he would have to be worrying about me… No. If I followed him everywhere, I think there’s a risk we might stop getting along.’
