Dubai: He has never been married before. Tuesday's civil ceremony in Cascais was his first, at 41, after a decade with Georgina Rodríguez and five children.

Irina Shayk, the Russian model, was his longest publicly acknowledged partner before Rodríguez.

They were together from 2010 until January 2015, roughly five years, and were among the most visible couples in European sport during that period. Shayk has since had a daughter, Lea, with the actor Bradley Cooper.

The split, when it came, was reported as amicable and neither has said much about it publicly since.

Ronaldo met Rodríguez in 2016, in a Gucci store in Madrid where she was working as a sales assistant. They went public in January 2017 at the Best FIFA Football Awards, with his eldest son alongside them.

Portuguese media reported the births first, and Ronaldo confirmed them after Portugal's exit from the Confederations Cup, having stayed with the national squad through the tournament. The Portuguese Football Federation publicly praised him for it.

Surrogacy was widely reported. The Daily Mail said it had reviewed court documents in La Mesa, near San Diego, stating the twins were conceived in a laboratory and born to a surrogate.

Ronaldo has never named her, and his representatives said at the time he would not be discussing why he chose that route.

He posted a photograph a few weeks later. "So happy to be able to hold the two new loves of my life."

She arrived in 2016, when Cristiano Jr was six, and the twins came seven months into the relationship. Alana followed five months after them.

Rodríguez has spoken about the arrangement more openly than he has, describing motherhood as her priority and referring to all five as her children rather than distinguishing between them.

"Being a mother is the best thing that's ever happened to me and my absolute priority," she told Vogue Mexico in 2024. "Every moment I spend with my family is when I'm happiest and most realised."

The Netflix series I Am Georgina, which began in 2022, documented much of that family life.

All five children were at the ceremony in Cascais on Tuesday. They were, as far as anyone can tell, the entire guest list.