Thousands gather in Madeira expecting Cristiano Ronaldo wedding, but celebrity couple never arrives

Sunday 09 August 2026 - 12:45

By: Sahili Aya

Thousands gather in Madeira expecting Cristiano Ronaldo wedding, but celebrity couple never arrives

Thousands of people gathered outside a cathedral in Funchal, Madeira, on Saturday believing they were about to witness the wedding of football star Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez.

Instead, the crowd was met by a completely different couple after false reports circulated online claiming that the Portuguese footballer and his partner would marry at the venue.

False reports draw huge crowd

The scene outside the cathedral quickly took on the appearance of a major celebrity event. Hundreds of spectators raised their smartphones to capture images, while journalists from several European countries reportedly arrived expecting Ronaldo and Rodriguez to appear.

The anticipation turned to disappointment when a vehicle arrived carrying Fabio Santos Ramos and Fatima Nicole Cunha Teixeira, an otherwise private couple who had come to the cathedral for their own wedding ceremony.

The couple unexpectedly found themselves at the centre of attention as crowds had gathered for an event that was never scheduled to take place.

Ronaldo and Rodriguez wedding rumours

Ronaldo and Rodriguez are indeed expected to marry in the near future, which appears to have helped make the false claim particularly convincing.

However, there was no wedding ceremony involving the football star and Rodriguez at the Funchal cathedral on Saturday.

The episode illustrates how quickly unverified celebrity claims can spread online and translate into real-world crowds, even when no official confirmation has been provided.

An unexpected wedding day for an unsuspecting couple

For Ramos and Teixeira, what should have been a private celebration became an extraordinary public spectacle.

Instead of welcoming one of the world's most recognisable footballers, the crowd watched an ordinary couple arrive for their own ceremony.

The confusion eventually became clear, leaving thousands of spectators without the celebrity appearance they had anticipated — but giving the newlyweds an unusually memorable entrance to their wedding.