Thousands of Cristiano Ronaldo fans descended on an unsuspecting bride as she arrived for her wedding outside Funchal Cathedral on Saturday.
Speculation that Ronaldo would marry Georgina Rodriguez in Madeira this weekend proved to be completely false, with Funchal city centre packed with people eager to witness what they believed could be one of the biggest celebrity weddings of the year.
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Instead, the ceremony at Funchal Cathedral was for Fabio Ramos and Fatima Nicole Cunha Teixeira, a couple based in France who had returned to their native land to tie the knot. They have no connection whatsoever to Portugal and Real Madrid’s all-time top scorer.
Father Marcos Goncalves, the cathedral’s parish priest who married the couple, said: ‘I can tell you that they are nothing to do with Cristiano Ronaldo. This is the only wedding taking place here today.’
Ronaldo’s elder sister, Elma Aveiro, reacted to videos showing the huge crowd outside the cathedral with a post on social media that read: ‘But why do these people think Ronaldo would get married, when he himself never announced it, anyway? Don’t they realise that the media doesn’t know anything, they just want to know?! And then they invent things. Surreal.’
Kristiano Ronaldo, 8 Ağustos'ta doğduğu yer Madeira'da seçtiği eşi Georgina Rodriguez ile evlenmesi beklenen kilisenin önünde toplanan yüzlerce hayranını hayal kırıklığına uğrattı.
Ancak Portekizli yıldız kiliseye hiç gelmedi. Bunun yerine hayranlar başka bir düğünü izledi. pic.twitter.com/WS2eD07Dm3— Ramin SADIK (@saki552003) August 10, 2026
Crowds were also seen outside the Savoy Palace, the luxury five-star hotel in Funchal, amid claims that the venue would host Ronaldo’s wedding reception.
Following the ceremony, Funchal Cathedral shared a photo of the newlyweds on Facebook alongside the message: ‘We never saw anything like this here at the cathedral. It was very complicated for the bride to enter the church to get married.
¡SE FUERON CON LA FINTA! 😅🇵🇹⛪
Decenas de personas se dieron cita en el patio de la Iglesia Sé pensando que verían a Cristiano Ronaldo en su propia boda pic.twitter.com/PKeyN8egR2
— Claro Sports (@ClaroSports) August 9, 2026
‘Congratulations to the couple Nicole and Fabio. After a lot of confusion on the street with so many journalists and tourists, we finally managed to close the church and celebrate.’
Ronaldo, for his part, appeared amused by the bizarre misunderstanding, replying to Jornal da Madeira’s post showing the crowds outside the cathedral with several laughing emojis.
A member of the wedding party said: ‘Fabio is not Cristiano Ronaldo. This is all crazy. We did not expect anything like this.
‘I don’t think he is going to forget his wedding.’
The grey Rolls-Royce carrying Nicole to the ceremony had difficulty reaching the cathedral because of the enormous crowd gathered outside.
As soon as the vehicle arrived, hundreds of supporters surrounded it in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the bride they mistakenly believed was Georgina.
However, one person from the wedding party tried to disperse the crowd, shouting: ‘This is not Georgina!’
Ronaldo previously revealed during an interview with Piers Morgan that he and Georgina intended to get married after the World Cup.
The 41-year-old made his sixth World Cup appearance this summer, with Portugal eventually eliminated by eventual champions Spain in the last 16.
‘I hope to arrive at my wedding with the champion’s trophy,’ Ronaldo said.
‘I’m going to marry her because I believe it’s the right time.
‘Not just because she’s the mother of my children but because she’s the person I love most.’
The couple first crossed paths in 2016 while Georgina was working at a Gucci store in Madrid.
However, Ronaldo’s sister Katia Aveiro said in an interview with TV 7 Dias last month that no wedding date had been arranged for 2026.
‘There’s no set date,’ Katia said.
‘This year I won’t be wearing a wedding dress, neither for myself nor for him.’
