More than 2,000 Cristiano Ronaldo fans gathered outside Madeira’s Sé Cathedral on Saturday expecting to see the football star marry Georgina Rodríguez, only to discover they had arrived for another couple’s wedding.
The crowd had formed amid widespread reports that Ronaldo and Rodríguez would marry in Funchal on August 8. Many spectators arrived wearing Ronaldo’s No. 7 shirt and waited outside the cathedral for a glimpse of the Portugal captain.
Instead, the couple arriving for the ceremony were Fabio Ramos and Fatima Nicole Cunha Teixeira.
Crowd surrounds bride after Rolls-Royce arrives
The wedding was a genuine local ceremony, with Ramos and Teixeira, who now live in France, returning to Madeira for their marriage, according to local reports.
The sheer size of the crowd made it difficult for the couple’s relatives and guests to reach the cathedral. The confusion reached its peak when a grey Rolls-Royce pulled up outside the venue carrying the bride.
Hundreds of people surrounded the car, apparently believing Teixeira was Rodríguez. Phones were raised as fans tried to capture photographs of the woman they thought was Ronaldo’s fiancée.
A member of the wedding party attempted to correct the misunderstanding, shouting that the woman was not Rodríguez. Bridesmaids eventually managed to clear a path so Teixeira could enter the cathedral.
Father Marcos Gonçalves, the priest conducting the ceremony, confirmed that the wedding had no connection to Ronaldo.
«This is the only wedding taking place here today,» he said.
Ronaldo reacts to the bizarre mix-up
Ronaldo himself appeared to acknowledge the extraordinary scene after footage of the crowd began circulating online. The footballer reportedly responded with a laughing emoji, adding another twist to an already unusual episode.
The reaction came after days of speculation surrounding his own reported wedding plans. British media had claimed Ronaldo and Rodríguez would marry at Funchal Cathedral on Saturday, followed by a reception at the nearby Savoy Palace hotel.
Those reports had not been officially confirmed by the couple. A separate rumour had previously claimed they would marry at Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra on August 1, but that story was later debunked after the estate remained open to visitors on the alleged date.
The Madeira reports gained traction after reports that parts of the Savoy Palace would be closed for a private event during the weekend. However, those arrangements did not independently confirm that Ronaldo and Rodríguez were the clients.
Ronaldo and Rodríguez have been together since 2016 and became engaged in August 2025. They have five children between them.
For Ramos and Teixeira, the wedding ultimately went ahead despite the unexpected celebrity-sized crowd outside the cathedral. Their ceremony became an unlikely attraction after thousands of Ronaldo supporters turned up for a wedding that was never theirs.
