Cristiano Ronaldo, the 41-year-old Portugal captain and one of the greatest footballers in history, once dated Hollyoaks star Gemma Atkinson during his first spell at Manchester United in 2007. The revelation comes as Ronaldo prepares to lead Portugal against Spain in the World Cup quarter-finals at The Dallas Stadium on Monday evening (July 6).
Low-Key Dates with a Soap Star
Atkinson, who played Lisa Hunter on Channel 4's Hollyoaks from 2001 to 2005, later starred as Carly Hope in ITV's Emmerdale from 2015 to 2017 and briefly reprised her Hollyoaks role in 2022. She gave insight into her brief romance with Ronaldo on Hits Radio Manchester, describing their dates as surprisingly ordinary. "We went to my house, drank cups of tea and watched Only Fools And Horses," she admitted. "Genuinely! I don't know if he's into it now, but he seemed to enjoy it."
The former Strictly Come Dancing contestant also revealed that she was offered substantial sums to speak about their relationship after it ended. "When we did split up, I got offered so much money to speak about him," she confessed. "And I didn't want that."
Ronaldo's Family Life Now
Ronaldo is now engaged to Georgina Rodriguez, a former sales assistant he met in 2016 while she worked at a Gucci store in Madrid. The couple have been engaged since August 2025 and share six children. His first son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, was born on 17 June 2010 in the United States. In June 2017, he fathered twins Eva and Matteo via a surrogate mother. A month later, Ronaldo confirmed that Georgina was expecting their first child together; daughter Alana was born in November 2017. In October 2021, the couple announced they were expecting twins, but tragically lost their son Angel shortly after birth in April 2022. Their daughter Bella Esmeralda survived.
Georgina, born in Argentina and raised in Spain, is a model, trained dancer, and businesswoman. Her Netflix docu-series "I Am Georgina" became an instant success, and she boasts over 74 million Instagram followers. Ronaldo remains the most followed person on the platform with 671 million followers.
Atkinson's Life After Ronaldo
Gemma Atkinson is now happily engaged to professional dancer Gorka Márquez, whom she met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017. Although she was partnered with Aljaž Škorjanec and Gorka was paired with Alexandra Burke, the two hit it off behind the scenes and began dating after the show's live tour in 2018. They have been engaged since Valentine's Day 2021 and share two children, Mia and Thiago.
Beyond acting, Atkinson co-hosts the Gemma Atkinson and Mike Toolan Show on Hits Radio every weekday afternoon from 4pm, runs her own skincare business Gem and Tonic, and has over 2 million Instagram followers. She also hosts the podcast Lost In Translation with Gorka, who recently announced his exit from Strictly after 10 years.
