Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the 25-year-old Paris Saint-Germain and Georgia national team player, is nominated for this year's Ballon d'Or. He will attend the ceremony with his wife, Nitsa Tavadze, whom he married in 2023.
How the couple met
The pair first met in 2021 through a mutual friend. At the time, Kvaratskhelia was playing for Napoli, while Tavadze was studying at Tbilisi Medical University. Because of her university commitments, Tavadze could not initially move to Naples, but they kept in touch through phone calls and letters. Whenever she had a break from studies, she flew to Italy to support him.
They married on October 16, 2023, at Mtskheta's Samtavro monastery, wearing traditional Georgian clothes. Sharing photos, Kvaratskhelia posted the caption "16.10.23" with a praying emoji and a red love heart. The following year, they welcomed their first child, Damiane.
Nitsa's background and career
When they met, Tavadze was a medical student in Georgia, and the couple began a long-distance relationship. It is not known if she has completed her medical degree or is still studying. She regularly shares snippets of her life on Instagram, where she has over 200,000 followers.
Tavadze has also done modelling work, appearing in a photo campaign for Tbilisi-based luxury fashion store Boygar's.
Support through injury
In October, Kvaratskhelia was injured during a Paris Saint-Germain match against Barcelona and is set to have surgery after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). He is due to have an operation "in the coming days," but the team gave no timeline for his recovery.
In an Instagram post supporting her husband, Tavadze wrote: "Sometimes life tests the strongest people in ways they never expected. But I believe with all my heart that this moment will become another part of our incredible story. One day, we'll look back at this chapter and remember not how difficult it was, but how much strength it took to overcome it."
