Love Stories: How F1 star Sergio Perez was upstaged at his own wedding to wife Carola Martinez
By Kate Kachor|
W?hen Formula 1 star Sergio Perez married his long-term love Carola Martinez, there was a guest at their wedding who unwittingly upstaged them both.
The champion Mexican racer, affectionately known as Checo, and Martinez tied the knot in 2018. Pope Francis was present to personally bless the ceremony.
The fourth highest paid Formula 1 driver in the world lives his professional life in the spotlight, with every manner of statistics available on his day job.
READ MORE: Two words Matthew McConaughey's wife told him before wedding
This includes his annual salary of $15 million. Yet, when it comes to his personal life the 34-year-old devout Catholic and his wife prefer a quiet life outside the spotlight.
Of the scant details about the couple's life together, they reportedly first met in ?2017 at a nightclub.
By August of the same year Perez proposed.
"I am very happy because I am marrying the woman I always dreamed of," Hola! Mexico quoted Perez as saying.
They welcomed their first child, Sergio Jr, in December 2017.
?They married in a lavish ceremony in their native Mexico at a venue in Guadalajara, Jalisco in June the following year.
READ MORE: The adorable (but slightly creepy) way Kevin Bacon met Kyra Sedgwick?
The Red Bull Racing champ reportedly bought his wife a house as a wedding present.
In 2019 the couple welcomed their second child, Carlota. They ?added to their family again in 2022 with the birth of Emilio.
Little is known about Martinez. She has a steady Instagram following of more than 200,000, yet, at time of publishing, only had two posts.
READ MORE: How the world's richest tennis player Jessica Pegula met her husband
Despite seldom speaking in public about one another, the loved-up pair regularly share supportive messages to each other.
"Congratulations to all the mums in the world! My admiration for you grows more everyday!!! The best," he posted along with a photo of his wife and their children.
"Happy birthday to the best wife and mum. May you always be very happy, we love you. God bless you always," he wrote in another post.
Martinez, who prefers to spend her time outside the public eye, echoes her husband's support on her own social media accounts.
In December last year she showered praise on her husband for his professional accolades.
"You are a clear example of never giving up until you achieve your dreams. Second in the championships," she wrote.?
A month later she shared a sweet birthday shout-out.
"Birthday boy... Te amo (I love you)," she captioned the since deleted post that included a lift selfie and candid photo of the pair tenderly kissing.
Outside his day job, Sergio is fiercely protective of his family time.?
READ MORE: The tragic end to Sir David Attenborough's 47-year marriage
"Formula 1 is my sport, my life, my passion. But when you are having such a hard time at work, it is difficult to be cheerful at home with your wife and children," he told Sports Illustrated in 2023.
"That's why I hired a mental coach because my family deserves to have that cheerful father at home."
It hasn't always been a smooth ride for the pair with Perez forced to publicly apologise to his wife after controversial footage emerged on social media of him cosying up to other women at a party.
In the videos he can be seen dancing aboard a yacht after winning the Monaco Grand Prix in 2022, getting cheek-to-cheek with a blonde woman and a brunette woman. Neither of the women were Martinez.
"I have seen the videos that have been circulating about me and I take responsibility for it," Pจฆrez media outlets quoted said in a since-deleted Instagram post.
Pจฆrez said he took "responsibility" for his actions while also insisting he and Martinez are "more united than ever."
"It was a bad party that I didn't know how to control at the height of the person that I am, but it was just that, a very bad party," Pจฆrez's message continued.
"People close to me know my values and the type of person that I am. For those who ask me, we are more united than ever, me and my wife. And for those who just want to hurt us, I wish you the best."
?The couple appear back on track and in September last year welcomed their fourth child. They are yet to publicly release the child's name.
