It was hardly a surprise that the engagement announcement of Cristiano Ronaldo, the global soccer superstar, was accompanied by a photograph of a diamond the size of a jumbo olive.
The location tagged in the Instagram post, however — published by his partner of nine years, the model and influencer Georgina Rodríguez — raised eyebrows. The photo of her bedazzled hand was not shared from Paris, Bora Bora or Dubai, but from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The capital of the conservative Islamic kingdom is not generally known as a place where globe-trotting couples flock to celebrate their romances. A decade ago, the religious police roamed the city streets hunting for unmarried couples and shouting at women to cover their hair. Sex outside of marriage was, until recently, punishable by flogging.
Even as fans celebrated the new engagement, the announcement highlighted the fact that the couple were not married and had been living with their children in the Saudi city for two years.
Riyadh is where one chapter of Ronaldo’s unmarried bliss has played out, after he moved here in 2022 under a hefty contract to play for the Saudi soccer team Al Nassr. He was joined in the city by Ms. Rodríguez and their children.
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The post Why Cristiano Ronaldo’s Engagement Raised Eyebrows in Saudi Arabia appeared first on New York Times.
