EVER-DISCREET about his private life, Spain's top tennis star Rafael Nadal's showing the world his house in Manacor has come as something of a surprise – but the Mallorca-born player has suddenly become very active on Instagram since the country went into lockdown.
The only tennis player in history to have been ATP world number one in three different decades, Rafa, 33, has been uploading photos and videos with captions and viva voce messages about how he and his new-ish wife Mery Perelló, 31, are getting through the national quarantine.
His footage shows different rooms in the plush villa he lives in with Mery, whom he has been going out with continuously since she was 16 and whom he finally married in October.
Their luxury home is over 1,000 square metres in size, with sea views, and just a few metres from the beach in Porto Cristo, the coastal hub of Manacor.
It is said to be worth in region of €4 million.
Nadal's pictures show him exercising – lifting weights next to an arched window looking out onto the sea – as he attempts to stay fit enough to play tennis again competitively once the lockdown finishes.
He also shows pictures of himself cooking, adding spices to a sizzling pan on the gas hob.
Fans have long been curious about what the star's ordinary, everyday life looks like off duty, but Rafa and Mery are notoriously private – to the point where they refused to go into any detail about their wedding until just weeks before the ceremony.
The fact they were even getting married was something they had not planned to mention beyond their immediate circle – even though this circle includes global celebrities and even royalty, with Rex Emeritus King Juan Carlos I, a close friend of Nadal's, being a guest at their nuptials.
But the story was leaked to the media – admittedly, 10 months after they got engaged on holiday in Rome in May 2018.
Rafa said later that, having been together since their teens and now being in their 30s, neither having ever had any other relationship, the engagement was really just an unromantic, “so, are we going to get married at some point, then?”
He includes 'motivational' messages in Spanish and English on his posts – the above photograph came with the caption: “How's everyone today? Keep fighting!”
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