Few celebrity couples have stood the test of time likeGloria EstefanandEmilio Estefan.
The pair met when Gloria was just 17 years old and fresh out of high school, and Emilio was 22. While they have experienced plenty ofhardships in their lives, their relationship was the one thing that stayed consistent.
“When it’s real love, it gets better,” Emilio said in 2017 onPEOPLE and ABC News' seriesPeople Icons. “It’s all about respect and love and communication. When you have a great foundation, it becomes easy.”
The pair have always been partners in both life and business, starting with their band Miami Sound Machine in 1977 and then with their hotels, restaurants, foundations, musical and childrens' books.
“We love and respect each other,” Gloria previously toldPEOPLEof why their partnership works so well. “We’re different, but we balance each other. And we have the same priorities, the same values. We rarely argue about business or music, so it’s been a good thing.”
Even after more than 45 years of marriage, Gloria is still smitten with her husband. “Look at this man, he’s so cute. Makes me laugh every day of my life,” she said. “He makes me happy and we make each other happy.”
During Gloria’s induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June 2023, shegushed about Emilioagain. “After 48 years together, I love you more deeply than when we began this crazy, exciting, surprising and oftentimes terrifying epic life together,” she said.
From creating hits like “Conga” and “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You” to welcoming two children and launching a business empire together, here’s everything to know about Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s relationship.
1975: Gloria and Emilio Estefan meet at a jam session
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The pair first met while playing music with mutual friends during the spring after Gloria graduated from high school. Emilio’s first appearance made an impact. “In comes Emilio. He’s playing the accordion in very short shorts, and he looked like he was naked, so that was the first impression that I got,“Gloria told PEOPLEin March 2017.
“Then my mom drags me to a wedding a few months later, and I walk in the door, and there [he is] playing ‘The Hustle.’ He tracked me down two weeks later.” The duo kept their relationship platonic at first, and chose to start playing in a wedding band together rather than strike up a romance. “We had chemistry for sure. But he had an older girlfriend, and he was my boss,” Gloria said.
1975: Emilio Estefan takes Gloria on their first date
Gloria was not very experienced in the dating world, but once she found Emilio, she had no interest in meeting anyone else. “He was my first and only boyfriend,” shetold WBURin 2016.
July 4, 1976: Gloria and Emilio Estefan share their first kiss
Gloria Estefan Instagram
The duo waited more than a year to lock lips for the first time. “45 years ago today your lips met mine for the first time,” Gloria wrote beside a sweet throwback photo shared onInstagramon July 4, 2021.
September 2, 1978: Gloria and Emilio Estefan get married
Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage
Three years after meeting, the couple tied the knot. “I always felt that we were meant to be together,” she toldAARPin 2013 while recalling the special day. Immediately after the ceremony, Gloria and her new husband visited her ailing father, Jose Fajardo, in the hospital. She said that though he hadn’t recognized her in years, he said “Glorita” when he saw her in her wedding dress.
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Gloria and Emilio welcomed their first child, a son named Nayib Estefan, on Sept. 2, 1980.
Nayib spent years touring with his parents and now works as a music composer and producer — he even filmed some of his mom’s music videos!
March 20,1990: Gloria Estefan is injured in a tour bus crash
“I was taking a nap on the bus, trying to be fresh for the show that night, and suddenly I was lying on the floor, not able to stand up, looking up at the ceiling, going, ‘What happened?’ The pain was excruciating,” Gloria recalled toPEOPLEin August 2020.
Though the accident was traumatizing, it brought the couple closer together, and finally won Emilio the approval of Gloria’s mother, Gloria Fajardo. “[My mother] tortured Emilio for 12 years until that accident happened and she realized that he really loved me for me and that he wasn’t going to run and cut and run and leave me there,” she toldWBURin April 2016.
1992: Gloria and Emilio Estefan buy a hotel in Miami together
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Gloria and Emilio purchased a gorgeous art deco hotel in Miami together around 1992. The property held a special place in Gloria’s heart, and she predicted that she would one day own the hotel when she was just a child.
“My mom asked me why I was looking at the Cardozo,” Gloriatold PEOPLEin a July 2019 interview. “I think I was so excited to be on the beach because we never went to the beach in Cuba. I told her that when I grow up I am going to buy my dad this hotel!”
1992: Gloria and Emilio Estefan open their first restaurant
The pair quickly developed a taste for entrepreneurship and opened their first restaurant, Larios on the Beach, the same year. “From the beginning, their vision was to bring authentic Cuban food in an atmosphere that celebrates the spirit of Cuba in its heyday right to the heart of South Beach,” readsthe restaurant website. They’ve opened five other restaurants in the years since.
February 3, 1993: EmilioEstefansupports Gloria as she receives her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
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Gloria’s career was memorialized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 3, 1993, with her proud husband at her side. Her mother and close actor friendAndy Garciawere also there to support her on her big day.
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1997: Gloria and Emilio Estefan launch the Gloria Estefan Foundation
In 1997, Gloria and Emilio, who have always been extremely charitable, founded the Gloria Estefan foundation, which “promotes education, health and cultural development,” according totheir website. The pair raises money through proceeds from Gloria’s songs, charity concerts and fan donations, and uses it for spinal cord research and animal causes, among others.
“My foundation tries to help people that fall through the cracks, that can’t get help from big organizations,” she said. “We try to fill in where immediate help is needed.”
June 9, 2005: Gloria Estefan supports Emilio as he gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
12 years after Gloria received her Walk of Fame star, Emilio’s career was commemorated in the same way — with the support of his loving wife. She gave him a big kiss to celebrate the occasion.
June 5, 2010: Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s son Nayib gets married
Gloria and Emilio’s son Nayib married his wife Lara Coppola in the backyard of his parents' house in 2010. Though Nayib is relatively private, Gloria celebrated her son’s 12th wedding anniversaryon Instagramon June 5, 2022, along with a beautiful photo from the family event.
June 21, 2012: Gloria and Emilio Estefan become grandparents for the first time
June 2, 2015: Gloria and Emilio Estefan premiere a musical about their life together
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty
On Your Feet!: The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefanpremiered at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago on June 2, 2015, and has since toured all over the world. The jukebox musical follows their love story and careers, and features many of their most famous songs.
“The reason we didn’t [call the show “Conga”] was because of [screenwriter] Alex [Dinelaris]' approach. It’s not just an empowering title, it’s literally how Emilio and I, constantly through our lives, have had to get back up on our feet,” Gloria toldWBURin 2016. “So it was just for us the most fitting title.”
March 4, 2018: Gloria celebrates Emilio’s 65th birthday
September 2, 2018: Gloria and Emilio Estefan celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary
Vinnie Zuffante/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
“That is such a crock. You know what?” Gloria teased. “He makes me laugh every single day of my life.”
June 2019: Gloria and Emilio Estefan reopen the Cardozo after a massive renovation
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The pair closed down their iconic vintage hotel for four years to complete a $15 million redesign of the space.
“We can’t wait for our friends around the world to experience the new Cardozo because it is so personal, and we like people to feel comfortable and relaxed when they are with us,“Gloria told PEOPLEduring an exclusive tour. “Plus, Emilio is hands-on and made sure every detail was created beautifully.”
“Emilio and I have traveled the world for our music, and we know what we like in a hotel room,” Gloria continued. “While Emilio is a visionary, I am logical about what works, often adding history and color. We work together to personalize everything and are on the same page.”
October 7, 2020: Gloria Estefan gets candid about their sex life during her new talk show
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Gloria began hosting a newRed Table Talkspinoff show with her daughter Emily and cousin Lili Estefan on Oct. 7, 2020, and she got realer than ever about her sex life with Emilio.
“With age, different things become more important,“she said on an episode. “We’ve been very, very sexually happy, and we’re very connected. I think that’s one of the secrets of the marriage.”
January 23, 2022: Emilio and Gloria Estefan are celebrated with a mural in Miami
Miami unveiled a mural celebrating the achievements of their local superstars on Jan. 23, 2022. “Gracias Miami! Amazing mural!” Gloria wrote onInstagramupon seeing the massive work of art. “We are so happy to be part of this ‘Latin Music Art’ series as a concerted effort in beautification of Miami’s overlooked neighborhoods!”
April 7, 2022: Emilio and Gloria Estefan are honored for putting Miami on the map of the music industry
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Gloria and Emilio were honored at Variety’s first Miami Entertainment Town Breakfast with the Legends and Groundbreakers award for making Miami a legitimate music town with their band, Miami Sound Machine.
“One of the things that I’m proud [of] is to see you guys — The next generation to be proud of where [they] come from, creating the new moves of what is happening in the music business,” said Emilio in hisacceptance speech. “For us it was difficult…before somebody used to tell you, you have to take the congas out, take the tumbao out, take your last name out — and we didn’t do that.”
May 9, 2022: Gloria Estefan discusses kissing another man for the first time since meeting Emilio
Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Gloria enjoyed filming herFather of the Brideremake with friend Andy Garcia, but there was one element that made her slightly nervous.
“The thing I fretted about the most was that I had to kiss Andy because he is my friend and his wife is my friend,” shetold PEOPLEin 2022. “I’ve never kissed another man in the last 46 years or 47 of my life. But you know it wasn’t me kissing him. It was Ingrid, his wife in the movie, and it all felt very natural, and it was great.”
When asked if she would let Emilio watch as she filmed that scene, she toldEntertainment Tonight"Oh hell no. He wasn’t even in the city. I was not having that, girl, no way! I was nervous enough.”
June 14, 2022: Emilio and Gloria Estefan attend theFather of the Bridepremiere
Manny Hernandez/Wireimage
Emilio joined Gloria for the Miami premiere of her latest film, a remake ofFather of the Bride. Gloria wore a chic floral-print suit and black top while Emilio looked dapper in a white jacket, black tie and black pants.
January 18, 2023: Emilio Estefan celebrates Gloria’s induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
After it was announced that Gloria would be the first Hispanic woman to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, her husband rejoiced onInstagram.
June 15, 2023: Gloria Estefan thanks Emilio during her Songwriters Hall of Fame induction speech
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall of Fame
During Gloria’s induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony, she spoke about howEmilio encouraged herin her career.
“Emilio if it weren’t for you, who knows if I ever would have even gone down this road,” the three-time Grammy winner said, recalling that before they were even dating, Emilio asked if she wrote songs. She said she could, as she had previously written poetry and parodies.
“And so I did and I’ve recorded every song I’ve written since his deliciously compelling invitation,” Gloria said. “Thank you, babe, for so much.”
August 23, 2023: Emilio Estefan appears on Gloria’s episode ofSuperfan
During Gloria’s episode ofSuperfan, a fan-based competition show on CBS, Emilio made an appearance on stage.
“I’m blessed to be 40 years with you. I’m your biggest fan,” he said to his wife. Earlier in the episode, Gloria announced that the winner would be invited to visit the couple’s home in Miami.
September 2, 2023: Emilio Estefan and Gloria celebrate 45 years of marriage
Jason Koerner/Getty
In honor of their marriage milestone, Gloria gave Emilio asweet shout-out on Instagram.
Emilio returned the sentiment in a separateInstagrampost.
February 16, 2024: Gloria Estefan and Emilio attend Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant opening
Pichichipixx/SplashNews.com
The couple stepped out for the grand opening ofGordon Ramsay’s restaurantLucky Catin Miami. Gloria and Emilio were among many celebrities that evening, includingCuba Gooding Jr.andReal Housewives of Miamistar Lisa Hochstein.
source: people.com
