Who is Sergio Carrallo, the ex-footballer husband of reality star Caroline Stanbury?

Jul 3 , 2024

Meet Sergio Carrallo, the ex-footballer who joins his wife, reality star Caroline Stanbury, on Real Housewives of Dubai. Photo: @sergiocarrallo/Instagram

The Real Housewives of Dubai is back – and the heat is turning up! Among the leading ladies of this season, Ladies of London star Caroline Stanbury is quickly gaining popularity, especially as she’s appearing with her former pro footballer husband, Sergio Carrallo.

Stanbury and Carrallo had a very public wedding ceremony on season 1 of RHODubai, and if season two is any proof, they still seem to be going steady despite their 18-year age gap.

So, who is the man who stole the British businesswoman’s heart after her previous marriage – which lasted over 15 years – ended?

Did Sergio Carrallo really play for Real Madrid?

Caroline Stanbury’s husband, Sergio Carrallo, reportedly played for Real Madrid. Photo: @sergiocarrallo/Instagram

Carrallo reportedly started his football career at age 13 with a junior team. His career reached a high point immediately after that, when he started playing for Real Madrid, which boasts famous former players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham.

He played for the team for six years before moving on to the New York Cosmos, and trained for a short while with LA Galaxy. However, his contract with Real Madrid was brought into question at the RHODubai reunion, where Stanbury defended him by saying that while he was definitely on the team, he didn’t play much because he was benched.

What is Sergio Carrallo doing since retiring from football?

Sergio Carrallo studied digital marketing at UC Irvine after leaving pro football. Photo: @sergiocarrallo/Instagram

Carrallo reportedly retired from football in 2018 and moved to California to study digital marketing at the University of California, Irvine. However, Carrallo has since moved to Dubai with his millionaire wife and is currently working with her on their brand Bust the Label.

Another dream project he is working on is a luxury eco-hotel in Bali, Indonesia, called Samsara Nest. The former footballer is reportedly also doing crypto mining.

How did Sergio Carrallo meet his wife, Caroline Stanbury?

Sergio Carrallo lied about his age to Caroline Stanbury when they first met. Photo: @carolinestanbury/Instagram

Stanbury revealed that she met her then-future husband while on tour in Newport Beach for her podcast Divorced, Not Dead. Carrallo added that he “was not meant to be there”, but was invited to the event and grew a “sensitive spot” for her since then. Carrallo was 24 when he met Stanbury, but lied and said he was 31. Carrallo is currently 29, while his wife is 48.

The two confirmed their relationship in 2020 and tied the knot in 2021. On the show, Carrallo said that Stanbury was the “ideal image of a woman you want to marry”.

He’s a clingy husband

Yasmine Habib, Caroline Stanbury’s daughter with her ex-husband, said Sergio Carrallo was “clingy”. Photo: @carolinestanbury/Instagram

Yasmine Habib, 18, Stanbury’s daughter with her ex-husband Cem Habib, revealed on season two of RHODubai that the worst thing about her new stepfather is that he’s “a bit clingy” and follows her mum around “like a lost puppy”. Stanbury herself mentioned previously that he can barely go to the Dubai mall without her and that she ends up “mothering” him. The reality star even went to a therapist, notably Princess Diana’s former therapist, to “cut the umbilical cord”.

His dad offered him money to dump his wife

Sergio Carrallo’s family is not a huge fan of his union with Caroline Stanbury. Photo: @carolinestanbury/Instagram

Carrallo’s family did not take kindly to his marriage with Stanbury. She revealed on an episode of RHODubai that his dad offered him money to break up with her, and his mum “cried four times” – but definitely not out of joy.

He’s determined to have children with Stanbury

The issue of babies is causing some tension in Sergio Carrallo and Caroline Stanbury’s marriage. Photo: @carolinestanbury/Instagram

Stanbury has three kids with her ex-husband: Yasmine and twin boys Zac and Aaron, who are around 14. The business mogul had pre-eclampsia – high blood pressure that can occur during pregnancy – each time she was pregnant and is “scared” to carry a baby again.

However, Carrallo reportedly wants a baby, causing some tension between the couple. Stanbury has already undergone two rounds of IVF, with only one viable embryo, and is considering surrogacy. Carrallo was previously against surrogacy, commenting, “I don’t want to have a baby that doesn’t look like us,” although surrogates can carry embryos created via IVF. He is also hoping Stanbury will undergo another round of IVF, per Today.

He had a racist social media scandal

Sergio Carrallo has come under fire for racist posts he made in the past. Photo: @sergiocarrallo/Instagram

Carrallo allegedly posted racist posts on X (formerly Twitter) back in 2016. He was called out for using the N-word during the RHODubai reunion. But Caroline Brooks claimed that he had never “even heard that word before”, while Sara Al Madani emphasised that her tech team inferred “someone else wrote it”. Carrallo has not apologised publicly, but according to Stanbury, he has “apologised to whoever he thought he should”.

Fame and celebrity

Carrallo reportedly played for Real Madrid but was mostly benched – he and Real Housewives of Dubai’s Stanbury have an 18-year age gap