Who are Pele's children? Footballer revealed he did not know how many kids he had
Update: Pele, who was one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history, died at the age of 82, his daughter said on Instagram on Thursday, December 29. He had been in and out of the hospital in the past couple of months after a tumor was found on his colon.
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SAO PAULO, BRAZIL: Brazil football legend Pele who is under medical treatment at Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paula, celebrated Christmas with his family gathered around him. According to an official statement, following a respiratory infection and for “re-evaluation of the chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer diagnosed in September 2021,” he was transferred to the hospital on November 29.
Looking back at the former football player's personal life, Pele admitted to having several affairs and has married three times, fathering many children. The footballer has five children named Kelly, 54, Edinho, 50, Jennifer, 42 with his first wife Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi, and twins Joshua and Celeste, 24 with his second wife Assiria Lemos Seixas. Currently, businesswoman Marcia Cibela Aoki is Pele's third wife and the couple does not have any children together.
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Claiming that his wives knew about his affairs, Pele said in his Netflix documentary, “in all honesty, I’ve had a few affairs, some of which resulted in children, but I’ve only learned about them later.”
Who are Pele's children from his marriages and affairs?
The soccer legend who has five children from his first two marriages reportedly has two other children from his former affairs. In his first marriage with Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi he had three children together - Kelly Cristina (born in 1967), Dr. Arthur DeLuca, Jennifer (born in 1978), and Edson "Edinho" (born in 1970).
Shockingly, Edinho was imprisoned in May 2014 for 33 years for charges including money laundering and drug trafficking. His sentence was reduced to 12 years and 10 months based on an appeal. Apparently, Pele's rumored romantic links with Brazilian model Maria da Graca Xuxa, led to his separation from Cholbi in 1982, according to The Sun.
Twins Joshua and Celeste are Pele's children with his second wife Assiria Seixas Lemos whom he married 12 years after his divorce from Cholbi. His second marriage took place in April 1994 and the relationship ended in divorce on 28 September 2008. The twins were born through fertility treatments.
As per The Sun, the legend had two other children from his affairs. Sandra Machado was born from Pele's affair in 1964 with Anizia Machado, a housemaid, who went through years of fight to get Pele to acknowledge the fathership. The footballer refused DNA test submission but later, based on court orders, it was proved through the DNA test that Machado was his daughter. Sadly, in 2006, Machado died of cancer.
Another daughter of Pele, Flavia Kurtz was born from his extramarital affair with journalist Lenita Kurtz in 1968.
As Pele has been currently moved to the Albert Einstein hospital's palliative end-of-life care, his children have been around him during his treatment. His daughter Kelly took to Instagram to share a picture of the family including the children, spending Christmas with the legend at the hospital and the translated caption wrote: "We always have a lot to be thankful for, even spending Christmas in the hospital we are aware of the privilege it is to be in a hospital like @hosp_einstein. To see our dad being treated by these professionals, super competent and extremely caring."
In an emotional post where Kelly can be seen hugging her 82-year-old father who is in treatment, Kelly wrote: "Here we go, in the fight and in faith. One more night together"
