Famous Brazilian singer Xuxa has revealed the most intimate and private details of her life in 'Xuxa, the documentary' (Xuxa, O Documentario), detailing the secrets of her more than 30-year career.
Maria da Graça Xuxa Meneghel, or Xuxa's as most of the world knows her, has spoken in length about her relationship with former footballer Pele during the documentary. The alleged relationship began when she was 17 years old and he was 39, with Pele having just divorced Rosemeri Cholbi.
"I was already known as a sex symbol and I was actually a virgin," Xuxa recalled while promoting her documentary on the podcast 'Quem Pode, Pod'.
"It was not pleasant for me to be in that position. Besides, I didn't know myself. It's not easy to look sexy in pictures if you don't know what that is. I would come home crying and tell my mom that I wanted to lose my virginity. She would say, 'Don't worry, the right time will come'.
"I wanted to lose my virginity right away. It was weird, it wasn't great. It was in my car, a very difficult situation. Then I met Pele , and all my discoveries were with him."
The Brazilian singer revealed: "Pele used to tell me that he couldn't believe I hadn't done this or that. And really, with him it was my first sexual relationship, because it was the first time I had sex with a man as it should be."
How did teenager Xuxa meet Pele?
Xuxa went on to describe the curious circumstances in which she met Pele , who died on December 29, 2022 at the age of 82. She said: "It was during a rehearsal for a magazine cover. There were four models, Luiza, Marcia Brito, me, and there was supposed to be a black woman, but she didn't want to. They put Miss Brazil, who came from Brasilia, on him at the time. In the photo, I was facing him. He invited me to dinner. I told him I couldn't because I lived far away and I was a minor. Then he called my house and my father hung up thinking it was a joke, but then he ended up accepting."
Discussing what her romance with Pele was like, Xuxa continued: "I had to accept the betrayal without wanting to... it was not an open relationship".
Xuxa admitted that her relationship with Pele was not easy, given the then footballer star was seeing other women despite the couple not agreeing on an open relationship. "He invented that we had a 'colorful friendship' and I, at 17 years old, repeated it," the 60-year-old said. "He told me that women courted him, but that when he had sex with them he thought of me."
"I had to accept the betrayal unwittingly. It was not an open relationship. I had no right to do anything, but he could, because he was Pele . And since he was my first man, I couldn't compare him, so I realized that it wasn't healthy".
The relationship lasted six years in all, causing plenty of controversy in Brazil.
Who is Xuxa, and why is she known as 'The Queen of the Little Ones?'
Xuxa is a Brazilian model who later became a children's singer. She became world famous as 'The Queen of the Little Ones' (Rainha dos Baixinhos), while her romances with Pele and Ayrton Senna also attracted plenty of media attention.
She became very popular in Spain in the 90's for the TV show 'Xuxa Park' on Telecinco, which aired in 1992 with the song 'Ilarie'.
Xuxa also grabbed headlines in 2021 when she said: "My mother got Covid. I killed my mother."