Getty Legendary singer Julio Iglesias pictured next to his son, Javier Sanchez-Santos.
Javier Sanchez-Santos is Julio Iglesias’ son, according to a judge in Spain. The decision dropped on July 10 with Judge Jose Miguel Bort Ruiz noting the pair’s ‘very obvious physical resemblance” as part of his decision. Sanchez-Santos is now 43 years old, his father is 75.
Julio Iglesias has been married twice during his life and has produced nine children, including Sanchez-Santos. The singer’s first marriage to socialite Isabel Preysler lasted from 1971 and ended in 1979. The couple had three children, Chabeli, Julio Jr. and Enrique. It’s alleged that Iglesias fathered Sanchez-Santos while he was married to Preysler.
Since the 1990s, Sanchez-Santos and his mother have battled in the courts and in the media for Iglesias to recognize his son.
Since 2010, Iglesias has been married to Miranda Rijnsburger. He has had five children with the Dutch model, Miguel, Rodrigo, twins Cristina and Victoria, and Guillermo. Rijnsburger is 22 years younger than Iglesias.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Julio Iglesias Is Planning to Appeal the Ruling
GettyJulio Iglesias gestures after receiving the Award for artist who has sold the most records in Spain and the Latino Artist Award for the most albums sold in the world at Cervantes Instittute in Madrid on December 16, 2011.
Speaking to CNN, Iglesias’ lawyer, Fernando Falomir said that the singer plans to appeal the ruling. El Pais in Spain reports that part of the reason for the judge’s ruling was that Iglesias hadn’t submitted his DNA for examination, something the judge found suspicious.
In a June 2019 interview, Iglesias told the Associated Press that he still had “many things” he would like to achieve in his life. During the same interview, Iglesias said that his career and fame affected his relationship with his children.
2. Maria Edite-Santos, Sanchez-Santos’ Mother Met Iglesias in Spain in 1975
GettySanchez-Santos mother Maria Edite Santos with her son on July 10.
Sanchez-Santos’ bid to be recognized by Iglesias goes back to the 1990s. His mother, Maria Edite Santos, first met Iglesias in the Spanish town of Sant Feliu de Guixols in July 1975. The judge ruled in the case that the meeting made “it not unlikely or unreasonable the possibility that sexual relations existed between them.” Edite-Santos is a dancer who originally hails from Portugal.
The judge’s ruling said that Edite-Santos had been able to provide a detailed description of the interior of Iglesias’ villa in Sant Feliu de Guixols.
In 2007, Edite-Santos published a book titled, “A Son With Julio Iglesias.” Edite-Santos said in the book that she had a “brief but intense” relationship with Iglesias in the summer of 1975.
She wrote of knowing that Iglesias was married when the affair began. The singer already had three children at that stage. Speaking about her son’s parental claim in the book, Edite-Santos wrote, “It’s not because of the money, it’s because Javier has the right to have his father… I know that Julio will finally come to me and will recognize the child.”
3. This Isn’t the First Time That Sanchez-Santos Has Been Recognized as Iglesias’ Son
El Pais reports that in 1992 a judge in Spain ruled that Sanchez-Santos was Iglesias’ son. That ruling was appealed by the singer in 1994 and the ruling was reversed. During those legal proceedings, Iglesias’ lawyers produced three other men who said that they had regular sex with Sanchez-Santos’ mother at the same time she alleged she had conceived her son.
Following that ruling, Edite-Santos told Mexican television in 2018 interview that she had tried to kill herself. Edite-Santos went on to say that the actions of Iglesias’ legal team made her feel like a prostitute.
According to reports in Spain, the case was reopened on the strength of DNA evidence that a detective had retrieved in Miami. The detective had managed to get retrieve a bottle of water that had been drunk out of by Julio Iglesias Jr.
A DNA comparison test between Iglesias Jr. and Sanchez-Santos said that the pair were brothers. The results of that test were first announced in 2017.
Sanchez-Santos had first begun this most recent paternity claim in September 2017 when his lawyer, Fernando Osuna, filed suit in Valencia. He told the media at the time, “It has taken me 27 years to get a DNA test that my biological father has always rejected, that test tells 99.9 percent that I am his son and that my mother has always told the truth, repair the damage.”
4. Sanchez-Santos Says, ‘Never Forget What You Are, the Rest of the World Will Not’
On his Instagram bio, Sanchez-Santos writes, “Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you.” Sanchez-Santos describes himself as a “Sports, Arts & Music Lover.” Famously, Julio Iglesias played as youth soccer goalkeeper for Real Madrid.
In that Instagram bio, Sanchez-Santos provides a link to his Soundcloud page where he posts links to his own electronic dance music.
Sanchez-Santos wrote in an Instagram post following the parentage ruling, via Google Translate, “I wanted to thank you all for the messages of support I received. It overwhelms me to think that there are so many people who have followed my case and supported me from so many corners of the planet. If it has somehow served to give you strength, to all those who have a case similar to mine, perfect. Do not stop fighting ever.”
In July 2017, Sanchez-Santos was the subject of a critical article in Vanitatis which remarked on his lack of financial stability and noted that his appearances on talk-shows were good for his “checkbook.”
That same article said that Sanchez-Santos had been living on the Spanish island of Ibiza. The same article said that Sanchez-Santo had had an “unsuccessful career” as an interpreter that had “bottomed out.” Another section said that if Iglesias were to recognize Sanchez-Santos as his son it would “open many doors.”
5. Sanchez-Santos’ Brother Enrique Iglesias Has Yet to Comment About the Judge’s Decision
Enrique Iglesias pictured alongside his brother, Javier Sanchez-Santos.
Sanchez-Santos’ brother, Enrique Iglesias has yet to make a public comment about the judge’s ruling. For the record, at the time of writing, this was Enrique’s most recent Instagram post.
Famously in 2018, Enrique’s brother, Julio Jr., said of his father, “Don’t ask me how many brothers I have. I don’t even know myself.”
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