Cristiano Ronaldo's girlfriend Georgina Rodríguez reveals their early relationship struggles: 'I was absent'

Cristiano Ronaldo and his model girlfriend Georgina Rodríguez stopped speaking in their first few months of dating after she faced a terrible family emergency.

Rodríguez, 28, has just launched a new Netflix series about her life titled I Am Georgina — in the very first episode she and her star athlete boyfriend reveal the reality of their first, famous meeting at the Gucci store in Madrid in 2016.

Watch the full Netflix trailer above.

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At the time, Georgina was a salesperson at the store, and Ronaldo, 36, was Real Madrid's star player. He'd stopped by the store to browse, along with his son Junior.

In the first episode, 'The Day that Changed My Life', interviews from Georgina and Ronaldo see the pair recall the day, with Ronaldo even claiming it was the moment Georgina "got stuck in his head".

"That's when she got stuck in my head. That's the honest truth," he says. "We started talking more, and things were progressing naturally, it wasn't quick, because it took us about two months, and during that time we didn't really see each other."

Georgina adds that it was difficult in those early days because the football star was so busy: "He had a lot of games, the national team."

But she then reveals a more shocking family event: "Then, what happened with my father I was away for a bit, I was absent...well I was sad."

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In 2016, Georgina's father suffered a stroke — he died just three years later.

The model reveals that a while later the pair bumped into each other at a different event. "He asked me for dinner, I thought, 'Finally, my chance has come'," she says.

During the dinner dater, the pair's hands brushed and Georgina reveals that was the moment she knew Cristiano would be her match.

"I felt as if those hands had been with me many times before. His hands felt familiar. They fit mine perfectly."

In 2017 the pair became official, and Georgina's life completely transformed. They welcomed their daughter Alana Martina dos Santos Aveiro in November that year. Later in the episode, she reflects on what life is like now.

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"Five years ago, my life changed. Thanks to love, my life is now a dream. Nothing in life has come easy. I know what it is to have nothing and to have everything," she says.

Ronaldo also shares some adorable reflections, saying he is "completely in love" with Georgina.

"I didn't think at the beginning that it would be this strong, that I would fall in love with her … I didn't expect it honestly but, after a while, I felt like she was the woman of my life."