Who is Fernando Alonso’s rumoured new girlfriend Melissa Jiménez?
FERNANDO Alonso separated from long-term girlfriend Andrea Schlager earlier this year, and has since been romantically linked with Taylor Swift.
And now rumours abound that the racing Romeo is dating the ex of a former Barcelona star — Melissa Jiménez.
Who is Melissa Jiménez?
Melissa María Jiménez Dionisio was born in Lieja, Belgium on June 26, 1987.
She used to be married to ex-Barca, now Real Betis defender Marc Bartra and has three kids with him.
The couple announced they had been separated for some time in January 2022.
Rumours of her dating Fernando Alonso surfaced earlier this year, but both have kept quiet about it and there has been no confirmation so far.
What does Melissa Jiménez do for a living?
Jimenez is a sports journalist who currently works for DAZN.
Melissa is a MotoGP nut who covers motorsport specifically and could have found romance with Alonso in the paddock.
She began her career at the television channel 25TV and has also worked for Sky’s Italian division on the programme Skysprt24h.
When were Fernando Alonso and Melissa Jiménez first rumoured to be dating?
In May 2023 Alonso was pictured with a fan and eagle-eyed social media users think sportscaster Melissa is in the background, fuelling rumours of the pair becoming a couple.
The Spaniard shared the news of splitting up with long-term girlfriend Andrea Schlager on Instagram just hours after his podium finish at the Australian Grand Prix on April 2.
Like Jiménez, Schlager is a sports commentator known for her work in Formula One and MotoGP — she met Fernando through her F1 commitments.
In a statement he wrote: “We wanted to tell you that our relationship as a couple ended.
“We have been lucky enough to share a fantastic time together, and it will continue to be so, but on a different form of affection.
“As you have probably seen, we have continued working on and off track on various projects together also during this time, and we will keep doing so with deep love and respect for each other.
“We thought it is appropriate to share this as you have all been very supportive. Thanks for that. Love Fer & Andrea.”
What other stars has Fernando Alonso been linked to in the past?
Alonso and singer Raquel Del Rosario — who was lead singer for Spanish rock band El Sueno de Morfeo — met in 2005 after she performed at a concert to mark his first F1 title.
The couple married secretly in 2006 but only confirmed it publicly two years later, and lived together in Oxford and Switzerland.
In 2011 they confirmed their break-up in a joint statement: “This has been a very thought about and mutual decision.
“We are separating from marriage, but never as friends, and there is still a very strong affection and mutual admiration to ensure the happiness of the other.”
After his split from Raquel, Alonso quickly moved on with former Miss Switzerland runner-up Xenia Tchoumitcheva.
The talented Russian model, who has a degree in economics, has had an even more colourful career than her ex.
After bagging an internship at JP Morgan, she was offered roles at Merrill Lynch and Duet Group, but decided to swap the stock market for the pop charts — releasing a rap single.
In 2012 Alonso found love with another Russian model — Dasha Kapustina.
The besotted pair were frequently seen together around the paddock, but after two years together their romance quietly fizzled out.
Alonso quickly fell head over heels after meeting journalist Lara Alvarez in December 2014, but by 2016 the 16-month relationship had come to an end.
Alonso’s next flame, Viki Odintcova, has no shortage of admirers in the sports world — even claiming she ignored Instagram DMs from Cristiano Ronaldo.
After being snapped supporting him at races in 2016, Fernando and Italian lingerie model Linda Morselli confirmed their relationship with an Instagram post the following year.
After half a decade together, the couple went their separate ways last year.
Alonso’s next relationship was with Andrea Schlager, who he announced his separation from in April 2023.
In May Spanish magazines began linking Alonso to pop star Taylor Swift, who was then newly-single.
The two-time world champion fuelled the flames when he posted a video of himself winking as he listened to her hit song Karma.