I may be completely out of line here......but I can't help but dislike the way Rafa is with his girlfriend. From the photos I've seen of him in the last few months, he barely even seems to really interact with her. And what is he doing in Ibiza on a boat with bikini clad women without her? Even if nothing is going on between him and those women, doesn't he think about how it looks from the outside? I don't get it.....he did that shakira video, then he posed with a topless model. They just aren't the sort of thing a guy in love would do....in my book anyway. To me it looks like he isn't in love with her anymore. But she is almost a part of his family so they just "are". She should dump him.....really. She deserves better.
Dinx. Me thinks your comments are a bit harsh to say the least. Rafa and Xisca spent time together in Barcelona prior to his vacation with his friends, so isn't that enough? Why do they have to be in each other's pockets all the time to prove they are in love? Have you not heard of the word "space"? In any event I dont believe I have ever seen her in any of the other vacations which Rafa takes with his friends this time of the year. Maybe she wasn't interested?
At the risk of stereotyping, I think Rafa and his family display quite a lot the Southern European way of the balance of the sexes ... men in one room, women in another ... that sort of thing. Rafa also always has a boys holiday at this time of year, and quite often has his boys' nights out. I don't know why he was joined with Roig and his wife, or this other Spanish sportswoman and her husband - when his other pals are flying solo too - but they just are.
I think Rafa struggles when he's papped out with Xisca and finds it uncomfortable. And I know I always publish these pictures on my blog but hey, I like to see them regardless. I'm sure, however that they're different together in private.
I'm not sure that I would personally be happy conducting a relationship the way they do, but if it's their way, and their tradition, it's up to them. I think they are a great match for each other.
Xisca is very much her own woman, she's never lived in Rafa's pocket, and didn't she spend the best part of a year working in London? Rafa is notoriously private, and probably finds it strange that anyone should be interested in him when he's off duty. I also think he's very protective of Xisca and her privacy, and I think there's a lot we don't see. Xisca comes across a a shy person, and even at tournaments where she often is a lot more than we see her, she's not one for courting the limelight...which is why it was strange to see her so early at Wimbledon this year....but now possibly we know why.
I reckon she trusts him....I can't see her hanging around if she didn't, no man, not even Rafa is worth that.
Denz, this wasn't the first year she was at Wimbledon right from the beginning. She was with him from the getgo last year too. Remember those pictures of them walking down the road from their house towards the club with his arm tossed around her shoulder while he talked with some guy on the left? Hmmm, given how his last two Wimbledons have gone, maybe they'll want to rethink their routine? ;)
I wasn't trying to be harsh. What do I know of there relationship anyway? What do any of us know really? We just make conclusions based on photos we see. My comments were based on the evolution of photos of them together over the years, rather than just these pictures. If you look at photos of them together 5yrs ago and then of them 2yrs ago and then more recently.....they all look very different. They become cooler. That's what I was talking about. That, and the fact that he poses with all these hot women and does hot videos with them. It's not something I understand. That doesn't mean it's wrong.
Dinx, I agree with you. When Rafa is with Xisca he doesn't even bother looking at her. They are just so distant that it doesn't look like a real relationship to me. It seems to me that Xisca is just the 'official girlfriend' for the public. Rafa is so happy to frolic with Shakira and pose with a naked woman for SI magazine and always has ladies hanging off him at clubs every night. I don't believe he and Xisca are for real. She just appears for certain photon opprtunities so that the media don't read anything into his private life. But, it's obvious that Rafa is not a one lady man. Xisca is probably paid to be the official girlfriend but his life is way more colourful than he likes to potray. Rafa is so happy with all these women check out his smile in all the photographs. When does he ever look happy with Xisca?. He plays the field, pure and simple. I used to think that Rafa was a good guy but over the years seeing all these women with him has changed my view of him and made me see that he is a typical man who gets around.
Rafa wasn't frolicking with Shakira, he appeared in her official music video. And why not? It was a one-off, no big deal. He posed with Bar for a photoshoot when she was topless, not naked, big difference. And, it was for commercial purposes, nothing seedy about it at all. He's not the first guy to appear with a topless model in a photoshoot. The ladies who hang off him at clubs do so for the purpose of having their picture taken with a Spanish tennis hunk, I would jump at the chance if it came my way.
Credit Xisca with some intelligence; if there's nothing in it for her, why is she still around? She doesn't need to be paid to be the 'girlfriend', she is earning an income in her own right. Loosen up and chill out.
I gotta say a few words about analyzing images. In their very long relationship we've seen a relative handful of photos, snaps of microseconds of public appearances, by these two shy people, one of whom is very protective of his family and friends and treasures his privacy. Among these photos are several, throughout the years, seeming to show deep mutual affection. It bears repeating, though, that the great majority of Rafa's private time is totally--TOTALLY--unknown to us, and rightly so.
This is the risk he takes for sharing any part of himself with his fans--people feel they know him more than they do, and it often leads to speculations, hypotheses, conclusions based on nearly nothing. Worse is making assumptions about behavior, feelings, and motives based on commercial appearances and private activities.
Judging others whom I know is a risky enough business. Judging someone I don't, from a culture markedly different than my own, is very unlikely to yield anything near the truth.
I've actually gotten the impression that their relationship has become more formalized (is that the right word?) I think it has become more official and that they are now living together. I've noticed that after he wins matches and tournaments, people approach her to congratulate her as one would a spouse. It used to be that his parents got the official pats on the back (and they still get their share) but it just seems to me that there has been a subtle change in the hierarchy of Rafa's box and Xisca is now the queen bee.
I agree with those who say that both Rafa and Xisca go to great lengths to keep their private life private. They definitely aren't the type who do magazine spreads together with their canine kids to get attention and if there are occasional group photos such as the lunch picture in Cozumel, Xisca is always discretely there by Rafa's side.
p.s. For years Rafa has always had a guy's week with his friends on a boat in the week after Wimbledon. The only year which was different was the year he played in Bangkok and he took his buddies to Thailand with him for that week instead. Marc! talked about it in an interview.
As for being photographed with Roig and his wife and the other couple, who's to say that they didn't just run into Roig and his friends on Ibiza and spent a bit of time with them as friends do and then Rafa carried on with his own buddies? A photo is but a snapshot of a brief moment in time and in no way gives a full picture of a situation..
It's the Nadal male attitude to their women. Sebastian won't sit with Ana Maria when they watch Rafa play, and Toni cant be bothered to marry the mother of his children (correct me if I'm wrong there); I've never seen Miguel Angel with his wife. I long to see happy pictures of Rafa and Xisca together, but it seems he prefers to hang out with the boys...hmmm...
Nice to see Rafa having a ball and relaxing!
ReplyDeleteI may be completely out of line here......but I can't help but dislike the way Rafa is with his girlfriend. From the photos I've seen of him in the last few months, he barely even seems to really interact with her. And what is he doing in Ibiza on a boat with bikini clad women without her? Even if nothing is going on between him and those women, doesn't he think about how it looks from the outside?
ReplyDeleteI don't get it.....he did that shakira video, then he posed with a topless model. They just aren't the sort of thing a guy in love would do....in my book anyway. To me it looks like he isn't in love with her anymore. But she is almost a part of his family so they just "are".
She should dump him.....really. She deserves better.
Dinx. Me thinks your comments are a bit harsh to say the least. Rafa and Xisca spent time together in Barcelona prior to his vacation with his friends, so isn't that enough? Why do they have to be in each other's pockets all the time to prove they are in love? Have you not heard of the word "space"? In any event I dont believe I have ever seen her in any of the other vacations which Rafa takes with his friends this time of the year. Maybe she wasn't interested?
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of stereotyping, I think Rafa and his family display quite a lot the Southern European way of the balance of the sexes ... men in one room, women in another ... that sort of thing. Rafa also always has a boys holiday at this time of year, and quite often has his boys' nights out. I don't know why he was joined with Roig and his wife, or this other Spanish sportswoman and her husband - when his other pals are flying solo too - but they just are.
ReplyDeleteI think Rafa struggles when he's papped out with Xisca and finds it uncomfortable. And I know I always publish these pictures on my blog but hey, I like to see them regardless. I'm sure, however that they're different together in private.
I'm not sure that I would personally be happy conducting a relationship the way they do, but if it's their way, and their tradition, it's up to them. I think they are a great match for each other.
Xisca is very much her own woman, she's never lived in Rafa's pocket, and didn't she spend the best part of a year working in London? Rafa is notoriously private, and probably finds it strange that anyone should be interested in him when he's off duty. I also think he's very protective of Xisca and her privacy, and I think there's a lot we don't see. Xisca comes across a a shy person, and even at tournaments where she often is a lot more than we see her, she's not one for courting the limelight...which is why it was strange to see her so early at Wimbledon this year....but now possibly we know why.
ReplyDeleteI reckon she trusts him....I can't see her hanging around if she didn't, no man, not even Rafa is worth that.
Denz, this wasn't the first year she was at Wimbledon right from the beginning. She was with him from the getgo last year too. Remember those pictures of them walking down the road from their house towards the club with his arm tossed around her shoulder while he talked with some guy on the left? Hmmm, given how his last two Wimbledons have gone, maybe they'll want to rethink their routine? ;)
DeleteI wasn't trying to be harsh.
ReplyDeleteWhat do I know of there relationship anyway? What do any of us know really?
We just make conclusions based on photos we see.
My comments were based on the evolution of photos of them together over the years, rather than just these pictures.
If you look at photos of them together 5yrs ago and then of them 2yrs ago and then more recently.....they all look very different. They become cooler.
That's what I was talking about. That, and the fact that he poses with all these hot women and does hot videos with them. It's not something I understand.
That doesn't mean it's wrong.
Dinx, I agree with you. When Rafa is with Xisca he doesn't even bother looking at her. They are just so distant that it doesn't look like a real relationship to me. It seems to me that Xisca is just the 'official girlfriend' for the public. Rafa is so happy to frolic with Shakira and pose with a naked woman for SI magazine and always has ladies hanging off him at clubs every night. I don't believe he and Xisca are for real. She just appears for certain photon opprtunities so that the media don't read anything into his private life. But, it's obvious that Rafa is not a one lady man. Xisca is probably paid to be the official girlfriend but his life is way more colourful than he likes to potray. Rafa is so happy with all these women check out his smile in all the photographs. When does he ever look happy with Xisca?. He plays the field, pure and simple. I used to think that Rafa was a good guy but over the years seeing all these women with him has changed my view of him and made me see that he is a typical man who gets around.
ReplyDeleteRafa wasn't frolicking with Shakira, he appeared in her official music video. And why not? It was a one-off, no big deal. He posed with Bar for a photoshoot when she was topless, not naked, big difference. And, it was for commercial purposes, nothing seedy about it at all. He's not the first guy to appear with a topless model in a photoshoot. The ladies who hang off him at clubs do so for the purpose of having their picture taken with a Spanish tennis hunk, I would jump at the chance if it came my way.
DeleteCredit Xisca with some intelligence; if there's nothing in it for her, why is she still around? She doesn't need to be paid to be the 'girlfriend', she is earning an income in her own right. Loosen up and chill out.
Indeed, Jackie. Thank you.
DeleteI gotta say a few words about analyzing images. In their very long relationship we've seen a relative handful of photos, snaps of microseconds of public appearances, by these two shy people, one of whom is very protective of his family and friends and treasures his privacy. Among these photos are several, throughout the years, seeming to show deep mutual affection. It bears repeating, though, that the great majority of Rafa's private time is
totally--TOTALLY--unknown to us, and rightly so.
This is the risk he takes for sharing any part of himself with his fans--people feel they know him more than they do, and it often leads to speculations, hypotheses, conclusions based on nearly nothing. Worse is making assumptions about behavior, feelings, and motives based on commercial appearances and private activities.
Judging others whom I know is a risky enough business. Judging someone I don't, from a culture markedly different than my own, is very unlikely to yield anything near the truth.
I've actually gotten the impression that their relationship has become more formalized (is that the right word?) I think it has become more official and that they are now living together. I've noticed that after he wins matches and tournaments, people approach her to congratulate her as one would a spouse. It used to be that his parents got the official pats on the back (and they still get their share) but it just seems to me that there has been a subtle change in the hierarchy of Rafa's box and Xisca is now the queen bee.
ReplyDeleteI agree with those who say that both Rafa and Xisca go to great lengths to keep their private life private. They definitely aren't the type who do magazine spreads together with their canine kids to get attention and if there are occasional group photos such as the lunch picture in Cozumel, Xisca is always discretely there by Rafa's side.
p.s. For years Rafa has always had a guy's week with his friends on a boat in the week after Wimbledon. The only year which was different was the year he played in Bangkok and he took his buddies to Thailand with him for that week instead. Marc! talked about it in an interview.
DeleteAs for being photographed with Roig and his wife and the other couple, who's to say that they didn't just run into Roig and his friends on Ibiza and spent a bit of time with them as friends do and then Rafa carried on with his own buddies? A photo is but a snapshot of a brief moment in time and in no way gives a full picture of a situation..
It's the Nadal male attitude to their women. Sebastian won't sit with Ana Maria when they watch Rafa play, and Toni cant be bothered to marry the mother of his children (correct me if I'm wrong there); I've never seen Miguel Angel with his wife. I long to see happy pictures of Rafa and Xisca together, but it seems he prefers to hang out with the boys...hmmm...
ReplyDelete