Claudia Rodriguez, girlfriend of Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella, drives two hours every morning to take her autistic son Mateo to school and then another two hours to pick him up.
Rio and Bella. Their eldest son, Mateo, 4, has been diagnosed with autism. The mother-of-three spoke about her journey raising her autistic son on Married to the Game, a reality TV show about the lives of the wives and girlfriends of Premier League footballers.
"We noticed Mateo was different from other children when he was 13 months old, but it took a long time to get a proper diagnosis," Rodriguez said on the show, which aired on April 8. "When Mateo was younger, it was easier, but as he got older, it got harder. When we moved to Chelsea, Mateo started school and he was very upset. We didn't know what to do. You have to figure it out on your own and you feel bad because you're not prepared for it." She added: "You're prepared to be a mother, but you're not the mother of an autistic child, so you feel bad. It's hard to see him like that, very upset, and we're just trying to figure out the best solution."
Rodriguez decided to find a special school for Mateo: "I found a great place in London where they understood Mateo and his needs, so we moved him there and life changed completely."
Initially, Rodriguez had to drive two hours every morning to take Mateo to school and another two hours to pick him up. After their home in Cobham was burgled, Rodriguez decided to move to London so that Mateo could get to school more conveniently.
Regarding Mateo's current situation, Rodriguez said: "Mateo is fine. He says a few words now and then, repeats them, and we are continuing to help him. We don't know what the future holds for him, but we are doing our best. I don't know if he will ever speak. I don't know anything, but we are trying to do everything for him. I went to Madrid a week ago to do some tests, we are always trying to find a solution, and that's the best we can do."
Chelsea star's girlfriend also recounted the terrifying experience of her house being burgled. She said: "Marc was upstairs in the shower with Mateo, I was pregnant with Bella, and I went upstairs to get a bottle for Rio, I was holding the baby on my hip. When I went into the room, I saw two doors closed and a light on in the wardrobe, it didn't look right. It wasn't the way we usually left it. I opened the door and there was a person in there with a bag, looking at me. And I knew exactly what was going on. I was so scared. I was pregnant and had two children in the house."
She continued: "I ran downstairs to press the alarm and shouted for Marc. We waited in the laundry room and called the police, called people to come and help, and it was terrifying. It was hard to sleep for the next days, even the next months. I couldn't go anywhere alone. I always needed someone to accompany me."
Marc Cucurella was born in 1988, is a Spanish football star. Growing up in Barcelona's youth team, the defender with his signature curly hair moved to Chelsea in 2022 after playing for Getafe, Eibar and Brighton. He won the Copa del Rey with Barca in 2018, Olympic silver medal with Spain U23 in 2020 and Euro 2024.