Model Joana Sanz has revealed she is pregnant with a baby girl, just days after her husband, former Barca defender Dani Alves, had his sexual assault conviction overturned.
Joana Sanz, 32, posted an ultrasound of her first child on Instagram to her nearly one million followers on March 31. But in the post, she spoke mainly about her struggles to conceive and her three miscarriages. "I didn't want to say anything until things were clearer, but I wanted to share this with those who are in the same situation," Dani Alves' wife said.
The beauty said she was asked "when are you going to have a baby" since she was 22 years old, and it became a scary social pressure. Joana Sanz confided that at that time she did not desire to have children or want to be pregnant. "Five years ago, I was very scared when thinking about becoming a mother, afraid that a living being would depend on me, afraid that I would not be able to work, afraid that I would lose myself," the pregnant woman confided.
Joana Sanz revealed that at the age of 27, she had undergone two IVF procedures, three miscarriages and most recently had her fallopian tubes removed due to endometriosis. "The disappointment and the fact that 'everyone' miraculously got pregnant haunted me. I was used to achieving what I set out to do with hard work, effort and perseverance, but this was not like that," the beauty said.
Joana Sanz added: "I lost my mother two years ago. I had no parents or siblings, and the feeling of being orphaned and empty haunted me until the day I heard my baby's heartbeat for the first time. My last frozen embryo, my last hope for a strong reason in life. Now she is here, healthy and growing." The beauty believes her mother sent her baby so she would never feel alone. Last year she also confessed that she felt "annoyed" when asked when she would have a child.
Joana Sanz announced the happy news just days after four judges of the Catalan High Court overturned her husband Dani Alves' sexual assault conviction. The incident took place at a luxury nightclub in Barcelona in December 2022. Dani Alves was arrested in 2023 and sentenced to four and a half years in prison early last year. But just over a month after his conviction, he successfully appealed and was released on bail.
After her husband was cleared, Joana Sanz posted on Instagram that she felt like she was the one being tried: "I have been isolated, humiliated, threatened and pursued for two years. As if I was the one standing in the dock. Despite the damage from the media and public opinion, I have stood firm, not lacking a job like many people want, loyal to my beliefs and defending what I think without being influenced by others," she said.
Joana Sanz added: "I hope people stop venting hatred on people you know nothing about. Learn and educate yourself, so you don't have to bite your tongue, which can sometimes have unpredictable consequences."
Dani Alves' accuser plans to appeal to the Spanish Supreme Court.
Joana Sanz and the Brazilian defender have been dating since 2015 and married in 2017. Dani Alves has two children with his first wife. The couple enjoyed a rich and happy life as a newlywed couple before Dani Alves was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a young woman in a nightclub in Barcelona in late 2022. At first, Joana Sanz defended her husband but later filed for divorce. However, the two have not officially gone their separate ways. When the former defender, born in 1983, was released on bail, the couple rekindled their old romance.
Before the scandal, Dani Alves was known as one of the best defenders in football, the second most successful defender in the world with 43 collective titles, two titles behind leader Lionel Messi. Dani Alves was successful in both club colors at Barca, PSG, Juventus and the Brazilian national team.