From Meeting at a Restaurant to ‘El Apagón,’ Here’s Bad Bunny and Gabriela Berlingeri’s Relationship Timeline
Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny has gone from relative obscurity to global superstardom in just a few short years. Throughout his career in the spotlight, Bad Bunny has been in a relationship with Gabriela Berlingeri, though their relationship was under wraps for years before they went public. Since then, Berlingeri has had her own part in Bad Bunny’s career.
Bad Bunny and Gabriela Berlingeri met at a restaurant in Puerto Rico
In 2017, Bad Bunny was a rising reggaetonero in Puerto Rico who caught the attention of Puerto Rican reggaeton legends Zion & Lennox. The duo invited Bad Bunny to perform as a surprise guest at one of their concerts.
After the concert, Bad Bunny went out to eat with his family when he met Gabriela Berlingeri. “I met her at some restaurant, while I was eating with my parents and my brothers,” he told Rolling Stone in 2020. “We started talking and from there, we continued to see each other.”
The two started dating shortly thereafter. In 2018, Bad Bunny teamed up with Bronx-bred Puerto Rican icon Jennifer Lopez for the collab “Te Gusté.” He told Rolling Stone that Berlingeri actually helped him in the recording process. “Nobody knows this, but when I did [‘Te Gusté’], the song with J.Lo, Gabriela recorded references for J.Lo’s vocals,” he said.
They took their relationship public after three years of dating
Their relationship was kept out of the limelight for three years, and it wasn’t until early 2020 when the two debuted publicly. At the time, Bad Bunny was quickly becoming one of the hottest names in music, having performed alongside Shakira in the Super Bowl LIV halftime show and released his smash album YHLQMDLG shortly thereafter.
He told Entertainment Tonight a few weeks later that he’s “in love,” but didn’t expand on the topic.
She’s been a part of his career
At the height of the pandemic in May 2020, Bad Bunny released the compilation album Las Que No Iban a Salir. The LP contained the song “En Casita,” a collaboration between Bad Bunny and Berlingeri.
He spoke about his life in quarantine with Berlingeri to Rolling Stone. “Do people really think I’m spending quarantine alone? No! I am with someone, she is very special in my life,” he said honestly. “This quarantine has made me understand that she is the best companion I could have.”
“I am happy with her,” he added. “[People] don’t know she has helped me a lot in emotional aspects when I needed it the most.”
For his May 2020 Rolling Stone cover story, Berlingeri shot the photos herself on an iPhone. In doing so, she became the first Latina to shoot the cover of Rolling Stone. “It was a cute couple’s activity,” Bad Bunny said of the shoot.
Later that year, rumors began swirling that the two were engaged after Berlingeri posted a video wearing a large diamond ring. But he shut down the marriage rumors in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, though he didn’t directly deny that he was engaged. “No, I’m not that married,” he said. “Maybe it can be that. But I think that weddings and get[ting] married scare me. A lot.”
She sang in his hit song ‘El Apagón’
In February 2022, Bad Bunny and Berlingeri became parents to an adorable puppy, announcing their new “child” in a TikTok.
Bad Bunny’s career continued to soar in 2022 with the release of his smash album Un Verano Sin Ti. One of the standout tracks was “El Apagón,” where he raps about Puerto Rico’s political and social situation as well as its frequent, highly-criticized blackouts.
At the end of the track, Berlingeri lends her voice once again to once of Bad Bunny’s tracks. She sings about her love for her homeland and the sun and beach, and wanted foreigners and gentrifiers out of her island.
“This is a song from the heart,” Bad Bunny told the New York Times of the track. “I didn’t want to get a famous artist. I wanted someone to sing it out of love, because it’s a sincere message.”
