Gloria and Emilio Estefan Say 48 Years of Marriage Still Feels Like Their Wedding Was Yesterday

October 8, 2026

Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Cuban-American music's best-known couple, opened up about what keeps their marriage going in an interview with People magazine on Monday, October 6, 2026, in New York. They spoke at the 41st annual Great Sports Legends Dinner, a benefit that raises money for The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis and for research at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, as Infobae also reported.

Gloria, 69, noted that the couple has been together for 50 years and married for 48, yet said it honestly feels like an instant, as if they had married just yesterday. Emilio, 73, said keeping the spark alive takes daily intention: for him every day is an anniversary, and it matters to keep surprising each other and never forget to say "I love you." Gloria added that he makes her laugh even when he isn't trying to, and that the two are on the same page about values, priorities, music and business.

The Estefans' story began in Miami in 1975, when they met at a music session and Gloria began singing with the band Emilio played in, the seed of Miami Sound Machine. They married on September 2, 1978, and have two children, Nayib and Emily. On this year's anniversary, September 2, both posted tributes to each other on social media.

Over their careers, both have received stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2015 they were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Barack Obama.