From Soccer to Stardom: The Stefano Bettarini Saga

A career between the soccer ball and TV for Stefano Bettarini, an Italian sex symbol who has occupied the pages of sports and gossip magazines for years. Now, the former soccer player has stepped out of the spotlight but, as he revealed himself: "I played for 17 years, and I spent another 17 in the world of entertainment. It's hard for people to forget me." His tumultuous story with Simona Ventura (married from '98 to 2008, 2 children, infidelities, and divorce) continues to be a topic of discussion. Met in Sardinia, it was she who made the first move and invited him on a date: "She did everything, including the separation. She's used to doing things her way," he accused in an interview with Corriere della Sera. And the infidelities? According to him, both were to blame. She, "media-wise stronger," made him out to be a womanizer, "the most convenient solution." If you prefer "career over family, sooner or later you pay the price." Words that leave little doubt: the two have never made peace. "Then it turned out that the separation actually happened due to her infidelity. I hired a private investigator, kept it hidden for a while but then I burst," Bettarini revealed. Social media and reality shows The fame of being a womanizer, however, continues to be fueled by him: "Beauty in soccer penalized me." When he tried to go to some top clubs, the response from the teams was always the same: "He's married to Simona Ventura, he'll only have dinners and events on his mind," he said. After almost 20 years in the world of soccer (between Serie A and B), the doors of TV opened: La Talpa, Quelli che il calcio, L'Isola dei Famosi, Grande Fratello. A total of 11 reality shows. "I started for fun," Bettarini explained, "to fill the void left by soccer. People liked me for my frankness, my honesty. I worked and they exploited me until the end." And now? "I don't miss the fame. I would live well even if people didn't stop me on the street, but unfortunately, that doesn't happen." He's "disappeared" on social media. On Instagram, the last post is from August 2023, a photo with Nicoletta Larini (22 years younger than him), together since 2017. "Social media is fiction, used to show oneself in a way that doesn't correspond to reality. I wanted to find myself again," concluded the former soccer player.