During her 40 years in the spotlight, Ana Obregon has been no stranger to controversy.
In the early 1990s, she set Spanish media alight when news of her affair with King Juan Carlos’ nephew Alessandro Lecquio broke.
When she fell pregnant with their son, Aless, the Italian aristocrat was still technically married to model Antonia Dell’Atte, whom he shares son Clemente with.
In 2003, the actress sparked a WAG war when she sensationally claimed to have shared a bed with David Beckham, who was 21 years her junior, while he was playing for Real Madrid – an allegation the father-of-four has always denied.
Now, the socialite has found herself in the centre of a national media storm after she announced the arrival of her daughter Ana via a US surrogate. In Spain, it is currently illegal to use surrogates.
Ana pictured attending the Cancer Ball charity dinner hosted by Elle magazine in Madrid on October 20, 2022
Ana confirmed that she has become a mother again at the age of 68. Sharing a photo of the Hola! front page with her 1m Instagram followers, she wrote: ‘They caught us! A light full of love came to my darkness. I will never be alone again. I HAVE LIVED AGAIN’
Ana’s new bundle of joy comes just three years after she tragically lost her only son Aless – whom she shared with ex Alessandro Lecquio – to cancer at the age of 27.
Last night, the proud mother confirmed the happy news with her 1m Instagram followers by posting a picture of leaving the US hospital with her daughter, which has featured on Hola! magazine’s latest front page.
She wrote: ‘They caught us! A light full of love came to my darkness. I will never be alone again. I HAVE LIVED AGAIN.’
Here FEMAIL takes a look back at Ana’s life in the spotlight and how she’s found happiness as a mother again following a period of tragic losses.
Rise to fame and becoming a mother
The socialite was born in Madrid in March 1955 to parents Antonio and Ana Garcia.
Her father Antonio had left school at age of 12 and took a job cleaning pigsties – later going to make his fortune founding the construction company Jotsa.
Although the star has rarely discussed her childhood, the mother-of-two – who was one of five children – opened up about her happy upbringing while paying tribute to her late father Antonio earlier this year.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘I was lucky to have an exceptional, hardworking, loving and demanding father. Thank you dad for opening me and mom the doors of life.’
Undated photo shows Ana with her late parents Antonio and Ana. Her parents died within just five months of each other last year
Ana pictured in Monaco in 1988. Four years before, she starred in the romantic drama Bolero opposite Bo Derek
Ana Obregon and Italian aristocrat Alessandro Lecquio in 1991. The couple embarked on an affair when he was still married to model Antonia Dell’Atte
Before taking up a career in acting, Ana reportedly obtained an MA in Biology from Complutense University of Madrid as her father was not sold on the idea of her becoming an actress.
However, in 1981, the 27-year-old made her big screen debut when she appeared in Jules Verne’s Mystery on Monster Island.
That said, she is best known for playing Catalina in the 1984 romantic drama Bolero – opposite Bo Derek and George Kennedy.
In the 1980s, Ana was also linked to the late Argentinian football player Diego Armando Maradona.
Speaking to Hola, she explained: ‘It’s true that he sent me flowers when I played in Spain. He sent them to my parents’ house because I lived with them.
‘Then we met in Los Angeles, he was a genius and I was fond of him but nothing romantic For my part, I only felt friendship. I have never had an affair with Maradona.’
The actress also raised her profile in Spain as a model and had several swimwear photoshoots published in newspapers and magazines. From 1993 until 2008, she hosted the TV series What’s the Bet?
In 1990, Anna began a passionate affair with Italian aristocrat Alessandro Lecquio, who is the nephew of disgraced Spanish monarch King Juan Carlos.
Ana pictured arriving at Mallorca airport with son Alex Lequio in August 1999. He tragically died of cancer in 2020
Ana went on to date Croatian footballer Davor Suker for three years from 1996. She reportedly broke it off as she didn’t want to move to the UK when he signed with Aston Villa
Alessandro was still married to the model Antonia Dell’Atte at the time of their first meeting in at a Chanel party in Madrid, according to Telle Report. In 1993, the couple welcomed their son Aless.
Although the couple later split, she sang his praises during an appearance on the TV show My House.
Highlighting how supportive he was during Aless’ period of ill health, Ana said: ‘He has always been there.’
Following her break-up with Alessandro, Ana went on to date Croatian footballer Davor Suker in 1996.
While appearing on a Spanish culinary show, Ana claimed that Davor, who was playing for Real Madrid at the time, had proposed to her – but his romantic gesture didn’t go quite to plan.
She said; ‘Poor Davor put the ring in a glass of wine, so how could I have guessed that?
‘We had dinner at the famous restaurant Txistu, I drank the wine and in the end I almost choked.
Ana famously claimed to have shared a bed with David Beckham in 2005. She claims they bumped into each other at a five-star hotel when he was playing for Real Madrid
‘We almost called the emergency room because the ring got stuck in my throat.’
After three years together, Showbuzz reports that the couple split in 1999 because Ana didn’t want to move to the UK after Davor signed with Aston Villa.
However, this wasn’t the last time Ana was linked to a high-profile footballer.
David Beckham allegations and feud with Victoria
In 2005, Ana made international headlines when she claimed she shared a bed with David Beckham at the five-star hotel they were both staying at.
Appearing on Spanish TV at the time, she said: ‘There were no sexual relations but we did sleep together. I’m telling you the truth.
‘Why didn’t I sleep with him? I know I’m stupid and any woman would have done it, but I swear on my son’s life we did not have sexual relations, because he was married.
‘I swear on my son’s life that I slept with him in my underwear, but there was no sex. I don’t know how I managed to hold out, but I held out.’
Obregon (pictured left in 2005) claims she spent the night with David Beckham (pictured right in 2005) when he played for Real Madrid
In 2017, Ana claimed that Victoria Beckham ‘almost pulled her hair out’ during a TV interview.
The Spanish celebrity claimed: ‘She approached me and said a lot of things, none of which were nice.
‘She was angry because her husband wouldn’t stop sending me messages, and I was replying to them.’
In another Spanish TV interview in 2019 looking back on her life and romances, Ana described Beckham as a ‘fantastic kisser.’
She also claimed in the same interview Victoria Beckham had confronted her at her gym with two bodyguards over her relationship with her husband, appearing to confirm reports at the time the ex-Spice Girl had called her a ‘piece of s**t’ in front of stunned onlookers.
Ana (pictured in 2019) claimed that Victoria Beckham ‘almost pulled her hair out’ during a TV interview
In 2003, Victoria reportedly told Ana to ‘leave David alone’ and said she should ‘start acting her age’
In 2003, a source who allegedly overheard the interaction claims Victoria told Ana: ‘Why would he be interested in an old lady like you? Leave my husband alone.’
Taking aim at the hot pants Ana was wearing to the gym, Victoria is also said to have told her: ‘Go get some clothes and act your age.’
David Beckham’s relationship with another woman, his former PA Rebecca Loos, made more headlines while he played for Real Madrid.
The pretty brunette, who is now happily married with children and lives in Norway, did a lucrative newspaper and TV kiss-n-tell about their alleged affair.
The footballer and his wife put on a defiant front in the face of the Rebecca Loos allegations and sources close to the couple laughed off Obregon’s claims at the time, branding them ‘ludicrous’ and virtually accusing the actress of stalking the former England captain for publicity.
Losing Aless
In 2018, Ana’s world was turned upside down when her son Aless was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma – which is a rare type of cancer affecting the bones or the tissue around the bones.
By the time he was 23, Aless has already founded two companies – an agency called Polar Marketing as well as Celebrize.
But in the three months leading up to his diagnosis, Ana told My House that her son has been experiencing stomach pain – which doctors originally assumed was gastroenteritis.
Aless last pictured attending Petite Charhadas Fashion Week in April 2019. He passed away at the age of 27 in May 2020
After he went into hospital for some tests, doctors found a tumour during emergency surgery – and doctors allowed her and Alessandro to break the news to their son.
Although the medical team were originally hopeful that the tumour was benign, a biopsy revealed that it was in fact cancerous.
She explained: ‘They called me and told me that [the tumour was] bad and very aggressive.
‘That’s when I told myself not to cry and be strong. Let’s fight now. I was strong there when my son needed me, not now.’
Posting on her Instagram earlier this year, Ana explained how she and her ex-partner came together to support Aless throughout his life.
She said: ‘My son adored his parents as much as we loved him.
‘And if there’s one thing I don’t regret in my life is not to put my separation from Alessandro first so that he would always be in my son’s life.
Ana pictured with her late son Aless as a child. When she announced his tragic death in 2020, Ana said: ‘My life died out.’
Ana shared this heartwarming photo with her mother when she posted an Instagram tribute to her in May 2022
Ana lost her father Antonio in September 2022. She wrote on her social media: ‘The three people I love the most in my life are not here with me and I swear, Dad, I don’t know how I’m going to do it.’
‘I have been extremely lucky to collect millions of wonderful moments with my son and my son with his father.’
According to Hola! Spain, Aless spent seven months receiving experimental treatment at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
But sadly, Aless lost his battle with cancer in May 2020 – leaving his parents devastated.
Announcing the tragic news on Instagram at the time, Ana wrote: ‘My life died out.’
In honour of her son, the actress has gone on to found the Aless Lequio foundation in his memory to raise money for cancer research in Spain.
One year later, Ana’s mother passed away at the of 95. Sharing a tribute on Instagram, Ana said: ‘Thank you for being my example of a mother, generosity and love. I miss my best friend and partner in crime so much!!
‘Please forgive me, I still don’t have the strength to enter your grief. But I know how you are a mother you understand me better than anyone. I love you forever and ever.’
The following year, Ana’s father Antonio then passed away at the age of 96.
She wrote on her social media: ‘The three people I love the most in my life are not here with me and I swear, Dad, I don’t know how I’m going to do it.’
Earlier this month, Ana appeared on the Spanish TV show The Country and told journalist Luz Sanchez Mellado: ‘I don’t feel. I have zero desire for anything. I have lost my son, my mother and my father in two years.
‘My tears for my son have not dried and I have not cried any for my parents yet. Now I’m just a mother who has lost a child.’
Becoming a mother again
Ana (pictured in 2017) became a mother again at the age of 68 when she welcomed her daughter via a US surrogate
However, Ana hit international headlines again this week when she confirmed the birth of her daughter.
The actress is said to have called her daughter, born nine days ago at the Memorial Regional Hospital in Florida, Ana.
Only her two sisters and Alex’s dad, Swiss-born actor and Spanish TV regular Alessandro Lequio, are understood to have been kept informed of Obregon’s surrogacy baby plans.
The report of surrogacy reignited a controversy in Spanish society, with three government ministers publicly criticising the move despite it being legal as the magazine said it had occurred abroad.
Irene Montero, Spain’s left-wing equality minister, responded to the news by saying surrogacy equated to poverty discrimination, adding ‘It is legally recognised in our country as a form of violence against women.’
Her critical comments were echoed by Presidency Minister Felix Bolaños and Budget Minister Maria Jesus Montero.
‘Women’s bodies should neither be bought nor rented to satisfy anyone’s desires,’ Bolaños said.
Model Antonia Dell’Atte (pictured in February 2023) appeared to take a swipe at her former love rival on Instagram
Alessandro Lecquio has so far declined to comment but his ex-wife Antonia Dell’Atte, in an Instagram post from Miami which Spanish press have described as a thinly-veiled attack on Obregon, wrote: ‘I love Miami.
‘It’s so big you can avoid having to meet pathetic and unbearable people who above all are selfish and egocentric.’
Commercial surrogacy is a contract whereby a woman agrees to become pregnant and deliver a child on behalf of people in exchange for financial compensation.
Critics equate it to human trafficking and the United Nations describes it as the ‘sale of children under human rights law’. It is illegal in the European Union.
Defenders of surrogacy say it is a way for LGBT and infertile couples, as well as single parents, to form families, allowing for more involvement throughout the pregnancy than traditional adoption.
Due to restrictions in their home countries, people seeking to have a surrogate child often travel to other nations with laxer laws.
Italy’s conservative majority said this week it would seek to prosecute people who go abroad to have a baby via surrogacy.
Last year’s Spanish abortion law reform also banned advertising any form of surrogacy. Parentage after surrogacy is only recognised through legal adoption.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
