What Happened Between Alex Pereira & Ex-Girlfriend/Fiancee Merle Christine?

Alex Pereira may have found success inside the Octagon, becoming one of the biggest combat sports attractions today, but his struggles continued through his successes, particularly with his past troubled relationship. Having been together with his partner at that time for over a couple of years till 2023, and even getting engaged, things took a pretty drastic turn and things would even get a bit more public in the process.

Alex Pereira is returning to defend his title this weekend at UFC 313 against the formidable Magomed Ankalaev as the stakes couldn’t be higher for both fighters. As ‘Poatan’ has the chance to create more history in the 205-pound division, the Dagestan native would be looking to finally get the elusive light heavyweight gold. With Pereira being the fighter in focus here, let’s take a look at the man with the ‘hands of stone’ on a personal level, with a primary focus on his failed relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Merle Christine.

Why did Alex Pereira and Merle Christine break up?

Contrary to his stone-faced persona, Alex Pereira was seen smiling, laughing, and enjoying himself with his kids and then-girlfriend, Merle. He dated his ex-partner for two years and got engaged at the start of 2023. Only a month later, however, they were involved in a public breakup that shocked fans. In an interview in January last year, Pereira was asked about the breakup and his subsequent posts on socials. Shockingly, the Brazilian claimed that he decided to call it quits with Christine because she was married during their relationship. The shocking reason behind their split was that Pereira found out that she was already someone’s wife.

“Well, it’s a little hard to talk about this, because for me, I already deleted this person from my life. I would also like to ask my fans to also delete her from your life. It was a person I believed (in). I put her in my house together with my family. After all, I found out that she was married,” the UFC star said. And Merle Christine took to social media to speak up about their split, and she denied Pereira’s claims.

The two reportedly started dating around two years ago and became an integral part of each other’s lives, until they broke up at the end of 2023, with no trace of their relationship left on their social media handles. Pereira and Christine deleted pictures of their shared moments, and they proceeded to unfollow each other. The light heavyweight champion’s ex-girlfriend, Merle, made cryptic posts on his social media, hinting there was more to the story.

Now, people mostly talk about Alex Pereira, his fights and his outside-the-Octagon moments, and talk about his relationship have kind of taken a backseat. Hence, let’s take a look at the details of his current relationship status.

Is Alex Pereira still married? Relationship status

Apart from planning to marry Merle Christine before they broke up, Alex Pereira hasn’t tied the knot with anyone after that, which means he’s unmarried and single. His sole focus has been on his fighting career, which has quite literally paid dividends. 2024 being his most successful year, and it was then that he became the star he is today. Pereira could get on the same level as Conor McGregor soon enough if he can keep up his good work in the Octagon.

Despite being a single man, Alex Pereira still has a couple more members in his own family. The UFC light heavyweight champion is the father of two boys—Alessandro Vidal Silva and Lohan Vidal Silva. However, Merle Christine doesn’t seem to be their biological mother. So who is it then? Here’s what we know on that front.

Who is the mother of Alex Pereira’s kids?

Well, Alex Pereira’s kids have never been seen talking about their mother or ever been seen with her, as the identity of that woman remains a mystery to this day. Moreover, the exact date of his sons isn’t available in the public domain, but what we know is that both of them are teenagers. While fans have never talked about his mother, Pereira’s kids did come under attention after Israel Adesanya mocked them back at one of them at UFC 287 for mocking him when he lost to their father at GLORY.

Meanwhile, Alex Pereira has also never talked about the mother of his child, but guess what? Following his split with Merle Christine, ‘Poatan’ was linked with another woman. Surprisingly, it was none other than a fellow Brazilian fighter in the UFC. Let’s take a look at that front.

Other dating rumors in Alex Pereira’s life

Well, soon after the breakup, rumors arise from the depths of the combat sports community that Alex Pereira is dating his fellow UFC fighter, Polyana Viana. Why? Because both individuals started posting stories and posts on their Instagram handles back-to-back. The combat sports community was absolutely sure that both of the fighters were dating each other. However, the bubble of love rumors soon burst for the community as both Viana and Pereira unfollowed each other and removed all content related to one another.

The real reason behind their split is quite confusing, but apart from her, there has been no news about Alex Pereira being in a relationship after Merle. Regardless, does the light-heavyweight champion have any animosity towards Polyana Viana? Certainly not, as he respects her character. “Polyana is a very simple person. She is conquering her own space. I see a lot of potential in her,” said Pereira in a conversation with the media. 

“Whoever is in the UFC, their dream is to become a champion. And she said that’s my dream. I said me and my team could help her achieve her goal. She is very charismatic. I am not as charismatic… think the fact that her simplicity plays a big part in it.” 

Nevertheless, his professional fighting career is what most people will remember him for. What’s your take on Alex Pereira’s troubled life beyond combat sports? State your thoughts in the comments below.