Revealed: Pele's three wives and unknown number of kids

Pele with his first wife Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi.

The World on Thursday night lost a football icon in Pele.

Pele will forever be remembered for his World Cup heroics with Brazil that saw him lift the tournament a record three times. Even as tributes continue pouring in after his demise, many still wonder how Pele lived his life outside the pitch.

The late Pele trains at the Jamhuri park with AFC leopards in 1976. pic.twitter.com/1RlPAUkEUB

- The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) December 30, 2022

Interestingly, Pele admitted last year that he was unfaithful to all three wives of his; isn't aware of how many kids he has. Opening up in a 2021 Netflix documentary regarding his life and career, Pele admitted to having affairs while married and that some of those trysts resulted in the birth of children. Pele further claimed in the documentary that all his wives and girlfriends were aware of his infidelity.

Brazil's football legend and three-time World Cup winner Pele admitted that despite being married three times, he had more affairs than he could count and isn't aware of how many kids he fathered while often being unaware of their existence.

Pele was married three times during his life, first in 1966 to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi with whom he had daughters Kely and Jennifer as well as son Edinho.

Pele with gospel singer Assiria Lemos Seixas.

They divorced in 1982. He later married gospel singer Assiria Lemos Seixas, who gave birth to twins Joshua and Celeste in 1996, with Pele also fathering the late Sandra Machado, which was confirmed by a court-ordered DNA test, as well as Flavia with journalist Lenita Kurtz. Pele went on to marry for a final time in 2006 to Marcia Aoki, a Japanese-Brazilian importer of medical equipment whom he first met in the 1980s.

Pele says in the new documentary: "In all honesty, I've had a few affairs, some of which resulted in children, but I've only learned about them later."

Among all the known kids, Pele fathered seven kids. Pele further claimed in the documentary that all his wives and girlfriends were aware of his infidelity.

He said: "My first wife, first girlfriend, knew about it. I never lied." The legend had been battling a respiratory infection during his cancer fight in the Sao Paulo hospital, passing away due to multiple organ failure as a complication of colon cancer.