Jenni Rivera Married Thrice - Divorce from Her 3rd Husband Was Still Pending When She Died
Jenni Rivera had three husbands before her untimely death. Her tumultuous private life was fodder for her beloved music. Five children and an estranged husband survived her.
Jenni Rivera was a teen bride after she fell pregnant with her high school boyfriend. Her first husband is currently serving time after being found guilty of serious charges.
By at least one account, she was happier with her third spouse, who used to be a professional athlete. Unfortunately, that relationship was also heading to divorce court just before she died.
Jenni Rivera at the 2009 Billboard Latin Music Awards in Miami Beach, Florida. | Source: Getty Images
Jenni Rivera's First Spouse, José Trinidad Marín, Is Serving Time in Prison
Nothing is known about José Trinidad Marín's background or how he met the singer. She fell pregnant with his child at 15. She explained to a publication that in Mexican families when a couple falls pregnant outside of wedlock, they are as good as married. They had three children.
López was cheating on her with multiple women in the office.
Marín went on the run after he was charged with molesting his daughter and sister-in-law. Rivera fans called the authorities when he was seen on the street in Riverside, California, in 2006. He was sentenced to 31 years to life in prison the following year.
Jenni Rivera speaks during the 27th Annual Imagen Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 10, 2012, in Beverly Hills, California. | Source: Getty Images
Juan López, Jenni Rivera's Second Husband, Cheated on Her
Rivera met Juan López when their eyes met across the dance floor. Her brother helped him land a high-paying job at Fairchild Fasteners. He ran into trouble with immigration as an illegal alien who had committed a serious felony.
She married him on June 9, 1997, in a civil ceremony at Norwalk City Hall at the advice of a lawyer who said López would stay in the country if he married a US citizen. The star was four months pregnant with their child at the time.
The baby brought the pair closer together, and attending church regularly helped them attain peace. After a year of marriage, he father told her, on behalf of her brother, that López was cheating on her with multiple women in the office. This prompted their divorce.
Jenni Rivera and Esteban Loaiza at the Univisions 2010 Premio Lo Nuestro in 2010 in Miami, Florida | Source: Getty Images
Esteban Loaiza Was Good to Jenni Rivera
Rivera's last husband, Esteban Loaiza, treated her better than the previous two had. In her autobiography, she revealed that they had a healthy sex life. Born December 31, 1971, in Tijuana, Mexico, Loaiza made his professional baseball debut in 1995.
Throughout his career, the pitcher journeyman played for teams like the Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Rangers. He retired from the MLB in 2008.
Jenni Rivera and Esteban Loaiza, with her children Johnny Lopez, Janney 'Chiquis' Marin, Jenicka Lopez and Jacqui Marin at the premiere of 'I Love Jenni' Season 2 in 2012. in Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images
The couple separated on September 23, 2012, with Rivera filing for divorce on the first of the following month. Her publicist said "private circumstances that occurred during the lapse of their two-year marriage" contributed to the split.
As Loaiza did not respond to his estranged wife's filing, the divorce had not been granted when Jenni Rivera died a few weeks later. She, along with all the passengers aboard a Learjet 25, was killed when the plane crashed on December 9, 2012, in northern Mexico.