“The Untold Story of Chris Pérez and His Life After Selena’s Tragic Death”
Chris Pérez was famously married to Tejano star Selena Quintanilla before she was killed in 1995. Yolanda Saldivar was convicted of Selena’s murder, and Oxygen will air a docuseries interviewing her from prison almost 30 years later.
Who is Chris Pérez?
Christopher Gilbert Pérez is an American guitarist, songwriter, and author best known as the lead guitarist for Selena y Los Dinos. He was famously married to lead singer Selena Quintanilla who has been heralded as “The Queen of Tejano music” and ranks among the most influential Latin artists of all time. Selena’s father Abraham Quintanilla disapproved of the relationship, but the two got married against his will.
“I think the main reason [her father was unhappy] was it kind of hurt his pride and his ego to find out that he was the last to know. And when things got tense and things were said by him, it hurt me that he was saying it. But I didn’t let it get to me because I knew deep down he knew the kind of person I was,” Pérez told CNN. “The worst thing he said to me was that I was like a cancer to his family. His family knew about us being together and was supportive; when he said that it was like, ‘C’mon!’”
How long were Selena and Chris together?
Selena and Chris married in 1992. She was killed in 1995 at just 23 years old by Yolanda Saldívar, who had been president of a Selena fan club. Selena’s father, Abraham, had discovered that Saldívar had embezzled over $60,000 from the fan club and the boutiques through forged checks. Saldívar shot Selena in the shoulder, severing a major artery. The singer later died in hospital from major blood loss. Pérez married Vanessa Villanueva in 2001, six years after Selena’s passing. The couple had two children, Noah and Cassie, before splitting in 2008.
Where is Chris now?
Chris Pérez is an author and is also still performing. He continues to honor Selena’s posthumous legacy. In 2012, he released a successful book about their relationship titled To Selena, with Love.
“My life has gone on. More than anything, I am grateful to Selena for teaching me the meaning of love,” he wrote. “I was fortunate enough to be able to marry again and have children. I wish that I could have had a family with Selena, as we had always planned; still, I know that Selena was the one who made this possible for me. She showed me how to drop my guard and embrace life.”