Jenni Rivera Fans Are Coming to Learn More About the True Love of Her Life

Fans of the late Queen of Banda, Jenni Rivera, are coming to learn a lot about the "Inolvidable" singer through the Latin diva's television series, Mariposa de Barrio, which recently arrived on Netflix.

Based on Jenni's bestselling autobiography, Unbreakable: My Story, My Way, which was published posthumously following her 2012 death, Mariposa de Barrio is introducing many fans to aspects of Jenni's life they weren't familiar with before.

Jenni Rivera's boyfriend Fernando is one of the lesser-known parts of the diva's life that many viewers are coming to learn about. So, who exactly was "Fernie" and where is he today?

While Jenni Rivera's love life was frequently a topic of conversation, as she was married three times, the singer revealed that her one true love was actually Fernando "El Pelón" Ramírez, who was 10 years younger than her.

Nicknamed "El Pelón" due to his baldness, Fernando, who is now a musician who goes by Fernie, recalls his decade-long on-and-off relationship with Jenni fondly.

"He was the love of her life," Jenni's daughter Chiquis Rivera said, according to Latin Times, following the publication of Jenni Vive: Unforgettable, Baby!, a 200-page book that includes handwritten letters, never-before-seen photos, and unpublished pages from Jenni's journal.

In one of these photos, Jenni and Fernando are hugging. The late singer had written below it: "I present to you Fernie, my spiritual boyfriend. 'Mi pelón.' Why does God allow me to meet the love of my life and not be able to marry him?"

Jenni and Fernando met in 2003, while he was working as a promoter at a local radio station in Los Angeles. 

The then-23-year-old had recently gotten out of juvenile detention and said Jenni was understanding of his journey, and supported his dream of becoming a recording artist.

"She was everything," Fernando said in a 2019 interview with Billboard. "She was my soulmate. She was my best friend. That's what it was and I miss her a lot."

"I learned so much from Jenni about the music business," he continued. "It was my first serious relationship. It was about patience. It was tough at times ... being with someone so well-known."

These days, Billboard writes that the singer is hesitant to speak about his love for Jenni, and how much she motivated him while she was alive.

The recording artist has found some success in his regional Mexican music, and released his first commercial track "No Digan Nada De Mi" in 2019.

"He wonders what [Jenni's] fans and others will say when word gets out that he's launching a career in regional Mexican music and embracing banda music — similar to Rivera," Billboard writes.

"My music will have a Chicano twist," Fernando teased at the time. "We grew up in LA listening to banda music, and no one is bringing it out in a new way, but I want to change that. I'm going to write in a bilingual way, but still have traditional elements. I am going to do it. I hope they like my music."

Fernie's latest track, "When I Dream About You," was released in the summer of 2020, and we're excited to hear more.

Follow Fernando on Instagram at @fernieofficialig, and stream La Mariposa de Barrio on Netflix.