One of the greatest singers of Brazilian pop music, Gal Costa, passed away on Wednesday (9). The artist is survived by a 17yearold son, Gabriel, and his widow, businesswoman Wilma Petrillo. The singer has always been very discreet in her private life and did not usually appear next to her partner, with whom she has been living since 1998.
According to information from the newspaper Extra, Wilma Petrillo had a long personal and professional partnership with the singer from Bahia. Aside from their marriage, they were also partners in two companies and Petrillo was the person in charge of his wife’s career.
Gal was already living with Wilma when she adopted Gabriel, making the businesswoman the boy’s second mother. The three lived together with two golden retriever dogs in an apartment in the Bela Vista neighborhood of São Paulo.
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discretion
Averse to exhibitions, Gal Costa wasn’t used to talking about her private life, and while the singer even amassed a few relationships along the way, she’s always kept it discreet.
One of his relationships was with actress Lúcia Veríssimo (pictured above) who he dated in the 1980s. The singer was also married to businessman Marco Pereira between 1991 and 1992.
Singer Marina Lima revealed years ago that she lost her virginity to Gal Costa. She, in turn, did not want to see her sex life revealed and complained about her expartner’s statement. With that, Marina declared that she would not broach the subject again.
“I don’t bring up this topic anymore. I didn’t want to upset anyone. It was a shock to cause discomfort. I was even outraged. But everyone knows their own life,” Marina commented to O Globo newspaper in 2021.
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“Do what you want”
Although Gal Costa has been discreet about her personal life, she didn’t consider herself that discreet. In an interview with Folha de S. Paulo, the singer explained that she has never hidden her actions.
“Take the story. Newspapers can tell you everything about my life. I don’t hide anything from anyone, but I don’t talk about it (…). There is no homosexuality, heterosexuality, bisexuality, all this is a nomenclature invented by Freud. For me there is a sexual person. Just that. You gotta do what you want, when you want to do it,” Gal explained.
About the author
André Santana is a journalist, writer and cultural producer. He grew up with the “electronic nanny” and turned his passion for TV into a career in 2005 when he started the blog TeleVisão. Since then he has written about television in several specialist publications. He is the author of the book TeleVisão: A Televisão Brasileira em 10 Anos, published by EB Ações Culturais and Clube de Autores.
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