EXCLUSIVE: Wander Franco’s wife is identified for the first time as childhood sweetheart Rachelly Paulino, 21, as Tampa Bay Rays’ sensation awaits outcome into probe over relationship with underage girls

Accused baseball sensation Wander Franco has always kept his mystery wife out of the spotlight and never mentioned her in interviews — but today DailyMail.com can reveal that she is 21-year-old Rachelly Paulino.

The Tampa Bay Rays shortstop, who is under investigation for an alleged relationship with an underage girl in his native Dominican Republic, married Paulino after the 2021 MLB season.

Franco has never mentioned Rachelly’s name in public, although the 22-year-old All-Star has proudly boasted of his namesake, first son Wander Samuel Franco Jr. who was born in 2018.

The couple welcomed another son in 2022, and DailyMail.com can reveal that Franco bought a $1.55 million five-bedroom home in an upscale Tampa neighborhood in May of this year.

Paulino and Franco are both from Bani, a city on the southern coast of the Dominican Republic, 105 kilometers from the capital Santo Domingo, and seem to have been an item since their early teens.

Franco’s mother Nancy Aybar proudly posted a photo of the then 15-year-old birthday girl on Facebook on Sept. 10, 2016, with a slightly different spelling of her first name. She also affectionately called her “daughter-in-law.”

She wrote: “Today is the birthday of a very special person to me, she is Rachely Paulino my dear, may God pour many blessings upon you daddy and may he make you a good wife and may he lead you on the right path . Congratulations, my daughter-in-law.’

On the same day, the girlfriend of the then teen, Ymanolisse Mejia Garo, posted a long gushing message in Spanish that read, “September 10, 2001, today 15 years ago Rachelly Paulino Aristy was born, my love, my sister, my partner… we’ve been through it so much in our friendship that we’ve reached the point where we’re inseparable.’

Written over a photo of the couple with their faces smeared with what appears to be white cream, she continued: “Wow honey I still can’t believe you are finally 15 years old and that I met you when I was 11 your friendship is so valuable and important to me.’

A close relative of Rachelly – contacted by DailyMail.com about the allegations surrounding Wander – said she saw the young woman grow up. But she added: “I have no opinion” on the claims or the state of the couple’s marriage.

Franco, who signed an 11-year, $182 million deal in 2021, dramatically agreed to be placed on the Rays’ restricted list after Spanish-language posts on social media site X, formerly called Twitter, went viral on Saturday night and went viral on Sunday. used to go .

As a result, he was sidelined on this week’s six-game road trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The reports alleged that he had an inappropriate relationship with a minor – and two days later, the attorney general’s office in his home country allegedly received a complaint about Franco from a second girl, aged 17, in July. The age of consent in the Dominican Republic is 18 years.

Now his future in the game is unclear. Dominican journalist Hector Gomez posted on social media a quote from “a person very close to the investigations into the Wander Franco case.”

“It will be very unlikely that Wander Franco will play in MLB again, judging by the results of the investigations currently being conducted, which tie him directly to the allegations against him,” it read.

The baseball hero sat in the dugout for the first five innings of the Rays’ game at St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field against the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday and then left.

Just before the match, he posted an Instagram live stream at the stadium, urging in Spanish: “They say I’m hanging out with a young girl, that I’m walking around with a minor.

‘How crazy is that, dude? People don’t know what to do with their time.

“These people need to move. One is focused here, doing my thing, you see, thanks to God. That’s why I prefer to be on my side and I don’t interfere with anyone because people gossip so much.’

Ray’s teammate Jose Siri then walked into the recording yelling “people after money.”

Franco also allegedly privately told teammates that he was not in an inappropriate relationship with a minor.

His denial comes as MLB investigators and officials from the Office of the Attorney General of the Dominican Republic are reportedly in Bani to investigate the allegations.

The investigation is led by magistrate Olga Dina Llaverias, head of the National Directorate of Boys, Girls, Adolescents and Family.

Under MLB’s Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Policy, the commissioner can place an accused player on paid administrative leave for up to seven days while an investigation takes place.

The Rays said in a statement on Sunday night: “During today’s game, we were made aware of the social media reports circulating about Wander Franco.

“We are taking the situation seriously and are in close contact with Major League Baseball as it conducts its due diligence.”

Franco, who wears number 5 for the Rays, has not been seen in public since the allegations came out.

DailyMail.com can reveal that he and Rachelly have yet to move into their five-bedroom, four-bathroom home in Tampa, which has 4,286 living spaces and was built in 2011. In the back, there’s an oval-shaped pool as part of the one-quarter lot hectares.

However, the building’s impressive colonnade frontage seems at odds with the somewhat unkempt driveway and vegetation. But locals say they saw contractors working on a renovation.

A neighbor said, “I haven’t seen Franco there in a while. They’ve had people working.

“I’ve had to complain about all the dust his men made cutting marble.”

At the beginning of this week, there was no sign of contractor activity at the property. Franco bought the pillow for $1.55 million after it originally went on the market for $1.8 million in September 2022.

He was famous from an early age and he was only 18 when he proudly showed an ESPN interviewer a tattoo on his left arm and said, “This is my son.” Wander Samuel Franco Jr. was then nine months old in June 2019.

Franco – called El Patron (The Boss) by friends and then “the best player in baseball” by pundits – added, “It’s a big responsibility. I have to hit. The boy needs a lot of milk.’

He said he had not seen the boy’s child or mother in four months due to baseball commitments, but did not name her.

That was two years after he signed a $3.825 million deal as a 16-year-old with the Rays, which saw him play in the minor leagues before making his major league debut for the Florida team against the Boston Red Sox in June. . 2021.

Four months later, he won his $182 million deal at age 20, becoming the youngest player in baseball history to sign a contract worth more than $100 million. And the Rays can exercise a team option that can grow the deal to $223 million.

Franco comes from a family steeped in baseball history – dropping out of school after sixth grade so he could train to become a professional player.

Mother Nancy’s brothers Erick and Willy Aybar both played in the MLB – with shortstop Erick playing for the Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres. Infielder Willy played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and cousin Wander’s team Tampa Bay.

His father, also known as Wander, played in the minor leagues, as did Wander brothers Javier Franco, 28, and Wander Alexander Franco, 26.