Santana's Wife Quits the Game of Love

Rocker's wife of 34 years filed for divorce last month, citing irreconcilable differences; Deborah Santana revealed that her hubby had been unfaithful in her 2005 memoir

By Natalie Finn Nov 03, 2007 3:54 AMTags

There's at least one person who doesn't want to perform a duet with Carlos Santana.

Deborah Santana, the revered guitarist's wife of 34 years, filed for divorce on Oct. 19, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split, according to the petition filed in Marin County Superior Court.

The couple's split is "a private matter and there is no comment," publicist Michael Jensen said.

They have three children together, son Salvador, whose eponymous band toured Europe with his dad last year, and daughters Angelica and Stella.

Santana himself acknowledged some of those "irreconcilable differences" after the release of his wife's 2005 memoir, Space Between the Stars, in which she wrote about her husband's infidelities.

"I sincerely apologized to her and to my kids when I wasn't in my right mind and did something hurtful," the 60-year-old rocker said at the time. "It has helped me become more humble and to try harder to be the man she wants me to be."

Santana told Rolling Stone in 2000 that, without Deborah, he'd "probably be a hobo." The duo, who earlier this year announced plans to open several Mexican restaurants in the San Francisco Bay area, formed the nonprofit Milagro Foundation to benefit underprivileged children in 1998.

While Santana made his bones during the psychedelic 1960s and 1970s, when San Francisco was the hotspot for innovations in rock and jazz, younger generations know him from his star-studded duet albums—his 1999 comeback Supernatural, which won nine Grammys and has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide; 2002's Shaman; and 2005's All That I Am.

Riding the "Smooth" success of Supernatural, he launched a women's footwear line, Carlos by Carlos Santana, in 2000, and has also lent his name to men's and women's fragrances.

Rolling Stone named him the 15th-greatest guitarist of all time in 2003.