Toto Cutugno, who died two years ago, is remembered by the public as a songwriter and performer of hits, as well as a man who was not without interest in women. Despite his popularity and the attention of his female fans, he always referred to his wife Carla as the only woman in his heart. Their relationship began in 1967 in the resort town of Lignano Sabbradoro, where Carla had come to vacation. Four years younger than Toto, she was born in 1947 into a wealthy family in a coastal Italian town. Little is known about her childhood, but her parents were well-off. After meeting Cutugno, she quickly became close to him, and within a month she introduced her chosen one to her family. The girl’s parents were against it, believing that a passion for music would not be able to provide their daughter with the accustomed wealth.
Despite their resistance, four years later, in 1971, the couple were married in one of Milan’s basilicas. Carla’s parents eventually accepted their son-in-law, gave the young couple an apartment, and paid their bills at first, wanting Toto to focus on his creative work. The couple dreamed of having a family and planned to have at least four children. Soon it became known that she was pregnant with twins, but doctors warned that the birth could cost Carla her life. After a difficult decision, the children could not be saved, and the doctors said that she would no longer be able to get pregnant. It was a blow to both of them, but Toto did not consider divorce. Over the years, he earned a considerable fortune, bought a spacious house in Milan and a villa in Portofino.
Toto’s attitude towards marriage was peculiar: he believed that a woman should always be faithful, but that this was not necessary for a man. Despite his care for Carla, daily bouquets of roses and constant attention, he found the absence of children difficult to bear. One day, he met a flight attendant named Christina and quickly began an affair with her. Almost immediately, the singer asked her to bear him a child, without promising marriage or serious commitment. Christina agreed, and soon their son Nico was born. Toto travelled up to 1,300 kilometres to meet his mistress, and then told Carla about the child.
His wife’s reaction was painful, but she did not reject the boy. Moreover, Carla insisted that her son take his father’s surname. Toto paid for Nico’s education at the Faculty of Economics, and the boy often visited the Kutugno home and kept in touch with his wife. Kutugno often mentioned his son in interviews and repeated that his heart always belonged to Carla.
Carla, although she had been betrayed, stayed with her husband. Almost nothing is known about her personal life and activities in recent decades: she avoided publicity. At Toto’s funeral in 2023, she appeared alongside Nico, who by then was a grown man of 35. After her husband’s death, she was left with a man whom she had once accepted into her family, even though he was the son of another woman, and who had become close to her. This story leaves us with the question of what is more valuable: to remain faithful at any cost or to leave behind an heir, even at the cost of betrayal.
