Sophia Martelly

Martelly was born Sophia Saint-Rémy on October 9, 1965, in New York City in the United States.[1][2][6] Her father, Charles Edouard Saint-Rémy, was from Gonaïves, and her mother, Mona Lisa Florez, is from Port-au-Prince. The Saint-Rémy family is originally from Gonaïves, where Sophia Saint Rémy was raised.[7][8] The Saint-Remys suffered under the dictatorship of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier.[8] Sophia Martelly's grandmother was arrested and detained by Duvalier , while two of her paternal relatives were executed during the Duvalier dictatorship.[8]

Sophia Saint-Rémy and her future husband, singer and politician Michel Martelly, had been friends when they were children, but had lived separate lives as young adults.[7] Michel Martelly immigrated to the United States with his American first wife during the 1980s.[9]

In 1986, Michel Martelly divorced his first wife and returned to Haiti.[9] Sophia Saint-Rémy and Martelly, who were childhood friends, reunited in 1987, shortly after he moved back to the country.[7] However, when the couple tried to marry, both of their mothers objected based on their skin color: Sophia Martelly has lighter skin, while Michel Martelly has a darker complexion.[8] Sophia Saint-Rémy and Michel Martelly ignored their parents' protests and, instead, moved to Miami, Florida, together later in 1987.[8] The couple married in Miami in a small 1987 wedding ceremony. Michel Martelly worked in construction, while Sophia worked as a word processor.[8] The couple returned to Haiti in 1988.[8] They had four children, Olivier, Alexandre, Yani, and Michel.[7]

The Martellys' early marriage was different from Michel Martelly's onstage "Sweet Mickey" persona.[8] Michel Martelly instituted a curfew on Sophia and forbid her to chew gum as recently as the late 1990s.[8] Martelly is four years younger than her husband.[8]

The couple lived in a condo in Miami Beach, Florida, during the mid-1990s.[8]