Daniele De Rossi’s first months as Genoa coach have brought a different kind of adjustment at home, with his wife Sarah Felberbaum speaking publicly about her decision to adopt Gaia, De Rossi’s 21-year-old daughter from his first marriage.
A family decision given legal form
Felberbaum confirmed that Gaia had asked to be adopted and that she had accepted the request. The actress said the matter had initially remained private before details emerged in gossip reporting.
- Gaia, De Rossi’s daughter from his marriage to Tamara Pisnoli, made the decision herself at the age of 21.
- Felberbaum agreed to begin the process, explaining that Italian legal procedure requires the prospective adoptive parent to file the application.
- The move gives formal legal recognition to a relationship that Felberbaum said had developed over time within their extended family.
Felberbaum and De Rossi have two children together, Olivia, 12, and Noah, 10. She said both have a very strong relationship with Gaia despite the difference in their ages.
Life split between Rome and Genoa
The family’s new arrangement has also been shaped by De Rossi’s work. The former Roma midfielder has been in Genoa since December to coach Genoa, while Felberbaum has remained in Rome with the children, where Gaia also lives. De Rossi returns to the capital whenever his commitments allow.
Felberbaum described the start of the school year as the point at which the pressures of that separation became more apparent. She said the distance from De Rossi, the responsibility of being at home alone with the children, and feelings of uncertainty and fear had all fallen heavily on her.
“I am going through a period of change,” she said. “I decided that sharing can be a positive thing. I am instinctive, and my posts come naturally.”
Background
De Rossi’s marriage to Pisnoli ended in 2009. In February 2023, Pisnoli was sentenced to seven years and two months in prison and ordered to pay a fine after convictions for attempted extortion and aggravated robbery.
For De Rossi, now managing a club far from his family’s Roman base, the adoption process marks a private development alongside the demands of the Genoa job: a family bond built gradually, now moving towards formal recognition.
