For decades, Sade Adu has been known as much for her privacy as for her voice. But one name keeps resurfacing whenever fans dig into her personal history: Carlos Scola Pliego, the Spanish filmmaker she married in 1989. This guide brings together everything reliably known about him — his career, his marriage to Sade, the timeline of their relationship, and where he stands today.
Quick Facts Table — Carlos Scola Pliego at a Glance
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Carlos Scola Pliego |
| Also Credited As | Carlos Scola |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Profession | Assistant director, director, writer |
| Known For | Former husband of Sade Adu |
| Spouse | Sade Adu |
| Marriage Year | 1989 |
| Divorce Year | 1995 |
| Children | None publicly documented |
| Notable Credits | Never Say Never Again, Christopher Columbus, Eleni, Donde termina el corazón |
| Net Worth | Not publicly confirmed |
| Current Status | Reportedly private life, believed to be in Spain |
Who Is Carlos Scola Pliego?
Carlos Scola Pliego is a Spanish filmmaker who spent the 1980s working behind the camera before his marriage to Sade Adu pulled him briefly into the public eye. He is widely recognized as the former husband of British-Nigerian singer Sade Adu, though no reliable public source confirms his exact birthday or age. Industry databases list him under two closely related names — Carlos Scola and Carlos Scola Pliego — which has caused some confusion in online biographies.
Unlike Sade, Carlos never sought a public profile of his own. His career was built through steady, largely uncredited film work rather than headline-grabbing projects, and after his marriage ended he returned almost entirely to private life.
Carlos Scola Pliego’s Early Life and Background
Solid details about Carlos’s upbringing are scarce. No verified source discloses his birth date, his parents, or his childhood in Spain. What is documented instead is his professional trajectory, which began in the late 1970s in the Spanish film industry.
There’s also a name-related complication worth flagging: a 2023 Spanish-language book credits a translator named Carlos Scola Pliego, though nothing confirms that this is the same person as the filmmaker. Readers researching him should be cautious about conflating unrelated records that share his name.
Carlos Scola Pliego’s Film Career
Starting Out as a Script Supervisor
Industry records connect him to script-supervisor work on La boda del señor cura in 1979 and Opera Prima in 1980, giving him an early, hands-on introduction to how film sets operate.
Rise to Assistant Director
He was later credited as a second assistant director on Dos y dos, cinco in 1981 and Black Commando in 1982, marking his shift from continuity work into roles with more responsibility. Between 1981 and 1985, he worked as assistant director on nine film and television projects in total.
Major Film Credits
Carlos’s most recognizable credits came from international productions filmed partly in Spain. He worked on the crew of an early John Malkovich film, Eleni, and served as assistant director on a Sean Connery-era James Bond production. He’s also credited as assistant director for Spain on the 1985 television miniseries Christopher Columbus, which starred Gabriel Byrne and Virna Lisi. His filmography also includes work on The Curse of the Pink Panther.
Directing and Writing Work
Later in the decade, Carlos moved from assistant roles into directing. His best-documented directing credits are the 1988 documentary Ngira: Gorilas en la montaña and the 1989 film Donde termina el corazón, on which he’s listed as director and writer, and co-director and writer respectively.
Later Career
His documented output thins out considerably after the 1980s. His last listed film credit is as additional crew on the 2007 sports drama Goal II: Living the Dream. No confirmed projects have surfaced since.
How Carlos Scola Pliego Met Sade Adu
The two crossed paths through Sade’s music, not through a chance social encounter. Sade reportedly met Pliego while filming three music videos with director Brian Ward in Spain around her 1985 album “Promise.” At the time, Sade was working through a difficult period. Following an exhausting promotional tour, the death of her father Bisi Adu, and intense media scrutiny, she relocated to Spain, where she reconnected with Carlos and reportedly fell deeply in love with him.
Carlos Scola Pliego and Sade Adu’s Marriage
Sade is said to have introduced Carlos as her husband as early as 1987, while recording music in France, though their legal marriage is officially dated to 1989. The couple married in 1989 and settled in Madrid. Sade’s own official biography backs this up, describing Carlos specifically as a Spanish film director and confirming the 1989 marriage date.
Public sources disagree on the exact wedding date — some cite February 11, 1989, others October 11 of the same year — but no single source resolves this conflict definitively, so the safest and most accurate statement is simply that they married in 1989.
Where They Lived
The couple based their married life in Madrid, away from the entertainment press that followed Sade elsewhere.
What Their Marriage Was Reportedly Like
Sade has said little publicly about the day-to-day of the relationship, but she has acknowledged how deeply it affected her. She has described the eventual separation as a painful experience that took a real emotional toll.
Timeline: Carlos Scola Pliego and Sade Adu’s Relationship
- 1985 — Sade and Carlos meet during music video production in Spain
- 1987 — Sade reportedly refers to Carlos as her husband while recording in France
- 1989 — The couple formally marries; they settle in Madrid
- 1992 — Sade releases Love Deluxe, an album fans often link to this period
- 1995 — Marriage legally ends in divorce
- 1996 — Sade gives birth to her son, born after the marriage ended
- 2007 — Carlos’s last confirmed film credit appears
Why Did Carlos Scola Pliego and Sade Adu Divorce?
Neither party has ever given a detailed public account of what led to the split. What’s confirmed is the timeline: married in 1989, divorced in 1995. Claims about infidelity or specific disputes circulate online but aren’t backed by statements from either Carlos or Sade, so they should be treated as speculation rather than fact.
Did Carlos Scola Pliego and Sade Adu Have Children?
No. There is no reliable record of children from the marriage. Sade became a mother in 1996, a year after the divorce, with a different partner — a detail some lower-quality biography sites incorrectly attribute to Carlos.
Carlos Scola Pliego’s Connection to Sade’s Music
Fans have long speculated that Carlos influenced the emotional tone of Sade’s 1992 album Love Deluxe. The filmmaker is widely suspected to be connected to some of the melancholy running through that record, and Sade reportedly mourned the relationship’s end for longer than the marriage itself lasted. That said, Sade has never publicly confirmed that specific songs were written about him, so this remains fan interpretation rather than documented fact.
Carlos Scola Pliego’s Net Worth
No dependable source publishes a verified net worth figure for Carlos. His income is presumed to come from decades of film industry work, but because he has stayed out of the public eye financially as well as personally, any specific number circulating online should be treated as an unverified estimate.
Did Carlos Scola Pliego Remarry?
There’s no credible public record confirming a second marriage. As with most aspects of his post-divorce life, this detail simply hasn’t been documented by reliable sources.
Where Is Carlos Scola Pliego Today?
Carlos has essentially disappeared from public and media coverage since his last known film credit in 2007. Dependable sources do not publish his birth date, current home, or finances.</cite> He is generally believed to still be living in Spain, though this cannot be confirmed with certainty.
Carlos Scola Pliego’s Complete Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | La boda del señor cura | Script supervisor |
| 1980 | Opera Prima | Script supervisor |
| 1981 | Dos y dos, cinco | Second assistant director |
| 1982 | Black Commando | Second assistant director |
| 1983 | Never Say Never Again | Assistant director (Spain) |
| 1983 | The Curse of the Pink Panther | Assistant director |
| 1985 | Eleni | Assistant director |
| 1985 | Christopher Columbus (miniseries) | Assistant director (Spain) |
| 1988 | Ngira: Gorilas en la montaña | Co-director, writer |
| 1989 | Donde termina el corazón | Director, writer |
| 2007 | Goal II: Living the Dream | Additional crew |
Carlos Scola Pliego’s Legacy Beyond Sade Adu
Reducing Carlos to “Sade’s ex-husband” overlooks a real filmmaking career that spanned nearly three decades, took him from continuity work on Spanish productions to a role on a major James Bond film, and eventually into directing his own documentaries. His story stands on its own as that of a working film professional — his marriage to one of music’s most private stars is simply the chapter most people remember.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Carlos Scola Pliego?
A Spanish filmmaker known for assistant-director, directing, and writing work, and for his 1989–1995 marriage to singer Sade Adu.
When did he marry Sade Adu?
In 1989, though sources disagree on the exact date.
How long were they married?
Roughly six years, ending in divorce in 1995.
Why did they divorce?
No detailed public explanation exists from either party.
Did they have children?
No. Sade had a son in 1996, after the marriage ended, with someone else.
What movies did he work on?
Including Never Say Never Again, Christopher Columbus, Eleni, Donde termina el corazón, and Ngira: Gorilas en la montaña.
What is his net worth?
Unconfirmed by any reliable source.
Where is he now?
Believed to be living privately in Spain; no recent public sightings or interviews exist.
