“They Did Everything to Us There”: Women Describe Alleged Abuse While Working for Julio Iglesias in His Caribbean Mansions

Julio Iglesias built his legend on romance and velvet vocals. Now, a three-year investigation has dragged something far darker into the light.

According to a joint investigation by El Diario and Univision Noticias, two former employees say they worked inside Julio Iglesias’s Caribbean mansions in 2021. They alleged a system they describe as controlling, humiliating, and, at times, sexually abusive. Their accounts paint a picture of an environment in which staff lived on site. They followed strict rules and feared consequences for stepping out of line.

“He ordered the girls to go to the gynaecologist for a general examination,” said Rebeca, a former domestic worker identified by a pseudonym. “There were 10 or 12 girls. They did everything to us there; the gynaecologist checked everything. It only happened to the girls.”

What follows is what we know so far, based on the reporting and the women’s testimony.

First, what El Diario and Univision uncovered about Julio Iglesias

The investigation, published this week, centres on two women, a domestic worker and a physical therapist, identified as Rebeca and Laura to protect their identities. They allege they experienced sexual assaults while working at Iglesias’s homes in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021, when Iglesias was 77.

They have filed a complaint at Spain’s Audiencia Nacional accusing Julio Iglesias of sexual assault and human trafficking. Prosecutors at the court have opened a preliminary investigation, according to the reporting.

El Diario and Univision Noticias reported that they contacted 15 former employees who worked in Iglesias’s homes at different times between the late 1990s and 2023. The outlets also reported that they interviewed the two women who reported sexual assault repeatedly over more than a year and that their accounts remained consistent. Similarly, the reporting is supported by documentary material, including photographs, call logs, WhatsApp messages, visas, and medical reports.

“They did everything to us there”

After the initial allegations surfaced, El Diario published additional testimony from Rebeca and another former worker, Carolina, describing what they say were required sexual health tests.

Carolina said, “I was tested for sexually transmitted diseases. They did ultrasounds and blood tests to see if we had any diseases. It didn’t seem normal to me.”

According to El Diario, the women said they were then asked to send the results to one of Iglesias’s housekeepers. And the outlet reported it obtained medical documents that appear to show five women employed at Iglesias’s villa in the Dominican Republic in 2021 underwent gynaecological examinations.

The house sounds like a workplace built on control, fear, and hierarchy

The reporting describes a staff structure with steep power lines.

Former employees described two broad categories: domestic service and “señoritas,” a group with higher status and better conditions, alongside house managers who handled hiring, rules, and enforcement.

Women described strict rules, including bans on taking photos, limits on leaving the property, and constant monitoring. Rebeca said, “I made sure there was nothing visible on it because I knew he would check it,” describing being asked to hand over her phone.

Laura described what she called a place where Iglesias “normalized abuse.” For her part, Rebeca described it as “the little house of terror.”

Even the day-to-day details were under severe scrutiny, according to the accounts. Laura said Iglesias monitored “how much food” workers ate and asked when they “got their periods.”

What Rebeca says happened in Julio Iglesias’s room

Rebeca alleges that Julio Iglesias sexually assaulted her repeatedly while she worked for him.

“He used me almost every night,” she said. “I felt like an object, like a slave.”

According to the investigation, Rebeca said Iglesias would call her to his room at the end of the working day. She alleged he performed sexual acts with his fingers without her consent.

Rebeca also described coercion that involved people above her in the household hierarchy. She said a supervisor insisted she comply after a conversation at the beach, where she believed she had agreed to something else. “You have to do it, you said yes,” Rebeca recalled the supervisor telling her, according to the report.

Later, Rebeca described the impact of that power dynamic. “You feel compelled to do it,” she said about sexual pressure. “It was something he forced you to do. It created a kind of power over you, that you had to do it no matter what.”

Laura’s account describes harassment that happened in public

Laura, identified as Iglesias’s physical therapist, described a work environment where humiliation and sexualised comments blurred into the everyday. Then, it escalated.

According to El Diario, Laura said Iglesias kissed her on the mouth and touched her breasts without her permission. “We were at the beach. He came up to me and touched my nipples,” she said, adding that something similar happened by the pool at Iglesias’s villa in Punta Cana.

She also described being asked sexual questions at work. She described the atmosphere as “volatile, aggressive, and humiliating,” according to the reporting.

One detail captures how quickly “normal” gets rewritten inside a place like this. Laura recalled a lunch where Iglesias asked whether her breasts were “natural or surgically enhanced,” then told her to “show them,” calling her “boluda” when she hesitated, according to her account.

Over time, Laura said she realised the behaviour did not stop with her. “I should have noticed that the abuse, both verbal and physical and sexual, was real and not just happening to me,” she said. “I was able to say no, and to a certain extent, he respected that no. But there were girls who couldn’t say no. And he did what he wanted with them.”

The evidence trail, and the silence from Julio Iglesias’s side

The outlets reported that they repeatedly attempted to contact Julio Iglesias and his lawyer and received no response to emails, phone messages, or letters.

The reporting also notes that one woman identified by Rebeca as a supervisor dismissed the allegations as “nonsense” and said she had only “gratitude, admiration, and respect” for Iglesias.

Meanwhile, El Diario reported that they reviewed documentary evidence supporting the women’s presence and employment, including visas, photographs, medical documents, and communications.

Rebeca’s account also includes mental health fallout. El Diario reported that a neuropsychologist confirmed that Rebeca spoke about the abuse she says she experienced and said she came to therapy with an anxiety disorder, with symptoms that worsened significantly.

What happens now for Julio Iglesias, and why the public reaction already started

The complaint sits with Spain’s Audiencia Nacional, and prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation, according to reporting.

Beyond the courts, political pressure has started to build. El Diario reported that the allegations prompted calls from some left-wing politicians for Iglesias to be stripped of honours from Madrid’s city council and regional government.

At the same time, public officials have pushed back. Isabel Díaz Ayuso dismissed those calls and wrote on X that Madrid “will never contribute to the discrediting” of the singer.

“I think by taking legal action we’re sending a message to all the victims of this person, Julio Iglesias, so that they can speak out and believe in justice,” Laura said. “It’s so they can understand that this wasn’t something that just happened to them.”

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, harassment, or coercion, you deserve support that does not come with judgment or pressure. You can contact RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-HOPE (4673) and online chat at rainn.org