Gallardo told UK outlet The Mirror on Saturday that she would be willing to defend the Juventus forward player in court if she were given the chance to do so. "So far I haven't been contacted. But if I am, I would be willing to go and give evidence in his favor," she told the publication.
The 35-year-old model went on to recall her months-long relationship with the footballer, saying that he "was a courteous guy — warm and loving."
"He was always a gentleman with me. That's why I was shocked when all this came out," she said. "He was never ever aggressive towards me — not even near. I can't see him forcing or holding down someone. He is not an aggressive guy in bed."
"I've had partners who have been verbally aggressive or who liked to grab me hard, and he isn't like that," she added.
Gallardo's split from Ronaldo took place in August 2008, some 10 months before Ronaldo allegedly raped Kathryn Mayorga at a Las Vegas hotel in June of 2009. Mayorga has since claimed in a newly filed lawsuit that she was coerced into signing a nondisclosure agreement in 2010 after she reached an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo for $375,000.
At Mayorga's request, officials with the Las Vegas Police Department have also reopened a criminal investigation into the alleged incident. Though the case was initially investigated by officers in 2009, it was ultimately dropped after Mayorga failed to provide detectives with sufficient details to continue.
"As of September 2018, the case has been reopened, and our detectives are following up on information being provided by the victim," a police statement released to ESPN reads. "This is an ongoing investigation, and no further details will be released at this time."
Mayorga's claims made headline news in September after the Las Vegas native sat down with German outlet Der Spiegel to discuss the matter. Since the report was released, the publication has been threatened with lawsuits by Ronaldo's legal team.
Ronaldo has repeatedly denied the allegations on his social media pages, telling netizens on Twitter that "rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in."
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 3, 2018
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 3, 2018
Asked about the allegations at a press conference earlier this week, Ronaldo told reporters that he is a "happy man" and that "the most important thing is that I enjoy my football and my life."
"The rest, I have people that take care of my life. And, of course, the truth always comes in the first position. So, I'm good," he added.
Despite rejecting the allegations, Ronaldo has faced an uphill battle when it comes to holding onto his sponsors, and many have announced that they're keeping tabs on the investigation. Most notably, EA Sports, the developer and publisher of the FIFA video games, was found to have removed some of the Portuguese player's photos from the popular game's webpage earlier this month.
