Carlos Scola Pliego: The Filmmaker Behind Sade Adu’s Marriage
Carlos Scola Pliego is best known to most readers as the former husband of singer Sade Adu, but that’s only part of his story. Long before the marriage, he’d already built a career in Spanish cinema, working behind the scenes as an assistant director, script supervisor, writer, and filmmaker.
His professional life included work on films and television projects alongside some well-known names in international cinema. Later, he moved into directing and documentary filmmaking, creating projects that took him beyond the Spanish film industry.
His marriage to Sade Adu in 1989 brought him into the public eye, but only briefly. The couple divorced in 1995 and have largely kept their personal lives private since then. So, who was Carlos Scola Pliego beyond being known as Sade Adu’s former husband? This article looks at his documented film career, marriage, and what can—and cannot—be confirmed about his life today.
Quick Facts About Carlos Scola Pliego
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Carlos Scola Pliego |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Profession | Film director, writer, assistant director, script supervisor |
| Known for | Filmmaking work and marriage to Sade Adu |
| Spouse | Sade Adu |
| Marriage | 1989 |
| Divorce | 1995 |
| Children together | None publicly documented |
| Birth date | Not publicly documented |
Who Is Carlos Scola Pliego, Really?
He’s a Spanish film director, writer, and assistant director — that’s the short answer. Worked through the late ’70s and ’80s, mostly on set, rarely in the spotlight. Even Sade’s own official biography calls him a Spanish film director, which honestly is about as solid a source as you’ll get on him. You might also see his name shortened. Film databases usually just list “Carlos Scola,” some articles drop it to “Carlos Pliego.” Same guy. He never really tried to build a public image for himself, which is exactly why so little about his private life ever got written down anywhere official.
Carlos Scola Pliego’s Early Career in Spanish Cinema
Before Sade, before all the attention from the newspapers, Carlos was already doing his job. He got his job as a script supervisor on the movie “La boda del señor cura” in 1979. Then he did the job on “Opera Prima” the next year.
From 1981 to 1985, Carlos started doing things. He was an assistant director. He worked on a lot of movies and TV shows, a dozen. His jobs just kept getting bigger and better.
It is worth talking about a few of these jobs. Carlos was a director on the movie “Eleni,” which was one of John Malkovich’s first movies. He also worked on the miniseries “Christopher Columbus” in 1985, which had Gabriel Byrne and Virna Lisi in it.
Carlos was also an assistant director in Spain on the James Bond movie “Never Say Never Again” with Sean Connery in 1983. He even worked on “Curse of the Pink Panther” the same year, although his name was not listed in the credits. These were not small movies. Carlos was working on really big sets, with famous people like Sean Connery, John Malkovich, Gabriel Byrne, and Virna Lisi, on projects including “Never Say Never Again,” “Christopher Columbus,” and “Eleni.”
Directing His Own Work
Around the late ’80s he stopped assisting and started directing. In 1988 he co-directed and wrote “Ngira: Gorilas en la montaña,” a short documentary filmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — not the kind of project most assistant directors ever get to make. A year later, “Donde termina el corazón,” a full documentary he wrote and directed himself, this one covering different parts of Africa more broadly.
These two are probably the strongest evidence we’ve got that he was a real director, not just someone standing next to one. His name also turns up later — IMDb lists “Goal II: Living the Dream” (2007) among the work he’s known for, though what he actually did in the years between the documentaries and that credit… nobody’s really documented that publicly.
Carlos Scola Pliego and His Marriage to Sade Adu
Okay, here’s the part everyone’s actually searching for. Carlos married Sade — IMDb puts the date at February 11, 1989, and Sade’s own biography backs up that year. How they actually met is murkier. A couple of sources loosely connect it to her time in Spain during the ’80s, but there’s no solid, on-record story confirming exactly how it happened. I’d treat that detail as unconfirmed, honestly.
The marriage lasted on paper until 1995, when the divorce was finalized — six years, roughly, though several reports say the two had already grown apart well before that point. Sade’s talked about it in interviews since, calling it something that took her years to get over emotionally. Some fans and music writers have connected certain songs from that period of her career to the split. That’s their interpretation though — Sade’s never confirmed any track was actually about Carlos specifically.
No kids together. And neither of them has ever really explained what went wrong. If there’s a common thread in everything written about the divorce, it’s that it stayed quiet — no public arguments, no finger-pointing through the press.
Carlos Scola Pliego’s Life After the Divorce
Since then? Carlos basically vanished from public life. No interviews. No verified social media presence. Never showed up anywhere tied to the Sade connection. Where he lives now, how old he actually is, what he’s up to these days — none of it holds up to scrutiny when you go looking for a real source. A lot of sites will throw out a specific net worth figure or claim to know exactly where he lives now. Don’t trust those numbers. Nobody’s actually backed them up with anything solid.
What we can say for sure: his film work is documented from 1979 into the 2000s, and the marriage ran 1989 to 1995. Anything past that point is guesswork wearing a biography’s clothes.
Why People Are Still Searching for Him
Mostly it comes down to Sade herself — she just doesn’t talk about her personal life much, so people go looking for whatever pieces they can find. And Carlos is one of those pieces, tied to an era of her music that a lot of fans feel emotionally invested in. He never gave an interview to satisfy that curiosity either, which if anything probably kept people looking even harder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Carlos Scola Pliego?
A Spanish filmmaker who worked as a director, writer, script supervisor, and assistant director. Publicly, he’s best known as the former husband of singer Sade Adu.
When did Carlos Scola Pliego marry Sade Adu?
1989. IMDb records the exact date as February 11, 1989.
When did they divorce?
1995 — about six years after the wedding, though some reports suggest they’d separated earlier than that.
Did they have children?
No children from the marriage are publicly documented.
What films did Carlos Scola Pliego work on?
“La boda del señor cura,” “Opera Prima,” “Eleni,” “Never Say Never Again,” “Curse of the Pink Panther,” the “Christopher Columbus” miniseries, “Ngira: Gorilas en la montaña,” “Donde termina el corazón,” and “Goal II: Living the Dream.”
Is he still working in film?
No confirmed record of recent activity exists, so his current status is genuinely unknown.
Where does he live now?
Not officially confirmed anywhere.
