How Two Latin Power Couples Make It Work: ‘We Are Always Trying to Elevate Each Other’

Ten years ago, Zhamira rose to fame as one of the finalists on the Univision music competition La Banda .

After the show, she struggled to find her artistic identity and even considered quitting.

But with encouragement from her husband, Jay Wheeler, the Puerto Rican star that she married in 2022, she decided to continue — and her 2025 debut album, Curita Para El Corazón , established her as one of pop’s breakout stars.

Jessi Uribe, like Zhamira, got his start on a music competition show — Caracol Televisión’s A Otro Nivel in 2017.

His wife, Paola Jara, started in the music business as a teenager, ­eventually opening on tour for the legendary Vicente Fernández.

A collaboration on “Como Si Nada” (for Jara’s fourth album) led them to fall in love, and they married three years later.

“Having Pao as my wife at home is lovely, but the added bonus of singing together really moves me,” Uribe says over Zoom with Jara in Medellín, Colombia, while Wheeler and Zhamira join together from Miami.

Wheeler feels similarly, while Zhamira says that in their relationship, “we are always trying to elevate each other.” Both couples are now balancing the demands of their careers with raising young children — Wheeler and Zhamira have a 2-year-old daughter, Aiunii, while Jara and Uribe welcomed baby Emilia last November.

On Oct.

21, they will all dive deeper into that balance during the Love and Music panel at Billboard Latin Music Week .

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Being able to share those same schedules, having the same passion and truly understanding what the other person is talking about — that’s a real plus.

Jay Wheeler: The worst part for me will always be having to deal with the fallout; since I’m [helping with] many aspects of her project, whenever she gets upset, it all lands on me.

Zhamira: Since he’s my husband and we work together, he’s my confidant.