A small plane crash in Nuevo León, Mexico, killed Débora Estrella. Her ex-husband, journalist José Luis García, was one of the first to write about the event, not knowing that she was on board.
As part of his regular reporting, the journalist wrote about the plane crash. He didn’t know who the victims were or how the event affected his own life at the time.
The accident has brought back interest in their relationship, which lasted more than fifteen years. It also made people remember what he had said in the past about their divorce. Here’s a look at their story, which starts with deep love and ends in tragedy.
A light plane with the registration number XB-BGH crashed in Garcia, Nuevo León, Mexico, on September 20, 2025. Around 18:50, the accident happened near the Pesquería River, in the Ciudad Mitras industrial park. People in the area were able to film the plane going down.
It was confirmed by the authorities that two people died: Débora Estrella and the pilot Bryan Leonardo Ballesteros Argueta.
The journalist was 43 years old and had been the main host of “Telediario Matutino” in Monterrey since 2018. She also worked on the programming for Milenio TV and Channel 6.
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Estrella had posted a picture on her Instagram Stories of the plane from the Aeropuerto Internacional del Norte just a few hours before the crash. She didn’t say what the flight was for, but the picture matched the plane that crashed later.
José Luis García’s post, which he didn’t know about
José Luis García, a journalist and Débora Estrella’s ex-husband, wrote about the accident on his social media. He wrote, “Light aircraft crashes,” not knowing she was involved. Nuevo León Civil Protection says that a couple was found dead near the Riveras Interpuerto in the Ciudad Mitras Industrial Park in García. Neighbors filmed the plane as it fell near the riverbank.
🎙️ REPORTÓ LA MUERTE DE SU EX ESPOSA SIN SABERLO 😱🛩️🕊️
El periodista José Luis García, comprometido con la inmediatez, informó a través de sus redes sociales sobre un accidente aéreo que dejó a dos victimas mortales en Nuevo León, México. Tristemente, luego se confirmó que su… pic.twitter.com/MhdVP09GG1
— Nuestro Diario (@NuestroDiario) September 21, 2025
People on the platform started responding to him within minutes, which led him to think that one of the victims might be his ex-wife. “There’s speculation it was your ex-wife, José Luis, mainly because she posted a picture of a small plane on her Instagram Stories,” one comment said.
Garcia deleted his post around 23:50 hours that same day because he was getting more and more backlash and people were pointing fingers at him. He hasn’t said anything else in public about his ex-wife’s death yet.
A quiet and lasting relationship
Débora Estrella and José Luis García met in Monterrey, Mexico, where they both worked in television: she worked for TV Azteca and he worked for Televisa. Their relationship lasted more than fifteen years, ten of which were spent as husband and wife.
As a couple, they went on trips, celebrated holidays, and did things together. They have shared many happy moments on social media, which are some of their best memories. The anchor looked happy at Disneyland with José Luis in a post celebrating their ninth wedding anniversary.
“Real love, real fun, real complicity.” She wrote in the caption, “What an amazing adventure this has been!”
The post she made for Garcia’s birthday in 2019 was another sign of how much she loved her ex-husband. It said, “If you see him, wish him a happy birthday,” next to a picture of the happy couple. Happy birthday, José Luis García! You deserve all the good and beautiful things in life. There is no one more amazing, intense, or alive than you. “I only wish you more trips around the sun.”
In a joint post from December 2018, both of them smile and say, “Wishing you a wonderful December 25th spent with your family.” Thanks for all that you do. “Blessings from us to you.”
Even after becoming famous in the media, they didn’t have kids and chose to keep their personal lives private. The journalist also often talked about how much she loved flying. She wrote in one post, “I admire and thank everyone who works in aviation.”
The split
In January 2020, they broke up. They both posted on social media to say they were getting a divorce. They wrote, “The story we started writing together ten years ago has now come to an end.”
In an interview with host Fernando Lozano, José Luis García talked about the issue publicly for the first and only time a year later. There, he said, “I hold on to the best of those 15 years we spent together.”
He said in that interview, “We were together for 15 years.” When we decided to get a divorce, we talked about it, came to an agreement, sent a message to everyone who followed both of us, and agreed not to talk about it in public after that. “I have respected that, and she has too.”
He said, “Both of us keep our word” about how they dealt with the situation. It was a hard time for both of us after 15 years together. You get married thinking it will last forever, but then things change and you don’t want the same things anymore. We decided to divorce peacefully because we didn’t want the same things anymore. We got divorced in less than five minutes while still in the same car. We each went our separate ways. “There are priorities that are yours,” it was the healthiest way, and everything was very friendly and respectful.
He also talked about the controversy that came up after he started dating someone new a few months after his divorce. He said, “It was a mess,” referring to the bad things people said about him on social media. He thought about how easy it is to judge other people’s lives and how easy it is to judge someone.
Even though there were rumors going around at the time, he said that his new relationship was not the reason for the breakup. He said that the divorce was amicable and that they had already agreed on things before.