Chilean Miner Emerges to Tangled Love Life

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Hugh Collins Contributor

(Oct. 13) -- When Yonni Barrios emerged from 69 days underground to cries of "El Doctor," there was none of the fist-pumping celebration that marked the other miners' escape. This may have something to do with his tangled love life, which made headlines around the world while he was stuck underground attending to the medical needs of his fellow miners. A trained paramedic, Barrios previously looked after his diabetic mother. While trapped underground, he administered medicine to his fellow miners and vaccinated them against the flu. The other miners called him "Dr. House," after Hugh Laurie's character in the Fox medical drama, which is popular in Chile.

Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images Chilean miner Yonni Barrios kisses his mistress Susana Valenzuela after being brought to the surface from the San Jose mine, near Copiapo, Chile on Wednesday. There was also a drama going on in his personal life, which his wife of 28 years discovered

along with the rest of the world. Marta Salinas first sensed something was up when she discovered another woman was also keeping an anxious vigil outside the mine for Barrios. The discovery prompted a war of words between the two rivals. The mistress, Susana Valenzuela, said she had met Barrios on a training course five years earlier, and that he was planning to leave his wife for her. Salinas said Valenzuela had "no legitimacy" and refused to address her by name. Initially she stuck with her husband, in spite of his infidelity. "[Barrios] is my husband. He loves me and I am his devoted wife," Salinas said, according to the New York Post. That all changed when her husband's rescue became imminent. Barrios reportedly asked both his wife and his mistress to be there to greet him when he emerged from underground. After that, Salinas was done. "He asked me to come, but it turns out he also invited the other woman and I have decency," Salinas said before the rescue, according to ABC News. "This is very clear: It's her or me. "I'm happy because he was saved. It's a miracle from God. But I won't attend the rescue."

As Barrios was hoisted back to the surface, the world watched to see what kind of welcome he would receive. The mistress, Valenzuela, greeted him with a warm embrace. At least five wives have found themselves dealing with mistresses at the rescue site, The Daily Telegraph said. This isn't just a cause for embarrassment: Some women are fighting over the compensation on offer to the miners. One miner is said to have had four women fighting over him.