Names can be tricky. You’ve probably seen the name Maria Jose del Valle Prieto floating around the internet, usually tethered to a famous actor or a snippet of celebrity news. People tend to flatten public figures into one-sentence summaries. "Oh, she's the ex-wife." Or, "She's that person from the Instagram photo." But stories are rarely that thin.
Life isn't a press release.
If you are looking for a Hollywood starlet with a mile-long IMDB page, you might actually be thinking of the Chilean actress Maria Jose Prieto. Easy mistake. But the Maria Jose del Valle Prieto we are talking about occupies a much more private, yet deeply influential space in the orbit of Latin American entertainment. She is most widely recognized as the first wife of actor Mauricio Ochmann.
The Mauricio Ochmann Connection
Honestly, most people first heard her name when Ochmann’s career started to skyrocket. They were married back in the early 2000s, a time before every breakfast was documented on TikTok. It was a different era of fame. They had a daughter together, Lorenza Ochmann, who is now a young woman and often the bridge that keeps these two in the public eye.
While the marriage ended in divorce around 2008, the "scandal" that tabloids usually hunt for just isn't there.
It’s actually kinda refreshing.
In a world where celebrity breakups usually involve lawyers leaking documents to TMZ, Maria Jose and Mauricio have maintained a level of mutual respect that feels almost alien in 2026. You’ll still see her occasionally posting supportive messages or birthday wishes for him on Instagram. She recently shared a photo of Lorenza hugging Mauricio, calling him the "best human being."
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That’s not a fake narrative. It’s just maturity.
The Mystery of the "Other" Maria Jose Prietos
Search engines are a mess. If you type in the name, you get a collision of three different women. It’s basically a digital identity crisis. You've got:
- The Actress: Maria Jose Prieto Larraín, the Chilean powerhouse from Machos and Gatas y Tuercas. She’s married to Cristián Campos and is a famous yoga teacher.
- The Academic: Maria Eugenia del Valle Prieto, a serious historian and researcher who has spent years at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
- The Private Figure: Maria Jose del Valle Prieto, the mother of Lorenza and the woman who has successfully navigated being "adjacent to fame" without letting it swallow her whole.
It's important to separate these threads. Our Maria Jose isn't the one doing yoga on a Chilean morning show. She isn't the one writing 300-page dissertations on Caribbean history. She’s a woman who chose a path of relative privacy while her former partner became one of the biggest names in Spanish-language media.
Why Her Privacy Is a Choice
We live in a time where everyone wants to be an influencer. If you have 5,000 followers, you’re trying to sell them a vitamin gummy. Maria Jose del Valle Prieto could have easily parlayed her connection to Ochmann into a reality show or a "tell-all" book.
She didn't.
That tells you something about her character. She has focused on raising her daughter and maintaining a stable life away from the paparazzi. In the few glimpses the public gets—usually via social media—she appears centered and focused on family. Lorenza, their daughter, has grown up with a foot in both worlds: the high-glamour life of her father and the grounded, private life of her mother.
What Really Happened?
People always ask about the divorce. Why did it end?
Mauricio has been open about his struggles in the past, including his journey with sobriety and the pressures of early fame. While Maria Jose hasn't gone on a press tour to air grievances, it’s clear that the two have done the work to heal. They co-parent. They celebrate milestones together.
It’s a masterclass in how to move on.
A lot of the "facts" you find on low-tier gossip sites are just recycled bits of a 20-year-old story. They’ll list her "net worth" or her "height" based on absolutely nothing. Let’s be real: no one actually knows her net worth because she doesn't flaunt it. She isn't a "brand." She’s a person.
Insights for the Curious
If you’re trying to find her "official" projects, you won't find a long list of acting credits. That’s the wrong tree to bark up. Instead, look at the way she handles herself in the public sphere.
- Social Media Decorum: She uses her platforms for personal connection, not professional promotion.
- Co-parenting Goals: Her relationship with Mauricio is often cited by fans as a model for how to handle a "blended family" with grace.
- The Power of No: There is immense power in saying no to the limelight when it’s offered to you on a silver platter.
Basically, she’s a reminder that you don't have to be the protagonist of a tabloid story to have a meaningful impact on the people around you. She’s been the steady hand in her daughter’s life through the whirlwind of her father’s fame.
What you should do next:
If you are following this story because you admire the family dynamic, stop looking for "scandal" where there isn't any. Instead, look at how Mauricio Ochmann discusses his past and the importance he places on the women in his life—including Maria Jose and his second ex-wife, Aislinn Derbez.
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The real story here isn't about a failed marriage. It’s about the successful evolution of a family. If you’re a fan of the "Ochmann-Derbez" extended universe, understanding Maria Jose’s role as the foundation for his eldest daughter gives you a much clearer picture of why that family remains so tight-knit despite the changing partners and public scrutiny.