Michael Schumacher’s daughter, Gina, is set to marry her boyfriend, Iain Bethke, at their family’s luxury villa in Majorca. The 26 year old equestrian and her 27 year old beau are planning a summer wedding, according to local reports.
A wedding planner from northern Germany has been hired to add the final touches to the celebration. The couple will exchange vows under a floral arch at the villa, which was reportedly purchased by Schumacher’s wife in 2017 from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
Guests can look forward to live country music at the open-air ceremony. Men have been asked to wear suits but ties are optional due to the expected high temperatures.
Gina and Iain, both horse lovers, made their relationship public over six years ago. They were last seen together at an awards ceremony in Munich in December 2017.
It remains unclear whether Michael, who recently turned 55 and is still recovering from a tragic ski accident, will be able to attend the wedding. Reports suggest that he has been spending time at the Majorca villa since September 2020.
Spanish press said he had been moved to the exclusive property on the upmarket estate of Las Brisas near Andratx in the south-west of the island from his Swiss home.
Spanish press including respected Majorcan daily Diario de Mallorca and Catalan daily La Vanguardia published their reports after ex-Formula 1 team boss and former QPR co-owner Flavio Briatore’s ex-wife Elisabetta Gregoraci claimed: “Michael doesn’t speak, he communicates with his eyes.
“Only three people can visit him and I know who they are.”
Speaking on the Italian version of Big Brother the brunette added, in comments echoed by Spanish press: “They moved to Spain and his wife has set up a hospital in that house.[“
German tabloid Bild first linked the F1 legend to Florentino Perez’s Majorca mansion in July 2018, saying Corinna had purchased it for 30 million euroes (£27 million) so she could spend holidays there with her children and friends.
The house was bought by building magnate Perez in 2005 but he put it up for sale in 2017 after the death of his wife Mari Angeles Sandoval.
The villa is part of a 15,000 square metre estate which boasts two swimming pools, a helipad, a gym and a huge palm-tree-fringed garden.
Schumacher, the only driver in history to win seven F1 World Championships, was placed in a medically-induced coma after a life-threatening skiing accident in December 2013 in the French Alps.
He was relocated to the family home on the shores of Lake Geneva in September 2014.
Updates on his health have been few and far between.
Gina and her brother Mick wished their dad happy birthday this week with touching messages as he turned 55.
Gina wrote on Instagram: “]Happy Birthday Papa! throwback to one of many of our adventures.[“
The post was accompanied by an image of her and her brother as children with the Formula One legend.
Mick, 24, wrote: ‘Happy birthday to the best Dad ever. Love you!’
The message showed a photo of them both wearing helmets, with a young Mick smiling and holding his thumb up as Michael looked lovingly towards him.
Schumacher’s ex-Formula One team Mercedes also posted a birthday message urging him to ‘keep fighting’.
Michael’s younger brother Ralf, who was also a F1 driver, told German newspaper Bild last week: “]Nothing is like before.”
He added: “I miss my Michael from back then. Life is sometimes unfair. Michael had been lucky many times in his life, but then the tragic accident happened.
“Fortunately, modern medicine has made it possible to do some things.”
His wife Corinna offered a rare insight on her husband’s state in a Netflix documentary in 2021.
She admitted: “I miss Michael every day. But it is not just me who misses him. It’s the children, the family, his father, everyone around him. I mean, everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here.
“Different, but he’s here, and that gives us strength. We’re together. We live together at home.”
