Michael Schumacher’s daughter Gina has reportedly tied the knot with her boyfriend Iain Bethke at the family’s luxury villa in Majorca.
The couple said ‘I do’ around 4pm on Saturday under an arch of flowers at Villa Yasmin, the property seven-times F1 world champion Schumacher’s wife Corinna is understood to have bought in 2017 from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
The ceremony lasted around half an hour according to respected Majorcan daily Ultima Hora.
The newspaper reported a banquet and party with live music by a country music band was taking place tonight at the villa in Port d’Andratx.
Guests are said to have included Michael’s brother Ralf and his partner Etienne Bosquet-Cassagne, who also attended a pre-party at upmarket Mhares Sea Club south of the island capital Palma on Friday afternoon where the dress code was all white.
Michael Schumacher’s daughter Gina has tied the knot with her boyfriend Iain Bethke
Horse enthusiasts Gina and Iain went official with their relationship nearly seven years ago
Gina Schumacher confirmed the news via a post on her Instagram account on Saturday
Ultima Hora made no references to Michael’s attendance at either event.
It was reported at the start of the year Gina and her boyfriend would get married during the summer at Villa Yasmin.
Majorcan press, citing German magazine Bunte as the source of the information, said a wedding planner from northern Germany had been hired to put the ‘finishing touches’ on the celebration.
Horse enthusiasts Gina and Iain went official with their relationship nearly seven years ago. They stepped out at an awards ceremony in Munich in December 2017.
In September last year Michael’s daughter shared a new photo on her Instagram account with her boyfriend.
The reports about the wedding in January did not specify whether Michael, who turned 55 on January 3 days after the tenth anniversary of his tragic ski accident, would attend.
In September 2020 it was claimed Schumacher was spending time at the villa in Majorca.
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 Majorca from his Swiss home.
Papers 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.
The ceremony was held at the family’s £27m mansion in Majorca, which Schumacher is understood to have bought in 2017 from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez
Ralf Schumacher (left), Michael’s brother, and his partner Etienne Bosquet-Cassagne (right) were reportedly among the guests for the ceremony
‘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 £27million 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, saw his life change forever after a tragic accident 10 years ago.
Having spent his career expertly piloting the world’s fastest – and dangerous machines for more than 15 years – before retiring in good health in 2012 aged 43, Schumacher almost lost his life in a freak fall just one year later.
The seven-time world champion was enjoying a family holiday in the French ski resort of Méribel and embarked on a seemingly routine skiing excursion with his then 14-year-old son Mick when disaster struck.
While descending the highly popular Combe de Saulire route, Schumacher opted to venture off-piste, entering into a small sliver of uncombed powder between Piste Chamois and Piste Biche that was peppered with small rocks.
But despite the relatively gentle gradient and the short distance of the off-piste section, a hidden danger was lying in wait. The snowfall had concealed some of the boulders from view, turning the powder paradise into a minefield.
Gina and her brother Mick (left) wished their dad happy birthday earlier this year with touching messages as he turned 55
Schumacher’s skis clipped one such boulder and the sudden force catapulted him into the air – leaving him powerless to avoid a head-first collision with another rock.
The impact was devastating. Schumacher’s helmet absorbed much of the force, but the severity of the accident cracked the hard shell and fractured Schumacher’s skull, leading to a traumatic brain injury.
Having been placed into a medically induced coma, he underwent two brain surgeries, surviving both against all odds, but remained in critical condition.
In April 2014, doctors began the painstaking process of gradually withdrawing him from the coma, and by June he was deemed safe to move.
The seven-time world champion has not been seen in public since he suffered a serious brain injury in the brutal skiing accident in the French Alps
He then travelled to Lausanne University Hospital for continuous rehabilitation, before leaving the facility in September to the £50m Schumacher family home in Gland, Switzerland, on the banks of Lake Geneva.
Updates on his health have been few and far between, as his wife Corinna, who he married in 1995, insisted on total secrecy over his condition.
The rule has been faithfully observed by Schumacher’s loved ones, friends and wider entourage, who believe the racer and his immediate family deserve privacy to maintain his dignity.
None but a trusted few are granted access to his bedside amid strict security protocols, which have inevitably given rise to a number of rumours over Schumi’s condition.
The family has also been subject to extortion and blackmail from opportunists seeking to cash in on the legend’s tragedy.
Earlier this week a pair of suspects, Yilmaz T, 53, and his 30-year-old son from Wuppertal in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region, were charged after they were arrested for allegedly threatening to leak images of Schumacher taken after his near-fatal skiing crash.
They allegedly told the Schumachers they ‘would not want (the pictures) published’ and ‘demanded millions’ to stop them from doing so.
The two men, who were arrested on June 19, transferred ‘individual files’ to the family to show they had access to documents about the F1 star – threats that investigators later deemed credible.
A third man, thought to be the mastermind behind the plot, was also arrested as part of the investigation. The 53-year-old previously worked as a security guard for the family, the public prosecutor’s office in Wuppertal said.
Schumacher lives and receives treatments in his £50million mansion in Gland, Switzerland
The case is said to have brought the family closer together, as they continue to care for Schumacher and posting the occasional update on social media.
Gina and her brother Mick wished their father happy birthday in January this year 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, now 25, 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 at the end of last year: ‘Nothing is like before.’
Updates on the health of the Ferrari legend have been few and far between in recent years
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.’