Inside Lothar Matthaus’ FIVE divorces: From fashion tycoons, to TV presenters and models Germany’s World Cup-winning captain has had a colourful love life
Lothar Matthaus, a World Cup-winning captain and Ballon d’Or winner and the most capable German player in history, is a bona fide football great.
The 62-year-old was the first outfield player to play in five consecutive World Cups – and one of only six players to achieve the feat – and won the Bundesliga seven times with Bayern Munich and a Serie A title with Inter Milan.
Arguably one of the greatest midfielders in the history of football, Matthaus’ life off the pitch has rarely been quiet. The former Germany captain has had five divorces.
Matthaus married his first wife, Silvia, in 1981. The couple had two children – Alisa born in 1986 and Viola born in 1988 – but divorced in 1992.
The same year, Lolita Morena gave birth to his third child, Loris.
Lothar Matthaus (left) captained West Germany during their 1990 World Cup victory
The 62-year-old’s life off the field has rarely been boring: Matthaus has been divorced five times
The largest most recent divorce in Germany took place in 2021, when he divorced his fifth wife, Anastasia Klimko
Matthaus and Morena, a Swiss model and TV presenter who represented her country at Miss World in 1982 and Miss Universe a year later, married in 1994 but divorced in 1999 shortly before his retirement.
Matthaus swapped the pitch for the dugout two years later and began his managerial career at Rapid Vienna in September 2001 before taking charge of Partizan Belgrade in December the following year.
Success as a manager may have eluded him, but he found love in the Serbian capital in the form of 31-year-old fashion entrepreneur Marijana Colic.
Colic, who in addition to founding two fashion brands was the face of Samsung’s football campaign during the 2006 World Cup, was married to Serbian agricultural magnate Miodrag Kostic between 1990 and 1999.
She and Matthaus tied the knot in November 2003, but their marriage ended four years later after a lengthy divorce case in Salzburg – their last shared residence.
The couple initially broke up after Matthaus started dating Ukrainian model Kristina Liliana Chudinova in 2007.
Koliek, who still bears Matthaus’s surname, filed for divorce shortly afterwards.
“I believe in myself, I have certainty,” she told the Serbian newspaper Blic at the time.
Matthaus married his first wife Sylvia in 1981 and divorced in 1992. The couple is pictured here with their second child Viola in 1990
Matthaus married TV presenter and Swiss model Lolita Morena (right) in 1994.
The couple was married for five years but divorced in 1999, shortly before his retirement
‘I don’t want to comment on Lothar. My character is such that I constantly look ahead and do not live for yesterday.
‘For me, life is today and tomorrow. I don’t want to talk about Lothar at all and make him so important. For me he is yesterday. Past.’
During the year-long divorce case, the couple attempted to reach an out-of-court settlement over the division of their assets.
The former Bayern Munich reportedly offered his ex-wife a €100,000 settlement and ownership of their Budapest penthouse.
Although the details of the divorce case were not made public, Blic reported that Colic did not appeal the ruling, suggesting that she was satisfied with the outcome.
By the time the divorce was officially finalized in January 2009, Matthaus had already married Chudinova. He was 47 years old at the time, 26 years older than her.
The couple met at Munich’s Oktoberfest in 2007 and exchanged vows in Las Vegas in December 2008.
‘Yes it’s true. We are married. We wanted a symbol of our love,” Matthaus told Bild weeks after the ceremony.
Matthaus married his third wife, Marijana Colic, in 2003, but divorced in 2007
Matthaus’ third wife (pictured here with pop star Rita Ora, right) is a successful fashion entrepreneur and was previously married to one of Serbia’s richest men
Matthaus then married Ukrainian model Kristina Liliana Chudinova in 2008
The couple split in 2010 after photos of Chudinova embracing an unnamed millionaire on a yacht off the coast of Sardinia made headlines on German tabloids.
Matthaus’s most recent marriage was in 2014, when he tied the knot with Klimko
The couple have a son, Milan, pictured here with his parents at a Bayern Munich match in March
‘Everyone must see that we belong together. The wedding was not kitsch at all, but very romantic.’
The fact that the couple tied the knot came as a surprise in itself, as they briefly separated in February 2008 before settling their differences.
The Matthaus lived in Tel Aviv, where the former German star took charge of Maccabi Netanya in June 2008, but terminated his contract in April the following year as the club was in financial difficulties.
Matthaus’s fourth marriage ended in early 2010, when tabloids published photos of his wife passionately embracing an unnamed Monaco businessman on his yacht while vacationing in Sardinia.
Matthaus told Bild that he knew another divorce would be inevitable when he saw the photos.
‘I am bitterly disappointed because I would do anything for my wife. When we moved apart six months ago, I helped her get back on her feet,” he told the German newspaper.
‘Being a model is her dream. I’m really sad and this is all very hard to bear.’
Perhaps even more surprising, news of the divorce came as no surprise to Marijana, his third wife.
“I’m in regular contact with him, so I know what’s going on,” she said.
Matthaus and his third wife Marijana pictured at the Oktoberfest in Munich
The German great also attended Oktoberfest with Chudinova when they were together
Matthaus and his ex-wife Anastasia attended Oktoberfest together last October
“He’s been divorced for a while now, so it was only a matter of time before they made it official.
“Two months ago he told me he wanted to end things with her.”
Matthaus married for the fifth and so far last time in 2014, when he met Anastasia Klimko, from whom he had a son, Milan.
The couple divorced in 2021 but were spotted together at Oktoberfest two years later, leading to speculation that a rekindling of their flame could be on the cards.