Who is Roberto Cavalli’s grieving girlfriend Sandra Nilsson? Swedish Playboy model, 38, spent a decade by the side of her ‘favourite designer’, 83, who bought her a private island – and once she said she didn’t care about looks in a man

The fashion world is shocked after the death of design icon Roberto Cavalli, who died on Friday at the age of 83.

Yesterday, a host of famous mourners came to remember the legendary designer as he was laid to rest in his hometown of Florence.

Among them was his long-term girlfriend and Swedish former model Sandra Nilsson.

Sandra, 38, was photographed appearing bereft at the funeral, with one photo showing her leaning towards the hearse with her partner inside.

The couple, who had a 45-year age difference, had been dating for more than a decade after getting together in 2014 – although some reports say Sandra was seen at Roberto’s side as early as 2010 when he split from his partner divorced. second wife.

Roberto, who was divorced twice before his relationship with the former model, had six children.

The couple shared one child, a son born in March 2023 and named Giorgio, in honor of Roberto’s father.

Although many know Sandra as Roberto’s partner, she enjoyed her own success in the fashion industry.

Sandra was born in Sjöbo in southern Sweden, a small town she describes as ‘beautiful’, with around 7,000 inhabitants.

She was discovered at the age of 13 by a modeling agent during a family vacation in Paris.

An agency called Clic asked her to model for them, but her parents said she was too young.

However, according to Sandra, she started when she was 15.

Her parents wanted her to wait until she graduated high school before getting into the industry, but instead, after studying nursing, she started modeling while working as a personal assistant.

One of the highlights of her career was competing in Scandinavian Top Model and winning several beauty pageants, including Sweden’s Miss Hawaiian Tropic.

Her first win came when she was crowned Miss Salming, before competing in Miss Siren, Miss EU, Miss World Bikini Model and Miss Hawaiian.

In 2006, Sandra was named ‘Sweden’s seventh sexiest woman’, and in 2008 she became Playmate of the Month for January in Playboy Magazine.

According to Sandra, her family supported her appearance in the publication and “thought [she] looked great’ in the photos.

In a interview That year, the then-model shared some details about herself during New York Fashion Week.

She said, “When I’m in New York, I look for food and fashion. Fashion is great in New York, especially now that it’s fashion week.’

Sandra revealed that she ‘loved seeing all the new collections’, but also ‘all of them’ [her] friends who are in town for the event.

She described herself as a vegetarian and joked during the interview that although she doesn’t eat fish, she loves the chewy sweetness of Swedish fish.

According to Sandra, the things she enjoyed most about modeling were traveling and meeting people, as well as the clothes.

She described her own personal style as “cute and sexy” and revealed that Roberto Cavalli was her favorite designer.

However, at one interview a few months earlier she said that she was single at the time, but explained what she was looking for in a man.

She said: ‘I don’t think what he looks like matters as long as he has a good personality.’

She added her turn-offs with a man, noting “when he stinks and only talks about himself.”

During the chat, the model also showed that she has both brains and looks, revealing that she speaks three languages, although she only shared two: Swedish and English.

Despite her success as a glamor model in the late 1990s, Sandra’s modeling career seemed to have waned by the time she and Roberto started dating.

This was the case because of the age difference between the two reported that the couple faced criticism when it was discovered they were together.

Around that time, Sandra’s parents reportedly told Swedish media that their daughter was dividing her time between New York and Italy, where she “works for Roberto Cavalli.”

Sandra was accused by some of wanting to exploit the relationship for her own fame, but the pair proved doubters wrong thanks to the longevity of their coupling.

Furthermore, the criticism seemed to have little to no effect on the couple, who shared images of their life together on social media.

Sandra and Roberto enjoyed an extremely lavish lifestyle, with the designer said to be worth around $400 million.

Among his extravagant gestures, the designer bought Sandra into a private island Sweden in 2015.

He spent £2.22 million on Stora Rullingen, off the coast of Strängnäs, about 50 miles east of Stockholm.

“She always dreamed of her own island,” her father Jan-Ove Nilsson told Katrineholms Kuriren.

“She wants something in Sweden to fall back on.”

The 31.5-acre island comes complete with a four-bedroom villa, hunting lodge, swimming pool and the remains of a Viking hill fort, as well as its own small golf course. It also features both a jacuzzi and a swimming pool built into the mountain.

It is not yet officially known what will happen to the designer’s fortune, although some reports speculate that his assets will be divided between Sandra and his six children.

Roberto died last week at his home in Florence, after a long illness.

His fashion house released an official statement on his death, saying: ‘It is with great regret and great sadness that the Roberto Cavalli Maison participates in the passing of its founder Roberto Cavalli. From humble beginnings in Florence, Mr. Cavalli managed to become a globally recognized name loved and respected by all.

‘He was a nature artist and believed that everyone can discover the artist within themselves. Roberto Cavalli’s legacy will live on through his art, his creativity, his love for nature, animals and through the family he cherished.”