Michael Schumacher family joy as his daughter Gina, 26, marries her boyfriend at a luxury villa in Mallorca, where F1 legend is living 'a new life' 10 years after his skiing accident
Michael Schumacher's daughter Gina will get married later this year at the family's luxury villa in Mallorca, it is reported.
The 26-year-old will tie the knot with 27-year-old boyfriend Iain Bethke this summer, the island press reports. Mallorcan daily Ultima Hora, which cites German magazine Bunte as the source of the information, says a wedding planner from northern Germany has been hired to give the party the finishing touches.
It says the couple will say 'I do' under a floral arch in the villa that the wife of seven-time F1 world champion Schumacher is said to have bought from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in 2017.
According to reports, a country music band will play live music during the outdoor ceremony in the evening. Male guests are asked to attend the wedding ceremony and subsequent party in suits, but are told not to wear ties due to the high temperatures expected that day.
Horse lovers Gina and Iain made their relationship official just over six years ago. They stepped out at an awards ceremony in Munich in December 2017.
Michael Schumacher's 26-year-old daughter Gina will marry her boyfriend Iain Bethke in Mallorca this summer
Gina and Bethke pictured at an awards dinner in Germany in 2017, shortly after they became official
Gina shared a photo on Instagram earlier this week wishing Michael a happy 55th birthday
In September last year, Michael's daughter shared a new photo on her Instagram account with her boyfriend.
Reports of the wedding do not indicate whether Michael, who turned 55 three days after the 10th anniversary of his tragic skiing accident, will attend.
In September 2020, it was claimed that Schumacher spent time at the villa in Mallorca. According to the Spanish press, he had been transferred from his Swiss home to the exclusive estate at the chic Las Brisas estate near Andratx in the south-west of the island.
The Spanish press, including respected Mallorcan 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 the Spanish press: “They moved to Spain and his wife set up a hospital in that house.”
German tabloid Bild first linked the F1 legend to Florentino Perez's mansion in Mallorca in July 2018, saying Corinna bought it for €30 million so she could spend holidays there with her children and friends.
The house was bought by construction 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 meter estate with two swimming pools, a helipad, a gym and a huge garden with palm trees.
Schumacher, the only driver in history to win seven F1 world championships, was placed in a medically induced coma in December 2013 after a life-threatening skiing accident in the French Alps.
He was moved to the family home on the shores of Lake Geneva in September 2014. There have been few updates on his health.
Gina and her brother Mick wished their father a happy birthday this week with touching messages as he turned 55. Gina wrote on Instagram: 'Happy Birthday Dad! looking back on one of the many of our adventures.'
The post was accompanied by an image of her and her brother as children with the Formula 1 legend.
Mick, 24, wrote: 'Happy birthday to the best dad ever. Love you!' The post showed a photo of them both wearing helmets, with a young Mick smiling and giving a thumbs up as Michael looked lovingly at him.
Schumacher's ex-Formula 1 team Mercedes also posted a birthday message urging him to 'keep fighting'.
Michael's younger brother Ralf, who was also an F1 driver, told German newspaper Bild last week: “Nothing is like before.” He added: 'I miss my Michael from back then. Life is unfair sometimes. Michael had been lucky many times in his life, but then the tragic accident happened.
According to reports, Schumacher has spent time at the villa in Mallorca as part of his recovery from a horrific skiing accident that left him in a medically induced coma more than a decade ago.
Schumacher's wife Corinna reportedly bought the villa for £27 million from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in July 2018
“Fortunately, modern medicine has made it possible to do some things.”
His wife Corinna gave a rare insight into her husband's condition in a Netflix documentary in 2021.
She admitted: 'I miss Michael every day. 'But it's not just me who misses him. It's the children, the family, his father, everyone around him. I mean, everyone misses Michael, but Michael is here.
'Different, but he is here, and that gives us strength. We are together. We live at home together.'