The former wife of a Manchester United star who poured her heart out over her divorce “hell” is actually from a successful footballing family. Matthijs de Ligt split from his wife AnneKee Molenaar last year after just a year of marriage.
The two have been together since his days at Ajax where the centre-back made his mark. They moved to Italy together when De Ligt joined Juventus, and to Munich in 2022 when the Netherlands international joined Bayern. However, their relationship broke down in Manchester after just a short time married.
A footballing pedigree
AnneKee will be familiar with the demands of a football family, with her father, former Ajax and Feyenoord defender Keje Molenaar, and her brother, DVVA centre-back Jip Molenaar.
Her father Keje, 68, started his career at FC Volendam before joining Ajax in 1980, where he played four years, including three campaigns in the European Cup. He is a two-time Eredivisie champion in Amsterdam before returning to his hometown club Volendam for a campaign. However, he ruffled the feathers of the Ajax fans by signing for their arch rivals Feyenoord just one year later - playing four seasons between 1985 and 1988, but he was unable to pick up another league title as the Rotterdam club finished third three years in a row to qualify for the UEFA Cup.
Meanwhile, Jip, 25, also started his professional career at Volendam after playing in Eintracht Frankfurt’s youth team. He joined Telstar in 2021 but spent just one season before signing for Amsterdam minnows DVVA.
Heartbreak and healing
AnneKee, who is an incredibly spiritual person, claims her and De Ligt still love each other, despite the injured defender appearing to have moved on with a new partner. The Netherlands international, who has been sidelined with a back injury for almost a year, is said to have got fed up with AnneKee's spiritual lifestyle, which centres around crystals, tarot cards, flower remedies, and alchemy, and all focus prominently on her Instagram page.
Speaking to RTL Boulevard, AnneKee revealed that facing her feelings was "hell", she added: "It has been a tough year. A year with a lot of change, but also a year I am very grateful for."
"It is an abrupt change and you miss something and you are sad about that. You are in pain. I really experienced it as something physical. Just physical pain... that is really just a process of grieving."
"It was like I was having open-heart surgery and someone was blowing on my heart. That is how fragile and vulnerable I felt. Bruised."
"I understand that people think: something must have happened there. I hate to say it, but that is really just not the case."
"We had a wonderful time all those years, and yet last year we came to the conclusion that it is no longer there in a romantic way."
"There is a lot of love between Matthijs and me. There really is a lot of love. I think the most loving thing we did was saying: you go this way and I go that way."
Life after the split
Annekee also has her own "Alchemia" page and business. "Alchemia" is the Italian and Polish word for alchemy, the ancient chemical practice focused on transmuting base metals into gold and discovering the elixir of life.
The pair first met in Amsterdam when the 6ft 2in defender was making his way in the game playing for Ajax, but he didn’t propose until 2023. According to reports at the time, the pair had planned to mark their wedding properly last summer with a celebration in Italy surrounded by loved ones. However, according to Dutch publication DenD, the festivities were called off at the eleventh hour.
They claimed that De Ligt has flown to Barbados without AnneKee, 26, following a solitary week in Ibiza. De Ligt has since been sighted with stunning Dutch model Amber Yuusef. Earlier this summer, De Ligt and Amber were spotted smooching as they enjoyed some summer sun in Ibiza.
