Matthijs de Ligt's ex-wife, AnneKee Molenaar, has revealed that confronting her emotions about the Manchester United defender ahead of their divorce "was hell".
De Ligt, 27, married his long-term partner just one week before Euro 2024 kicked off and a day after representing the Netherlands in a friendly against Canada. Yet their lavish wedding celebration in Italy, scheduled for a year later, was cancelled last summer, with the pair instead ending their eight-year romance. He is currently in a relationship with fellow Dutch model Amber Yuusef, having confirmed they were together in June.
Molenaar speaks out on 'Guncle'
De Ligt's former wife has now opened up extensively about their separation. Molenaar featured on the debut episode of an online interview series on YouTube hosted by Robbert Rodenburg, entitled 'Guncle'. She reflected: "It has been a tough year, a year with a lot of change, but also a year for which I am very grateful."
Addressing the breakdown of her marriage to De Ligt publicly for the first time, the model explained: "We have had a very nice time all these years, and yet last year we came to the conclusion that it is no longer there in the romantic way.
"I have the feeling that people think: how can you get married and divorce a year later? But I don't regret anything. (...) I think it's very important to keep it to myself, and I really wanted it to work.
"I understand that people think: something must have happened there [before the wedding in Italy]. I hate to say it, but that's really just not the case.
"There is a lot of love between Matthijs and me; there is really a lot of love. I think the most loving thing we have done is say: 'You are going this way, and I am going that way.'"
Physical pain and moving on
Speaking about the split, Molenaar explained: "That is really just a process of mourning. It's an abrupt change, and you're missing something, and you're sad about that. You are in pain.
"I really experienced it as something physical-just physical pain. As if I had open-heart surgery and someone was blowing against my heart. That's how fragile and vulnerable I felt."
Molenaar revealed she has only very recently begun dating again. De Ligt confirmed this summer, responding to photographs of him with Yuusef, that "Amber and I are getting to know each other better, and we would like to do that in privacy."
De Ligt dismisses 'fake' screenshots
He also dismissed screenshots circulating, which suggested she was only interested in his celebrity status and wealth, branding them "fake". De Ligt stated: "Normally I never feel the need to respond, but I do this time. In this day and age, we know that anything can be faked, and that is the case with this screenshot as well."
