Photo: Getty Images
She's Norwegian royalty with a troubled past.
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Dec 28, 2019
Who is Ari Behn's ex-wife? When Ari Behn was found dead on Christmas Day in what was ruled a suicide, people's thoughts immediately turned to Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, to whom he was married for many years.
Though the couple divorced in 2017, they shared three daughters together and seemed to have a pleasant co-parenting relationship and warm friendship despite the dissolution of their marriage. However, as of this writing, the Princess has yet to issue a public statement about the death of her ex-husband.
Let's look at what we know about this mysterious woman.
1. Who is Ari Behn's ex-wife, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway?
The Princess is the oldest daughter of King Harald V and his wife, Queen Sonja. She's fourth in line to the throne in Norway, behind her brother — the Crown Prince Haakon — and his children.
Despite her hereditary royalty, her children with Ari Behn do not hold royal titles — they're not Prince, Princess, Duke or Duchess — much like Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry's son, Archie, does not hold a royal title.
2. She's very esoterically-inclined.
The Princess is someone who follows a non-traditional path of spirituality. Preferring to pursue more esoteric avenues, the Princess founded a school called "Astarte Education" that teaches people how to communicate with angels.
This, perhaps unsurprisingly, caused a storm of controversy in Norway, with critics calling for her to renounce her royal title. However, the Princess defended her decision by claiming she is clairvoyant, and even the Norwegian royal family made clear that this business venture is "her responsibility."
3. Princess Märtha Louise of Norway has a boyfriend that is also esoterically-inclined.
In May 2019, the Princess made headlines when she revealed that she had a new boyfriend, Shaman Durek. The Shaman, who was endorsed by Gwyneth Paltrow in his new book called Spirit Hacking, referred to the Princess as someone from whom he feels "unconditional love."
The Princess, for her part, has said that the Shaman is her "twin flame."
4. The Princess said she would no longer use her royal title in a business context.
When the Princess got together with the Shaman, she faced criticism because there were some citizens of Norway that felt she was using her royal title in an inappropriate way. For that reason, she issued a public statement saying that she would only use her royal title when it was about royal business, but in every other context, she would cease using the title "Princess."
"We [the Norwegian royal family] have therefore jointly come to the conclusion that I use the title Princess when I represent the Royal House, do my official assignments at home and abroad and in private contexts. From now on I will not use my Princess title in a commercial context. That is, in all commercial contexts, I only use Märtha Louise. I find this to be a good solution where there is a clear distinction between my business activities and my role as a representative of the Royal House, and that I have thus created room for greater freedom in my business activities,” she said in an official statement.
5. Princess Märtha Louise has not issued a statement about her ex-husband Ari Behn's passing.
While there have been official statements released from Ari Behn's people about his suicide on Christmas Day, there has yet to be an official statement from the Norwegian royal family or from the Princess, herself, about the passing of Ari Behn. We'll update this article should a statement be released.
6. However, Ari Behn reportedly felt like a "clown" when he and the Princess divorced.
In an interview released just one year before he died by suicide, Ari Behn said that he felt like a "clown" and a "public actor" when he and the Princess divorced.
Behn said that he feared he was going to "die alone" and that he wouldn't be able to connect with anyone, as he became more and more lonely. He also said that he was concerned about his drinking habits, and how that would negatively affect his ability to parent his three daughters.
Our thoughts are with Ari Behn's family during what is undoubtedly a difficult time.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.