Princess Märtha Louise of Norway opens up about late husband Ari Behn’s death

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway may now be married to Shaman Durek Verrett, but before this she was married to her late husband, author Ari Behn.

They had wed in 2002, with Behn choosing to remain a private citizen rather than take on any royal titles. They have three daughters together – Maud, Leah and Emma.

They decided to part ways in 2016, finalising their divorce the year later.

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Behn, who was always open about his mental health struggles, died by suicide in 2019.

In an interview with the Who’s Your Daddy podcast with Sebastian Solberg, she has opened up about his death and how it affected herself and her family.

The Norwegian royal explained, “I didn’t realise it was so physically demanding. I felt like I’d been running a marathon every day, and at the same time, I couldn’t sleep, eat, or anything like that. I was exhausted and in a kind of brain fog.”

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The royal was ”completely devastated” when she was informed of the death and wasn’t able “to get out of bed”.

Still, she kept it together to support her three daughters. But after six months when they were doing better, the 53-year-old allowed herself to finally fall into grief.

“After seeing the children start to get back on their feet, after six months, I went into a downward spiral. Really depressed,” she shared.

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Five years on, the royal married American Shaman Durek Verrett in August 2024 during a three-day wedding.

Her daughters were present at the wedding, with Maud, now 22, giving her mother away.

Verrett also paid tribute to his new step-daughters in a speech at the wedding, saying, “It’s a gift to have Märtha’s girls in my life.”

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