Veronica Lario is the wife of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The outrageous actress of low-budget films managed to bind the loving politician to herself for as long as 30 years and give birth to three children. However, a long marriage ended predictably: a scandalous divorce and huge alimony.
Life before Silvio
Veronico Lario is a stage name; at birth, the girl received a much less sonorous name. Miriam Rafaella Bartolini was born in Bologna, northern Italy, in 1956. Little is known about her childhood. Education was not the strongest point of young Miriam; she was also not interested in a boring career as an office clerk or saleswoman. A pretty blonde from a very young age dreamed of a film set or at least a theatrical stage.
From her hometown, the girl moved to Milan and began trips to theaters in search of an engagement. As a result, Miriam got into the Manzoni Theater and at the same time starred in low-budget films. Unfortunately, young Veronica, who had managed to change her name by that time, did not show any special abilities. She conquered directors and spectators with her beauty and a complete lack of complexes. The culmination of her career was her role in the play The Magnificent Cuckold, where Veronica appeared on the stage nude. By the way, it was in this role that the future husband saw her.
Fateful acquaintance
In numerous interviews, Berlusconi emphasized that it was love at first sight. Struck by the beauty of the actress, Silvio sent her armfuls of roses. Signorita Lazio herself did not pay much attention to the new admirer, but he was persistent and in the end she gave up.
At the time of his acquaintance with Veronica Berlusconi, he was married and had two daughters. However, the title of a happy spouse never interfered with his romances, intrigues and just casual acquaintances. Legends circulated about the adventures of the loving Silvio, the gossip hero himself was not bothered by such dubious fame.
The connection with Lazio was stormy, the couple lived together without formalizing the relationship. Five years later, a daughter, Barbara, was born, a year later the family was replenished with another daughter, Eleanor, and soon the only son of Berlusconi, who was named Luigi, saw the light. Silvio was forced to file an official divorce from Carla's first wife Elvira Dell'Oglio and propose to Veronica. Naturally, she accepted it.
Family life
In 1990, the new signora Berlusconi became not just a friend, mistress and mother, but also the official wife of an ambitious politician. A few years later, Silvio founded his own party and began to move to the heights of power. In this case, the spouse of the politician is assigned an important, albeit invisible, role. Berlusconi gave numerous interviews, starred with his wife and children, creating the image of a caring and loving father of the family. True, the scandalous divorce that took place several years ago did not add positive colors to his image. But the rejection of a certain part of the population did not interfere with political growth, the party gained weight, Berlusconi received the desired posts, and the post of prime minister became the crown.
When her husband became the head of government, Veronica received the unofficial status of the first lady. Unlike the United States, in Italy, the prime minister's wife does not bear the burden of official duties, which suited Señora Berlusconi quite well. By the way, when she got married, she did not give up her stage name, emphasizing her own independence.
Veronica was not going to join the political establishment, official meetings and receptions of international leaders and their wives clearly did not fall into the sphere of her interests. In addition, the former actress was not distinguished by delicacy and restraint, and her political views often did not coincide with the opinion of her husband. The prime minister's wife preferred a luxurious, but much less public life, she was less and less seen in the company of her husband. Each official exit turned into a small sensation, the newspapermen began to wonder what prompted the first lady to this or that meeting.
Disagreement and divorce
Silvio's political successes were accompanied by an equally turbulent personal life, which had nothing to do with the family. The aging politician became involved in very scandalous stories, the result was a high-profile court case. Some particularly unsightly stories began to surface in the press, causing Veronica's jealousy and family scandals. After one of them, the politician publicly apologized to his wife by publishing a letter of repentance in the newspaper. Veronica did not appreciate the gesture, and the electorate considered such a confession a sign of weakness. The prime minister's rating fell, life together became more and more difficult.
After a while, Veronica completely disappeared from the pages of newspapers and magazines. It was later revealed that the couple had parted. Senora Lazio with her children moved to the town of Macherio near Milan. After a while, she declared herself in a very unusual way, having released a book about life with Berlusconi. For a while, the biography fell into the category of bestsellers, and the main character of the work was furious.
In 2009, Veronica told the press about the imminent divorce. By this time, Berlusconi maintained relations with another passion, twenty-eight-year-old Francesca Pascal. After the scandalous revelation, Silvio gave an interview, where it was said about the engagement and imminent wedding with Francesca. But first, it was necessary to file an official divorce from the previous wife. It took place in 2014. An unpleasant surprise for Berlusconi was the amount of alimony: he had to pay 3 million euros a month. According to Veronica, who was supported by the judge, children should not suffer after their father leaves, having lost their usual standard of living.
Berlusconi filed an appeal, after the next court session he managed to cut the amount of alimony by half. The next step was taken by Veronica: the lawsuit filed by her confirmed the fairness of the first court decision. Berlusconi was forced to admit defeat. Perhaps, under the influence of these litigations and tangible financial losses, he changed his mind about remarrying, the relationship in Francesca was never formalized. The divorce coincided with the end of Berlusconi's political career; he lost parliamentary immunity and senatorial powers.
Veronica also did not tie the knot. She lives almost the same as before the divorce, occasionally falling into camera lenses.
