The former partner of Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt has shared details of their painful separation, which she described as “hell.”
Background
De Ligt and his ex-wife separated last year, only 12 months after they had married.
At the time, it was suggested that De Ligt had grown tired of AnneKee Molenaar’s spiritual lifestyle, which included the use of crystals, tarot cards, flower remedies, and alchemy.
The pair had dated for several years before tying the knot, starting from when De Ligt was a defensive prodigy making waves at Ajax.
The United star is now reportedly dating model Amber Yuusef.
Molenaar spoke to RTL Boulevard and revealed just how damaged and vulnerable the split from De Ligt left her, though she insisted the pair remain on good terms.
“Fragile and vulnerable”
The 26-year-old said, “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.”
She added, “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.’”
De Ligt has made 56 appearances for United since joining the club from Bayern Munich in 2024.
Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images
