Sanna Marin announces divorce from 19-year-old partner

Sanna Marin and Markus Raikkonen Photo: Jussi Nukari

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has announced a divorce from her 19-year-old partner .

Ms. Marin married Markus Raikkonen almost three years ago, in August 2020, and the 37-year-old couple have a five-year-old daughter, Emma Amalia.

“Together we&# 39; you filed for divorce. We are grateful for 19 years of marriage and for our beloved daughter" Ms Marin posted on Instagram about the relationship that started when they were both 18.

"We are still best friends, close to each other and loving parents. In the future, we will continue to spend time together as a family and with each other. We want you to respect our privacy. We will not comment further on this.”

Ms Marin is set to step down as prime minister after losing an election last month after nearly three and a half years in power.

Described by the German newspaper Bild as the «toughest prime minister in the world,» Ms Marin gave up decades of Finland's non-alignment with NATO to apply for NATO membership after neighboring Russia invaded Ukraine, and is a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin.

However, she also faced criticism after footage of her dancing and drinking with friends was leaked last August .

She passed a drug test to prove she was clean as the «party» scandal made international headlines.

Another video of Ms Marin dances with 39-year-old Finnish singer Olavi Uusivirta, later appeared on the net. presumably the same evening.

He denied that he had an affair with the prime minister, and there is no suggestion that he is responsible for the split.

"In all honesty, I can just say it like it is: we friends and nothing inappropriate happened. I will no longer publicly comment on this issue, ”he said then. Marin said she had the right to let off steam after the stresses of managing and motherhood and vowed to continue spending time with her friends.

However, she later apologized after a photo of her two friends kissing. A topless bathtub in her official residence was leaked days after her drug test results.

In December 2021, Ms Marin apologized for not hitting clubs and not following her own rules for dealing with the coronavirus .

She was photographed dancing in a Helsinki nightclub until almost four in the morning, hours after her foreign minister tested positive for coronavirus.