Man United star's ex breaks silence on 'hellish' divorce (photos)

AnneKee Molenaar has candidly opened up about the breakdown of her marriage to Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt. The 26-year-old Dutch model described the split from the Netherlands international as "hell", revealing it caused her genuine physical pain.

The couple parted ways last year, just 12 months after tying the knot in June 2024. Their split brought an end to a relationship that dated back to De Ligt's time in the Ajax academy and included an engagement in 2023. Despite going their separate ways, Molenaar stressed that a deep platonic affection remains between them.

"It was a tough year. A year of many changes, but one I'm also very grateful for," Molenaar told RTL Boulevard. "It's a sudden change, you miss something and feel sad about it. You feel pain. I truly experienced it physically. Just pure physical pain... it really is a grieving process."

The model went into detail about her emotional struggles during the breakup: "It felt like having open-heart surgery and someone was blowing on my heart. That's how fragile and vulnerable I felt. Hurt."

AnneKee was keen to dispel speculation of any dramatic falling out behind their mutual decision: "I understand people might think something terrible must have happened. It's hard for me to say this, but that really wasn't the case. We had wonderful times together over all these years, but last year we came to the conclusion that the romantic feelings were no longer there. There is a lot of love between Matthijs and me. Truly a lot of love. I think the kindest thing we could do was say: you go your way, and I'll go mine."

Previous reports from Daily Mail Sport and the Realityfbi channel suggested that the model's spiritual lifestyle may have contributed to the split, with the 27-year-old defender reportedly struggling to relate to her posts on crystals, tarot cards, flower remedies, and alchemy. Molenaar, who completed training last year at the Bach Centre — founded on the work of British physician Edward Bach — continues to pursue this path and is currently writing a book on alchemy, the historical practice associated with transforming base metals into gold.

Currently single and open to romance again, AnneKee has seen her former partner move on. In June, De Ligt confirmed his relationship with model Amber Yuusef after they were pictured together in Ibiza. Addressing online rumours and leaked screenshots questioning his new partner's motives, the defender issued a statement via Realityfbi: "Normally I never feel the need to respond, but this time I do. Nowadays, we know anything can be faked, and that's the case with these screenshots. Amber and I are getting to know each other and would like to do so privately." Yuusef was previously linked last year to Jobe Bellingham, brother of Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham, according to Sportnieuws.

On the pitch, De Ligt underwent surgery in May, an issue that ruled him out of the Netherlands squad. The centre-back is yet to feature for Manchester United this season, though he was named on the bench against Atletico Madrid and took part in a pre-season friendly against Lausanne.