A row between Malaysia’s former King Muhammad V and his beautiful Russian ex-wife has reportedly worsened when the Royal Palace threatened to cut off alimony payments unless she stopped posting on social media about him.
The threat follows statements by stunning 27-year-old Oksana Voevodina that she is reconsidering whether it might be best to talk about their split, saying she realised that the public wanted a conclusive answer about her marriage last year to the king.
He is reported to have wed the former beauty queen while on holiday in November last year, when in fact the November ceremony incorrectly billed as a wedding was simply to confirm their Islamic wedding which had taken place in private in June.
The current suspected row is over the king allegedly divorcing her with a “talak tiga” or talaq baayin, which is the most severe and irreversible divorce in Islam, and it was confirmed by filing documents in the Singapore Syariah Court, although Oksana continues to insist this is not valid and they are still married.
In a posting on Instagram, she said: “I know that everyone really wants to know what happened to us. Before, I was not ready to reveal my story.”
But then she added: “Maybe, if I tell you the truth, I will feel better… but I just don’t want to hurt anyone. It will be painful.”
Since the posting, however, officials in Kelantan Palace, that represents the Royal family and manages their affairs have reiterated that only the Palace and its ruler, Sultan Muhammad V, are qualified to make statements about him and anything else cannot be regarded as reliable.
Muhammed V is the Sultan of the Malaysian province of Kelanten and previously served as the king of Malaysia until January this year when he abdicated the throne.
In an official statement, Royal Household manager Datuk Nik Mohd said that Malaysians should ignore lies and untruths that were being spread on social media and added: “His Royal Highness Sultan Muhammad V, as the Kelantan Ruler, should not be associated with slander and the subject of lies on social media. These lies told on social media have defamed the Kelantan Sultanate and the Kelantan royal family.”
Since the statement, the King’s legal team have apparently also been in touch with his estranged wife, saying that any maintenance payments or alimony are dependent on her stopping her online postings, according to local media.
The lawyer for the young woman, Evgeny Tarlo, however, said that as the couple are still legally married as far as she is concerned, the Sultan has no option other than to continue making payments.
He told Russian media: “How can we talk about alimony if there is no divorce. I think that someone is saying things on his behalf. The former king himself cannot be of this opinion.”
He said that up until very recently the Sultan had been providing for his wife and son, and that she was currently living in a house in Moscow that he had purchased for her.
In May 2019, the couple had a son together, Tengku Ismail Leon Petra.
His marriage to the Russian, however, is believed to be part of the reason why the Sultan abdicated the throne, although maintained his status as the hereditary ruler meaning that his descendants will take over the throne.
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Story By: Anna Casap, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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