Ex-wife of media tycoon Berlusconi hits back at unflattering magazine coverage

European election gimmick or bitter row between ex-husband and wife? Veronica Lario, former wife of media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, at the weekend reacted angrily to less than flattering photographs of her published by gossip magazine Chi, which just happens to belong to her famous ex-husband.

In a two-page spread with the headline “Veronica’s current shape – she has put on weight”, the former actor (58), who separated from Berlusconi in 2009, is portrayed with her long graying hair tied up and seemingly without make-up.

“Experts” offer the ex-Mrs Berlusconi, who divorced the former prime minister last February, advice on how she might lose weight, even suggesting she resort to plastic surgery to deal with excess pounds around her stomach and neck.

In an interview with Rome daily Il Messaggero, Lario defended her right to grow older with dignity, criticising the magazine, saying: "I consider this article to be an unacceptable attack on all those women who, like me, want to get old without having to subject themselves to the stereotypical obsession of at all costs trying to look younger. I am almost 60 years old, I'm not worried about my stomach line nor about the wrinkles on my neck. Is that a good reason to suggest that I need plastic surgery? . . . What sort of example does that give to those 16-year-olds who want liposuction treatment for their birthday present?"

Lario continued: “It’s true, I am no longer a Berlusconi, so that means that my pictures don’t get the Photoshop treatment. However, this article shows a total lack of respect for a woman who, after all, is still the mother of Silvio Berlusconi’s children . . .”

Timing
In reply, Chi editor Alfonso Signorini suggested there was something suspect about Lario's comments, issued one week after the article was published. Pointing out that they come at a crucial moment in a European election campaign in which Berlusconi (77) has campaigned hard for his Forza Italia party, he said: "This is a classic, or better still a deja  vu . . . Signora Veronica Lario's indignation is perfectly timed . . . coming just seven days before the election."

Signorini said that Chi deals with people in the public eye and the fact that Lario had put on weight represented "news".

So far, Berlusconi has issued no comment. While the couple are legally divorced, the financial aspects of their settlement have yet to be resolved. In December 2012, a Milan court awarded Lario alimony worth €3 million a month.

Last October, that sum was reduced to €1.4 million on appeal but Lario has appealed that decision.

Media reports suggest the unflattering photos represented a “reply” to her recent request for a €500 million settlement.