Reclusive Athina Onassis, heiress to $2.7billion fortune who stepped away from public life after humiliating heartbreak, breaks cover at Barcelona Bridal Week in rare public appearance

She may be known for her reclusive tendencies, but Athina Onassis made a rare appearance at Barcelona Bridal Week this week.

The 41-year-old, who has spent most of his adult life holed up in his heavily fortified mansion in Campine, an area of ​​outstanding natural beauty on the border between Belgium and the Netherlands, attended the Stephane Rolland show on Wednesday alongside Swedish actor Fredrik Dolk.

Unlike other socialites who often couldn’t resist the numerous invitations to lavish soirées and glitzy public events, Athina instead devoted all her energy to her professional stables near Valkenswaard in the Netherlands.

Because, despite his vast inheritance, the grandson of Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, who married Jackie Kennedy during a long-term love affair with opera singer Maria Callas, fell victim to the so-called ‘Onassis Curse’, suffering tragedy after tragedy.

Athina’s mother, Christina, died of a heart attack brought on by years of eating disorders at the age of 37, when her only child was just three years old.

Fifteen years earlier, Christina’s brother Alexander had died in a plane crash, while their mother Athina ‘Tina’ Onassis died of a drug overdose the following year in 1974. Months later, Aristotle, who had never recovered from the death of his heir, died of bronchial pneumonia.

Athina was also involved in romantic troubles; Her ex-husband, Brazilian entertainer Alvaro ‘Doda’ de Miranda, was reportedly found in bed with a one-night stand at the $2 million home the heiress bought in Wellington, Florida, in 2016. He has only been seen a few times since then.

After a three-year break from public events, she first went into hiding in March last year and has since attended various events, including Wednesday’s demonstration, suggesting she may be turning over a new leaf.

Wearing a red outfit, Athina posed for a photo with her guest, a well-known voice actor known for his role as Buzz Lightyear in the Swedish version of Toy Story.

The fashion showcase marked Stephane Rolland’s Spanish debut and was accompanied by lively poetry and music.

In Athina’s early childhood, when she learned the nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep, her mother gave her a flock of sheep with a shepherd. He also gave him a private zoo. On her 18th birthday, Athina was given access to her late mother’s $2.7 billion fortune, making her the richest teenage child in the world.

He kept strictly out of the spotlight throughout his adult years, and almost completely withdrew from public life after his ten-year marriage to Miranda ended in 2016.

Athina was spotted in Brazil in April 2005 before marrying her ex-husband Alvaro de Miranda.

The heiress inherited $2.7 billion from her mother, who was tragically found dead in her bathtub at the age of 37, on her 18th birthday, when Athina was just three (pictured together)

In 2016, Miranda was discovered in bed with the woman by her husband’s security team. A well-connected member of the international show jumping community told the Daily Mail that Athina’s security team caught him “having sex with another woman”.

He begged them not to say anything, but one of them went straight to Athina. He immediately packed his bags and went to Europe,’ the source said.

‘Apparently it was a one night stand, nothing serious between them.’

Miranda told Brazilian magazine Epoca at the time: ‘I am truly in the eye of a storm. But I won’t give up on my love. It won’t be easy but I will fight until the end.’

Miranda later married another woman, journalist Denize Severo, and had three children.

Aristotle with Jackie Kennedy Onassis, his second wife and former wife of US President John F. Kennedy

Although it is one of the richest families in the world, the Onassis dynasty is known to have struggled with tragedies.

Fifteen years ago, Christina lost her entire family in just over two years. Her 24-year-old brother Alexander died in a plane crash in January 1973, and their mother, also called Athina, died of a drug overdose the following year.

Aristotle, who never recovered after the death of his son and heir, died of bronchial pneumonia in March 1975.

Christina had four marriages, none of which lasted more than three years. Athina (whose father was Christina’s last husband, French pharmaceutical heir Thierry Roussel) was her only child.

Athina is now Aristotle’s only living grandchild of Onassis.