Klöckner, Maas, Guttenberg – recently several prominent politicians announced their separations. Now Cem Özdemir and his wife have announced that they are no longer a couple.
Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir and his wife Pia Castro have separated. “We agreed some time ago in friendship to live separately,” said a joint statement when asked by the German Press Agency. The 57-year-old Green Party politician and the 51-year-old journalist and presenter married in 2003. They have a daughter and a son together.
“As parents, we continue to care for our two children together,” the statement continued. Özdemir and Castro asked to refrain from further press inquiries. “For reasons of protecting our privacy – and above all for the sake of our children – we will not make any further statements.”
Özdemir and Castro married in the USA in the spring of 2003; the politician, who was born in Bad Urach, Swabia, was working in Washington at the time. His wife, who comes from Argentina, came to Germany in 1994 on a study scholarship. In Berlin she became known, among other things, for her presentations on Radio Multikulti and Deutsche Welle. The couple appeared together again and again – whether at the federal press ball, at the Berlinale or at the federal party conference of the Greens.
Özdemir could move back to the countryside
There has been speculation for some time as to whether Özdemir could soon return to his home town of Baden-Württemberg. He is considered a promising candidate to succeed Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann. In any case, Özdemir is considered to have the best cards in the Green Party’s field of candidates. He is just as real as Kretschmann, he is eloquent – and – in contrast to the other aspirants – he is well known among the people. Whether he will actually run for the Greens in the state will probably only be decided next summer; the state elections will then be in spring 2026.
In the past few months, several political couples have announced that they are now going their separate ways. Only at the end of August, for example, did Julia Klöckner – Özdemir’s predecessor in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. She and her husband announced through their lawyer that they had “decided amicably and together” not to continue the marriage. “You and the families will continue to be connected,” it said. The CDU politician, who was Minister of Agriculture from 2018 to 2021, and her husband, classic car dealer Ralph Grieser, married in 2019.
The separation of two colorful political couples came as a particular surprise to many: First, former Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) and actress Natalia Wörner let the public know that they were no longer a couple. A little later, former Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (CSU) and his wife Stephanie also made their separation public.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
