MICHAEL Schumacher’s wife Corinna once tearfully admitted her stricken F1 legend husband is “different” now.
Sitting wearing all black for a rare interview, the 53-year-old wiped away tears as she recalled the horror of her husband’s skiing crash.
Corinna Schumacher once tearfully admitted Michael was ‘different’ now
Michael and Corinna have been married since 1995
It was one of the few times she has spoken publicly about what happened to Michael – who has not been seen or heard from for nearly nine years.
Schumacher, 53, suffered a horrific head injury while skiing with his son Mick in December 2013 – just one year after his retirement from F1.
And ever since, mystery has loomed over his health – with only a slow trickle of information being fed out by the family and his team.
At the heart of the efforts to protect Michael is understood to be Corinna, who the F1 star once hailed as his “guardian angel”.
Corinna broke down in tears last Wednesday as her husband was awarded the State Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia.
“I miss Michael every day. But it’s not just me who misses him,” the tearful Corinna said in Netflix documentary Schumacher.
“It’s the children, the family, his father, everyone around him.
“I mean, everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here. Different, but he’s here and that gives us strength, I find.”
She went on: “We try to carry on a family as Michael liked it and still does. And we are getting on with our lives.
“’Private is private’, as he always said. It is very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible.
“Michael always protected us, and now we are protecting Michael.”
Corinna has been looking after Michael and their children, Mick and Gina-Maria, ever since the skiing accident turned their lives upside down.
The couple married in 1995 – and Gina-Maria, 25, is a keen equestrian just like mum, while Mick, 23, has followed his dad’s footsteps into F1 with the Haas team.
And it’s now reported the family are preparing for a “new life” on the Spanish island of Majorca – but as ever details remain scant and closely guarded.
No one outside of Schumacher’s inner circle – which has Corinna at its heart – really knows what is happening with Michael.
Close friends have claimed they’ve been banned from seeing the stricken F1 legend as a slick PR operation and team of lawyers ensured almost nothing about his condition has been shared with his fans.
Corinna has reportedly slimmed down his £500m business empire and sold prized assets such as his private jet and house in Norway as the family retreated to their secluded home on the shore of Lake Geneva.
It appears to be the act devoted wife who is simply following Michael’s own wishes – with the seven-time world champion always being careful to keep quiet about his personal life.
But it has left his millions of adoring fans desperate to know the truth as rumours swirl about the allegedly bed-bound icon.
Schumacher spoke of his love for his wife just days before his crash, telling German TV: “During all the time I was racing she was my guardian angel.”
And she has continued to watch over him ever since, reportedly being by his side from the moment he was rushed to hospital in Grenoble.
Corinna is said to have converted part of their £50million lakeside mansion in Gland into a state-of-the-art hospital, with a team of 15 medics providing 24-hour care at a cost of £115,000 a week.
Meanwhile the thick surrounding forest and security fences kept him away from any possible intrusion.
And its reported Corinna has been has kitted out their £27million majorca home with a mini hospital to help make the German racer comfortable.
Corinna has always stuck back Michael – throughout his career and in his health battles
The family even waged a legal battle in 2016 after German magazine Bunte reported the racing legend “could walk”.
The court case actually led to a few small pieces of information being revealed, with Schumacher’s lawyers confirming he still couldn’t walk two years on from the crash.
Corinna also reportedly led the effort to hide a ghoulish photo of the F1 legend that was reportedly snapped and then smuggled out by a “friend”.
It is alleged to have been offered to European news outlets for a staggering £1million.
German prosecutors in Offenburg later confirmed that “an unknown person” had taken “secret” snaps and were offering them for “high amounts of money”.
They called the disgusting act a “violation of his personal range of life” and breach of privacy.
Corinna reportedly demanded the cops take action, but the media outlets refused to reveal its source – and also claimed it never saw any of the images of Schumacher.
Schumacher’s former manager of 20 years – Willi Weber – has fiercely raged about the lack of information as he accused the family of hiding the truth.
The 80-year-old said he’s still “angry” at the Schumachers for not updating him on the F1 icon’s health.
He said he initially understood the need for secrecy from the Schumacher family but that since he got out of hospital, “we have only heard lies from them”.
“They kept me out, telling me it’s too early, well now it’s too late. It’s been nine years. Maybe they should just say it the way it is,” Weber told La Gazetta dello Sport.
Weber, who also managed the racing great’s brother Ralf, said he Schumacher was “like a son to me”.
Another close pal also criticised the secrecy as “a pity” for his army of supporters.
The lack of official updates has left room for speculation and conflicting reports from “insiders” about his slow progress.
Some have claimed he was in a vegetative state while others claimed he was awake and able to talk.
Nick Fry, Schumacher’s team boss when he drove for Mercedes, wrote in a book: “Corinna and the family have kept a very tight control on information about his treatment which, I think, is a pity.
“There are millions of people out there who have a genuine affection for Michael, and that’s not just his fans in Germany or fans of Mercedes Benz.
“Because of what he achieved, people would like to know about his condition; they are inquisitive and they genuinely feel for him.
“I do think that reporting on how he is, regardless of whether it is good or bad news – and possibly it is bad news – is important because people can empathise with him.”
The couple wed during Schumacher’s second world championship winning season in 1995
Michael and Corinna’s children Mick and Gina-Maria are now all grown up
And in a rare interview with Germany’s She magazine in 2019, Corinna revealed it is her notoriously private husband who has dictated the news blackout.
She said: “He is in the best of hands right now and we are doing everything we can to help him.
“Try to understand that we follow Michael’s desire to keep his health a secret.”
Manager Sabine Kehm offered a hopeful update, telling German broadcaster ARD: “There are short moments of consciousness and he is showing small signs of progress.
“There are moments when he is awake and moments when he is conscious.
“Of course I am not a doctor, but medically, there is a distinction between being awake and being conscious, the latter meaning there is an ability to interact with his surroundings.”
Schumacher’s pal ex-F1 boss Jean Todt – who is understood be one of few friends who goes to see the stricken driver – last week gave a rare update.
The 74-year-old told German TV channel RTL: “I don’t miss Michael, I see him. Yes, it’s true, I watch races with Michael.
“But sure, I guess what I miss is what we used to do together.”
The former Ferrari chief previously told how he “hopes the world” will be able to see his dear friend again, revealing Schumacher has “never changed”.
He continued: “I don’t leave him alone. Him, Corinna, the family, we’ve had so many experiences together.
“The beauty of what we have experienced is part of us and it goes on.
“Sometimes success and money changes you. But Michael has never changed. He’s so strong.”
Schumacher was left in a medically induced coma after his accident while skiing off piste on December 29, 2013 – spending three months in hospital before being released home.
He is reported to have suffered a traumatic injury to his brain.
The F1 legend was a seven-time-world champion – winning five times for Ferrari and twice for Benetton – and is regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time.
He raced from 1991 to 2006, and again from 2010 to 2012, winning 91 races.
And the brief second act of his career saw him become instrumental in setting up Lewis Hamilton’s dominant Mercedes team.
Corinna appears last week with Gina-Maria at a prize giving in honour of Michael
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