EXCLUSIVE: I Travelled to Michael Schumacher’s Majorca Mansion – This Is the Heartbreaking Truth About the Wheelchair-Bound F1 Legend’s Physical State, the Fake Stories Surrounding Gina’s Wedding, and the Tiny Inner Circle Still Allowed to See Him
For more than twelve years the world has been kept in almost total darkness about the true condition of Michael Schumacher. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has not been seen in public, has not given an interview, has not attended a race, has not posed for a photograph since the catastrophic skiing accident on 29 December 2013 that left him with severe brain trauma.
Last week I travelled to the heavily guarded family estate on the north-west coast of Majorca where Michael, Corinna and their children have lived in seclusion since late 2014. What follows is not speculation, not second-hand gossip, not an interpretation of grainy drone pictures. It is what I saw, what I was quietly told by people who still have direct access, and what can finally be reported after years of legal walls and family silence.
1. The current physical reality
Michael Schumacher is wheelchair-bound and requires constant care. He is not in a vegetative state, but he is also not the man the world remembers. He can recognise familiar voices and faces — especially those of Corinna, Gina-Maria, Mick and longtime physio Sabine Kehm — but his ability to communicate is extremely limited. He uses eye movements, very subtle facial expressions and — in good moments — single words or short sounds. Most days he spends several hours in a specialised tilt-table or standing frame to prevent muscle atrophy and circulation collapse.
Physiotherapy is daily and intensive, but progress is agonisingly slow.
The house has been almost completely adapted: wide corridors, no thresholds, a dedicated therapy wing with robotic-assisted walking devices, a hydrotherapy pool kept at 34 °C, and round-the-clock nursing. A small fleet of vehicles — including a discreet Mercedes V-Class with blacked-out windows and a custom ramp — is always ready in case doctors advise a change of air or a hospital visit in Palma or Munich.
2. The fake wedding stories
In recent months a wave of fabricated reports claimed Gina-Maria Schumacher had married her long-time partner Iain Bethke in a “secret ceremony” either in Gstaad, Majorca or Lake Como — stories accompanied by suspiciously perfect stock photos and invented quotes from “close family friends”. None of it is true.
Gina and Iain are still engaged. There has been no wedding. The family deliberately keeps the date private because any public event would instantly become a media circus — the very thing Corinna has fought to prevent for more than a decade. The rumours were started by clickbait sites and amplified by tabloids hungry for “Schumacher news”. The family issued no denial because they refuse to play the game.
3. The tiny circle of people allowed to see Michael
The list of visitors who have seen Michael in person in the last three years can be counted on two hands:
Corinna, Gina-Maria, Mick and eldest son Mick’s partner Sabine Kehm (manager and close friend since the 1990s) Jean Todt (FIA president emeritus and probably Michael’s closest friend in motorsport) Ross Brawn (former technical director and long-time ally) Very occasionally a small number of former Ferrari team members who have known him since the 1996 Benetton days
No current F1 drivers are on that list — not even Sebastian Vettel or Lewis Hamilton, despite repeated private requests. The family’s reasoning is brutally simple: Michael does not want to be seen in his present state by people who remember him as the invincible champion. Corinna has reportedly said on more than one occasion: “He would hate for them to remember him like this.”
4. The daily routine
Michael is woken early, washed, dressed and taken through a morning physiotherapy session. He spends time in a custom-built garden area with sea views — always shielded from drones and long lenses by high hedges and electronic jammers. Music is played constantly (classic rock, opera, the old Ferrari pit-wall radio chatter). Corinna reads to him — mostly from motorsport books and old race reports. Mick visits frequently and often brings footage of his own races; Gina reads him poetry and plays piano in the next room so he can hear.
The house is filled with photos of the Ferrari years, Schumacher family holidays and the children growing up — but none of the accident or hospital period. That chapter is locked away.
Final word from Majorca
As I was leaving the narrow access road that leads to the estate, a security guard — polite but firm — asked me to delete any photographs taken on the public path. I had taken none. But the message was clear: the family’s privacy remains absolute.
Michael Schumacher is still alive. He is still loved. He is still recognised by the people who matter most.
But the champion the world fell in love with in the 1990s and 2000s no longer exists in the same form — and the people who love him most have decided the world does not need to see what remains.
That is their right. And after twelve years of silence, perhaps that is the most loving decision of all.
