The match Pablo Urdangarin played with his team at the Palau Blaugrana looked like just another game in the Asobal League. It has sparked far more talk. The simultaneous presence in the arena for the first time of Infanta Cristina, Iñaki Urdangarin, and his partner, Ainhoa Armentia, has caused a huge stir. It wasn’t necessary for the three of them to greet each other, nor exchange glances. The mere fact of sharing space has been for her “a public humiliation.”
Informalia’s sources close to Infanta Cristina say so. And the truth is that simply by looking at her photos during her son’s match you could observe her serious expression and displeasure. “She looked angrier than Frankenstein’s bride,” a witness present stated. Not only did Pablo Urdangarin’s team lose the match against Barça and he nearly got injured. The sister of Felipe VI had to endure the presence of her ex’s new girlfriend and also from the stands, while they sat in the box.
This difference in treatment has not sat well with Infanta Cristina either. In her capacity as a former star of the team, Iñaki Urdangarin enjoyed the match in the honorary seats next to his partner, invited by the club. Meanwhile, the royal sat in the stands next to a couple of friends, as she usually does. The pertinent question is: did the Infanta know that Ainhoa Armentia would attend her son’s match that day?
According to Silvia Taulés in Vanitatis, Infanta Cristina was indeed aware that Iñaki Urdangarin would be watching the match live. Last December, the two had run into each other at another Pablo Urdangarin match without any fallout. But in this case, the royal learned that her girlfriend would accompany him just a few minutes before the match. Something that did not please her at all, confirm this outlet. At the end of the match, each went their own way without saying goodbye.
The constant tension between Cristina and Iñaki
However, this awkward encounter in space-time has not, however, strained the relationship between Infanta Cristina and Iñaki Urdangarin. With their divorce finalized more than two years ago, the two had maintained a kind of cold war until the tour promoting the ex-athlete’s memoirs brought the abrupt end of their marriage back into the media spotlight.
Always discreet, Infanta Cristina does not seem to have liked being dragged into the front line of fire by her ex’s statements. Although these have been among the most flattering. In her interview on La 2 of Catalonia she stated, for example, that after her release from prison “I lost everything I had. And afterwards there is a very big loss that is the love of my life, Cristina. It was a very hard period and I regret it because she is a woman I love very much.”
The Infanta Cristina and Queen Sofía with Pablo Urdangarin.
Amid a life change, focused on her children and on comforting her mother and with plans to spend more time in Barcelona, Iñaki Urdangarin’s actions are interpreted as a challenge. If until now, for the sake of their shared family, they had organized to share Pablo Urdangarin’s matches, the onset of hostilities brought on by Ainhoa Armentia’s presence in handball could change everything.
Ainhoa Armentia, Iñaki Urdangarin’s great support
With Iñaki Urdangarin completely focused on his new life as a coaching entrepreneur, his long stints in Barcelona had fueled rumors of a crisis in his current romantic relationship. Ainhoa Armentia lives in Vitoria, and the distance between them seemed a potential source of conflicts. But their presence together at the Palau Blaugrana spoke loud and clear about the good state of their relationship.
Both try to spend as much time as they can together, and Ainhoa Armentia has also thrown herself into her partner’s new professional venture. A few days ago she melted with Iñaki Urdangarin at the private event where he presented his memoirs, held in the Catalan capital. “What a pride to see you presenting your book. A very emotional moment. I deeply admire your perseverance and your passion,” were the words she then dedicated to him, the lawyer said.
