Former Japanese ice skating star Yuzuru Hanyu blames divorce on media harassment
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Yuzuru Hanyu announced his divorce from his wife of three months saying their families and friends were subjected to stalking and harassment.
PHOTO: AFP
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Tokyo – Retired Japanese figure skating star Yuzuru Hanyu has announced his divorce from his wife, three months after he publicised the union
The 28-year-old, a national icon in Japan and two-time Olympic figure skating champion, said on social media platform X late on Nov 17 that “suspicious” people had visited his home and reporters had invaded his privacy since he announced his marriage in early August.
“Currently, various media outlets are slandering, stalking and conducting unauthorised interviews and reports about my partner, who is not a celebrity, as well as members of our families,” he said in a statement.
Hanyu, who is known as Japan’s “Ice Prince”, also said that his partner had supported him, “even though she couldn’t take one step out of the house”.
“Because of my limited experience of life, it was extremely difficult to protect my partner and myself in these circumstances and I found it unbearable,” he added.
Ultimately, he said that he had decided to divorce so that his partner could “be happy with no restrictions”.
He has never revealed his ex-wife’s identity.
“With the possibility of this situation continuing, and the possibility that even if the situation temporarily improves, it may become like this again, when I think about the future. I have made the decision to divorce because I want my partner to be happy,” he said.
“From now on, please refrain from slander, unauthorised interviewing, reporting or any other disturbing behaviour towards my partner, who is a civilian, their relatives and associates, as well as my relatives and associates.”
According to the Japan Times, his management company has also asked the media to refrain from following them from now onwards.
Hanyu, who took up the sport at the age of four, retired from competition in July 2022 and now performs at professional skating shows.
By winning in Sochi in 2014, he became the first figure skater not from Europe or the United States to claim the men’s title.
At the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, the soft-spoken Japanese became the first man to win back-to-back golds in 66 years since American Dick Button.
He was followed throughout his career by a legion of “Fanyu” supporters, who showered the ice with Winnie the Pooh toys after his routines in tribute to the Pooh tissue box cover he carried to the rink with him. AFP
