Ralf Schumacher married his partner Etienne in Saint-Tropez, and the wedding was the highlight of a planned documentary.
There was drama with plastic surgery and son David almost missing the ceremony.
Former Formula 1 star and younger brother of the legendary Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, married his partner Etienne Bousquet-Cassagne.
The luxurious three-day celebration in Saint-Tropez was turned into a televised spectacle, and the grand finale was the wedding ceremony itself, which took place in front of the cameras on Saturday, May 30.
The wedding as the finale of the documentary
The decision to share their most important day with the public resulted in the wedding becoming the final episode of the four-part documentary series “Ralf & Étienne: Wir sagen Ja” (‘Ralf and Étienne: We Say Yes’), broadcast on German Sky.
The ceremony was held in the town hall, but the celebration started a day earlier with a party on the theme “All in white” for about a hundred guests.
Schumacher himself explained the decision to film with the desire to show how they live and “perhaps break some prejudice”.
For the wedding, they chose elegant, identical navy blue suits, despite Etienne’s preference for beige.
Ralf’s practicality prevailed, explaining that a dark suit can be worn on other occasions as well.
Personal dramas on the eve of the big day
The documentary did not hide tense moments either, and the most attention was attracted by the departure of 36-year-old Etienne for an aesthetic procedure before the ceremony.
He insisted on the surgery, admitting to the cameras that he never felt completely satisfied with his appearance.
His fourteen years older partner did not share that opinion and openly expressed his disagreement.
“I was against it. It’s not necessary. It’s nice to grow old together,” said Schumacher, but despite this, he drove his future husband to the hospital in Nice.
Now he admitted that the hospital brings back difficult memories for him, alluding to a family tragedy.
“I don’t like hospitals and I only visit them when something terrible has happened in our family,” he said, clearly referring to the severe skiing accident that his brother Mihael suffered in 2013.
The health condition of the seven-time world champion has been strictly kept a secret by the family since then.
Son David as godfather
He had a son in his first marriage with his partner Cora Brinkman, and they divorced about 10 years ago. One of the key guests was to be Ralf’s 24-year-old son David, who also played the role of best man. However, his arrival was uncertain due to overlapping dates in his racing calendar.
”If I can’t make it, it would be painful. This is, I hope, my father’s last wedding,” David said jokingly.
The young driver also got involved in the discussion about choosing a suit, warning his father and Etienne that he would disappear in the crowd of guests in dark blue suits.
”There will be 110 people at the wedding. Every other guest will wear a dark blue suit. You should still be in the center of attention a little,” he told them, to which Ralf replied: “Those days have passed me by”, reports 24sata.hr.
The path from the F1 track to an important message
Ralf Schumacher, who achieved six victories in his F1 career from 1997 to 2007, announced his relationship with the French entrepreneur and former politician Etienne in 2024, which was also his public coming out of the closet. In the world of motorsport, this act had a huge impact. Ralf has become one of the few F1 figures who openly talks about his sexuality. He confirmed that he received numerous messages of support from people who thanked him for giving them courage.
