Dubai princess appears to divorce husband via Instagram

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The daughter of Dubai’s ruler appears to have announced her divorce in a post on Instagram that accused her husband of being “occupied with other companions”.

Sheikha Mahra bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the end of her year-long marriage to industrialist Sheikh Mana bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mana Al Maktoum two months after welcoming their first child.

She is the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“As you are occupied with other companions, I hereby declare our divorce. I divorce you, I divorce you, and I divorce you,” she wrote, seemingly using the centuries-old practice of Islamic divorce or triple talaq where Muslim men can divorce women by simply stating their intention three times verbally.

Triple talaq is not an option for women under Islamic law, which says that women can only unilaterally seek divorce through a process called “khula”. This involves a married woman submitting a formal request to a court and citing a valid reason for initiating divorce proceedings.

The post that began with “dear husband”, concluded, “Take care. Your ex-wife”.

The couple married in a lavish ceremony in April 2023 and two months ago Sheikha Mahra gave birth to their daughter.

The family of Sheikha Mahra or her husband have not made any public comment yet.

Both parties have unfollowed each other on social media and removed their wedding pictures, according to Khaleej Times.

Some users on Instagram initially speculated that the princess’s account was hacked but there has been no indication of that since the post was made public on Wednesday.

Many people in the comments praised her and wished her well on her decision.

The princess had sparked speculations over her troubled marriage after she posted the picture of her daughter with a caption: “Just the two of us”.