Former wife of Michael Ballack, 45, reveals she ‘often’ sits in their late son Emilio’s room a year after the 18-year-old was killed in a quad bike tragedy… as it emerges that the German ex-Chelsea star ‘is dating his son’s 21-year-old model friend’
- Simone Mecky-Ballack said her son’s death is never far from her mind
- Emilio Ballack, 18, was killed in quad bike accident in Portugal on August 5, 2021
- She said she has not changed a thing in Emilio’s room at the family home
The ex-wife of former German and Chelsea star Michael Ballack has revealed how she has been grieving daily for their son who died in a tragic accident and refuses to change a thing in his bedroom.
Simone Mecky-Ballack told German broadcaster RTL that Emilio’s death is never far from her mind.
She said: ‘Of course there are days when I allow myself to mourn, cry snot and water – that’s healing.
The 18-year-old was killed in a quad bike accident in Portugal in August 2021.
Michael Ballack’s sons Louis (left), Emilio (second right) and Jordi (right) pose for a picture with their mother Simone (centre left)
Simone, pictured with Michael Ballack following their wedding at the Bavarian Yacht Club on the shores of Lake Starnberg, Germany
Despite divorcing, the couple, pictured here in 2005 remain close friends
Her husband, Michael Ballack is thought to be dating a 21-year-old friend of his late son
Ballack, 45, was spotted enjoying a visit to Art Basel, a fair for Modern and contemporary art, with his model girlfriend Sophia Schneiderhan, 21.
The pair, who got close after Ballack’s son’s fatal accident, appeared loved up and were seen kissing in public, German outlet Bild reported.
It is not the first time the couple have been seen out together after they were seen out in a trendy district of Berlin.
Ms Mecky Ballack, in an emotional interview said: ‘But you don’t think specifically of that day, you already remember the shock.’
She admitted she is constantly asking ‘why did this happen to him?’
She was told over the phone that her son had died and said she was like a machine. ‘Well, you know, you have to function now. You fly over there and look at it, go and look at it again.’
She said: ‘Of course there are days when I don’t want to get up, I want to lie in bed and cry, but I don’t allow it.
‘My thoughts are constantly circling. I cook dinner and then I know that he would have liked to eat that. But that’s the nice thing, you want to think about it.’
She admitted she has not changed a thing in his room at the family home, despite the passing of almost a year since the tragedy.
Ms Mecky Ballack said some people are afraid to mention his name when in her presence and she admits she has been luckier than some parents.
‘Actually you have to be thankful that you had these 18 years, other people lose their children very early. I also like to say “Emilio” consciously, because people no longer dare to say their name and then try to sneak around. There are people who change them side of the street when they see me because they don’t know how to deal with me.’
She added: ‘I’m often at Emilio’s grave. But even more often I sit in his room. I just look at his photos all day. Lay down on his bed and feel him very close. The room will remain exactly as it was as long as I live in this house.’
She lives in Bavaria with her sons Louis and Jordi.
It comes less than a year after Ballack’s son Emilio was killed when his quad bike tipped backwards and crushed him as he reversed and lost control following a family BBQ at Ballack’s Portuguese holiday home.
Emilio was the middle of Ballack’s three sons – born in 2002 to then-girlfriend Simone Lambe, who Ballack would marry in 2008 but divorce in 2012.
Friends of the duo told Bild they believed the relationship was good for Ballack and that the couple did not seem bothered by the 24-year age gap.
Neither Ballack nor Schneiderhan immediately responded to MailOnline’s request for comment.
German former Chelsea star Michael Ballack is thought to be dating Sophia Schneiderhan, a 21-year-old friend of his late son Emilio, less than a year after the 18-year-old was killed in a quad bike tragedy in Portugal
The 18-year-old was crushed by a quad-bike near the family’s holiday home in Portugal, according to reports
Schneiderhan, who got close to Ballack after his son’s fatal accident, appeared loved up and was seen kissing the former Chelsea footballer in public
Police at the time said Ballack had been riding on an uneven piece of land when the bike rolled backwards and fell on top of him around 2am on August 5 at the family’s Villas do Mar estate, near the town of Troia which is just south of the capital, Lisbon.
Firefighters had to pull him free of the wreck before medics tried to revive him, but their efforts proved in vain and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
‘The accident happened at the family home. The quad rider wasn’t on a public road and his was the only vehicle involved,’ an officer told Portuguese media.
Portuguese daily Jornal de Noticias reported that Emilio was reversing out of the property on his quad when he had his fatal accident.
Emilio, 18,is pictured (left) in his last Instagram photo uploaded before the accident, and (right) in another shot showing him on his graduation day
He is believed to have lost control of the vehicle during the manoeuvre out of the family villa and ended up on a public road with the quad on top of him after falling, the paper reported. His grandmother is said to have raised the alarm.
Sources said Emilio had enjoyed a family barbecue at the villa earlier in the evening. He was holidaying there with his father, two brothers and Michael’s own parents.
The teenager’s body has been taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in the city of Santiago de Cacem for a post-mortem. Ballack has yet to make any official comment.
According to Portuguese media, the tragedy happened in Troia, a peninsular off the coast of Setubal just south of Lisbon
Emilio (left), who has an older and younger brother, pictured playing a round of golf with his dad Michael back in 2015
Ballack, pictured with sons Louis, Emilio and Jordi, at the World XI testimonial game at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig in 2013
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