A high-ranking executive in the Porsche family business, Wolfgang Porsche, is reportedly divorcing his partner of 16 years, Claudia, due to her severe dementia.

Claudia has been housebound for some time, and her mental awareness has rapidly declined in recent years, leaving her unable to move independently. The couple had been together since 2007 and married in 2019.

Sources close to the couple have shared that Wolfgang, aged 79, has struggled to live with Claudia, who is 74, since her diagnosis. Claudia has four carers who look after her around the clock due to the illness, which she has suffered for the past two years.

While Wolfgang has not publicly commented on the situation, media in Germany report that he has been getting closer to Gabriela Prinzessin zu Leiningen, a friend of 25 years, in recent months.

Gabriela, aged 59, also studied law in Munich and Cologne, and married Prince Karl-Emich zu Leiningen in 1991, divorcing in 1998. Later that year, she married Karim Aga Khan IV, the 49th Imam of the Nizari Ismailis, but the couple divorced in 2014.

Wolfgang Heinz Porsche is the youngest son of former Porsche AG designer and CEO Ferdinand ‘Ferry’ Porsche and Dorothea Reitz. His grandfather was the Austro-Bohemian founder of Porsche AG, Ferdinand Porsche.

Wolfgang is a German-Austrian shareholder and chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE and Porsche AG. His older brother is Ferdinand ‘Butzi’ Porsche, who designed the first Porsche 911.

The Porsche family’s assets have been estimated at EUR 20bn (£18bn), and Wolfgang’s divorce from Claudia could have significant financial implications.