The husband of pro-partisan Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin was pictured with his arm around a mystery woman at a nightclub just weeks before he and his wife announced their divorce.
Businessman Markus Raikkonen, 37, is said to have intimately flirted and danced with the Indian woman, who is believed to have vacationed in Finland with Bollywood stars Rakul Preet and Pragya Jaiswal.
Finnish media reported that he tried to kiss her while drunk while they were standing together at the bar of Helsinki’s Post nightclub in the early hours of the morning, but she reportedly rejected his advances.
The encounter came as Räikkönen and Marin, 37, appeared to be living largely separate lives in the months before they finally announced this week that they were splitting after 19 years together.
It followed the release of the infamous videos last August, showing Marin dancing intimately with celebrity friends and previously throwing a party for her at her official Prime Minister’s residence, where a supermodel guest and another friend cheekily bared their breasts.
Markus Räikkönen, 37, is said to have flirted and danced with the Indian woman, who was probably on vacation in Finland
Markus Raikkonen was pictured with his arm around a mystery woman at a nightclub just weeks before he and his wife announced their divorce
Outgoing Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced her divorce from Markus Räikkönen on her Instagram. “We filed for divorce together. “We are grateful for the 19 years together and for our beloved daughter,” she said
In another apparent example of the growing cracks in their marriage, Marin reportedly spent Easter relaxing in Paris with a group of friends last month while her husband stayed in Finland.
Friends on the trip included 32-year-old Finnish politician Ilmari Nurminen, a Social Democratic Party MP, who was described by Marin as her “best friend”, although there is no indication they are in a relationship.
The Indian girl, who danced with Raikkonen, reportedly traveled to Finland in March for a winter break with others from the Bollywood film industry, including Rakul Preet and Pragya Jaiswal.
The group met with the Prime Minister’s husband and chef Mikael Mihailov, known as Mr. Caviar, at Helsinki’s famed Asian restaurant Farang, run by Finnish celebrity chef Tomi Björck.
Mihailov posted an Instagram picture of him and Raikkonen posing with the women on the steps of the restaurant along with the caption: “What a lovely night Namaste.”
Finnish gossip magazine Seskia described how Raikkonen visited Post nightclub the following evening with a woman who was traveling with the Bollywood stars.
The magazine reported that the pair were first spotted on the dance floor at midnight and stayed at the club past 4am.
A witness reportedly said: “The other dancers noticed them easily because they had a really intimate atmosphere.”
The witness added: “Mark snorted wildly at the woman.” Sometimes the prime minister’s spouse would step behind the woman and begin to butt her hips from behind. “Markus was really hot.”
He and the woman, who is not believed to be an actress, were also spotted at the bar, where he was photographed holding her around his waist.
The witness said, ‘Markus kept trying to move forward physically, but the woman slacked off a bit.’ He was fully involved in the touch… Markus also tried to kiss the woman several times, but she wouldn’t budge.’
The witness said the prime minister’s husband “started getting quite drunk so that the fidgeting didn’t quite work anymore”.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has announced that she is divorcing her husband Markus Räikkönen (pictured together) after 19 years together
Sanna Marin and her husband Markus Raikkonen during Finnish Independence Day celebrations at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, December 2022
Sanna Marin and Markus Raikkonen during their wedding in front of Prime Minister Kesaranta’s official residence in Helsinki, August 1, 2020
Sanna Marin and Markus Räikkönen were rarely seen together in public in the months leading up to the announcement of their divorce
Sanna Marin and Markus Räikkönen at an ice hockey game in May 2022
Another witness told Seskia: “What surprised me the most was how openly Markus flirted with the woman.” He didn’t care much about the looks of others, even though he is married to Sanna.
“I’m not particularly conservative, but yes, Markus should behave in accordance with the dignity of the prime minister’s wife.” Such a situation degrades the prime minister’s institution.”
Members of the Indian “gang of girls” made their way to Lapland after the night, where they went husky sledding, drove snowmobiles, hiked through forests and watched the Northern Lights.
Rakul Preet, who has 23 million followers on Instagram, posted a series of images and videos of her and her friends enjoying their fun outing in the snow, which Indian showbiz media raved about.
Marin and her former soccer player husband, who have been together since they were 18 but only got married three years ago, jointly announced on Instagram this week that they were getting divorced but didn’t give any reasons for their split.
The announcement comes just over a month after Marin announced she was stepping down as leader of the centre-left Social Democratic Party following her electoral defeat, meaning the country is likely to have a new Conservative prime minister.
Her longtime politician friend Ilmari Nurminen is known on social media in Finland as ‘Bile-Ilmari’, which translates to ‘Party Ilmari’, because he is so often seen socializing with the prime minister.
Nurminen, who was deputy leader of the Finnish parliament’s LGBT group known as the ‘rainbow network’ in 2021, traveled to Paris with Marin and other friends at Easter following her party’s election defeat.
Marin posted an Instagram Story picture of herself, dressed in her signature black leather jacket, with Nurmines in front of Notre Dame Cathedral and wrote, “It was a lovely Easter in Paris with friends.” Thanks for being there. You are loved.’
Meanwhile, her husband stayed behind in Helsinki, posting black-and-white photos of himself in the Finnish capital.
Marin posted an Instagram Story picture of herself, dressed in her signature black leather jacket, with nurmines outside Notre Dame Cathedral over Easter
Marin is said to have spent Easter last month relaxing in Paris with a group of friends including Ilmari Nurminen, a Social Democratic Party MP, while her husband stayed in Finland
Marin’s longtime politician friend Ilmari Nurminen is known on social media in Finland as ‘Bile-Ilmari’, which translates to ‘Party Ilmari’, because he is so often seen socializing with the prime minister
Many on Nurminen’s Instagram page have pictures of him and Marin traveling and attending political events
Marin is pictured with fellow Finnish politician Ilmari Nurminen, a fellow Social Democratic Party MP who has been described by Marin as her ‘best friend’, although there is no indication they have a relationship
Nurminen, who was deputy leader of the Finnish parliament’s LGBT group known as the ‘rainbow network’ in 2021, traveled to Paris with Marin and other friends at Easter following her party’s election defeat
Nurminen, who was reported in March to have a partner who is a doctor, was also featured in pictures Marin posted on Valentine’s Day on February 14 this year as a tribute to those close to her.
The picture of her and Nurminen at the gym had a sticker attached describing him as her “bestie”. It is believed that the two MPs from the Finnish Tampere region have been close friends for many years.
Nurminen’s own Instagram page contains many with pictures of him and Marin enjoying outings and political events.
Marin made global headlines last August after videos showed her dancing with Finnish celebrity friends in two apartments before hitting a nightclub.
One video showed someone shouting the words “flour gang” in the background, leading to speculation that drugs might have been used, as “flour” is slang for cocaine in Finland.
The allegations led to Marin holding a press conference in which she denied ever having used drugs and insisted that she did not see anyone else using drugs that night.
She revealed that she had taken a drug test to prove her innocence, and her official spokesman confirmed the results were negative.
Footage taken the same evening showed her dancing intimately with Finnish singer Olavi Uusivirta, 39, on a crowded dance floor at Helsinki’s Klubi nightclub, leading to him denying they were having an affair.
Uusivirta was once seen pressing his face against Ms Marin’s neck, a gesture that some media outlets in the country described as a kiss.
Marin later denied that Uusivirta kissed her when they danced, saying that he may have leaned towards her to say something.
She strongly defended her right to enjoy a night out with friends, insisting it didn’t interfere with her official duties.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin announces to the media in Parliament in Helsinki, Finland that she will step down as leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in September 2023
Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin speaks during a news conference following her party’s election defeat in Helsinki, Finland, April 2, 2023
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, leader of the Social Democratic Party, reacts as she looks at the results of general elections in Helsinki April 2, 2023
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin addresses her supporters during her election rally in Helsinki in April
Outgoing Prime Minister of Finland speaks after receiving an award at the Helmut Schmidt Future Prize ceremony at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, Germany, May 4, 2023
Ms Marin claimed she only drank moderate amounts and didn’t even wake up in the morning with a hangover.
Some commentators accused her behavior of being unworthy of a world leader, while others claimed that had an emergency arisen during her partying weekend, she might not have been able to make a proper decision.
But many were more relaxed, saying that like everyone else, she deserved to be out in the open.
Women from Finland and around the world have also posted a series of videos dancing in different situations to show their solidarity with her.
Other social media users positively compared Marin’s dance moves to Boris Johnson’s clumsy dancefloor antics when he was British Prime Minister, and hinted that she would easily win a “prime minister dance duel” between the UK and Finland.
It was also reported that witnesses saw Marin dancing with two other men in a similar manner and sitting on the laps of two others during the boisterous evening.
Another raunchy video showed her provocatively with Finnish social media influencer and former Finnish beauty queen Sabina Särkkä, 34, as they wrapped their arms around each other and almost touched their legs.
Marin wore the same white pants and black sleeveless top in both videos, suggesting they were filmed on the same evening.
The video featured other young revelers watching in amazement as their PM let her hair fall.
According to witnesses, Marin danced with three different men in August and then sat on the laps of two male companions
A video of Sanna Marin caused a stir when she was seen dancing quite intimately with a stranger at Club Café Klubi in August 2022
Leaked footage shows Sanna Marin, 36, dancing provocatively with Finnish social media influencer Sabina Särkkä, 33, in August 2022
In August last year, Marin was secretly filmed intimately dancing with Finnish singer Olavi Uusivirta, 39, (pictured), leading to him denying they were having an affair. There is no indication that Uusivirta is responsible for the couple’s split
The release of the footage sparked an angry backlash in Finland, with some social media users condemning Seiska magazine as “sick” for publishing it.
One Twitter user said, “There’s absolutely nothing hot, nothing intimate, nothing fancy, but that’s how women have fun together.”
Another added: “What’s worse? I wonder about the women dancing together, or suggest that Sabina is not suitable company for married housewives.
Uusivirta, who divorced his wife in 2021, last August dismissed any suggestion that he was involved with his country’s leader.
In a post on his social media accounts, he said: “There has been public speculation about the quality of the relationship between me and Prime Minister Sanna Marin.”
“Hand on heart, I can say it like it is: We are friends and nothing inappropriate happened.” I will no longer comment publicly on the matter. Have a nice weekend!’
Marin also had to apologize last year when her former model friend Särkkä and another woman pulled up their tops and kissed on a fun evening at the Prime Minister’s official residence called Kesäranta after attending a rock festival.
The raunchy image, posted to Särkkä’s TikTok account, was taken next to an official blue background board in a workspace where Marin is often filmed making official announcements.
Dressed in a cowboy hat, denim shorts and a leather jacket, Särkkä held her hand over her breasts, while her friend in the picture covered her chest with a sign that read ‘FINLAND’, which is usually found on Marin’s desk.
The influencer also apologized and said she “deeply regretted” the “inappropriate” image, which “should never have been taken”.