The ex-wife of Formula One racing driver Ralf Schumacher has opened up about her devastating split from boyfriend Steven Bo Bekendam.

Cora Schumacher, 49, who was married to Michael Schumacher's younger brother Ralf, 50, for 14 years until 2015, said this week that her heart is 'broken' after the pair ended their five-month relationship.

Cora said she felt 'manipulated' after discovering Steven, 44, had allegedly been messaging other women behind her back. 

She said: 'He is not the man he pretended to be. I felt manipulated.'

The revelation comes just months after Cora spoke about her hopes that Steven - who dispute's Cora's account of his alleged behaviour - would be her fairytale romance after years of turmoil following her high-profile divorce from Ralf.

'He's incredibly hot and a fantastic cook. Our love feels like divine providence,' she gushed in January.

The couple had met online through a dating app last October, and their whirlwind romance quickly intensified with constant messages, photo sharing and daily phone calls.

'Steven and I are no longer a couple. I ended the relationship,' Cora said. 'It breaks my heart to see a man who seems so lost that you just want to love and protect him'

Cora told the Daily Mail of her 'total shock' after discovering 'he was apparently keeping at least one other woman in the shadows' during their relationship.

She said: 'Sadly, what happened to me happens to so many women. I really thought that would never happen to me. I was crying for hours when I found out about it.

'Your friends say you have to quit the relationship, he isn't good for you, but you're still in love. They're so good at manipulating you and giving you empty promises about the future.'

Cora had been 'blindsided' when her ex-husband announced in 2024 that he was in a same-sex relationship with Étienne Bousquet-Cassagne, 36, but thought she had finally found happiness again.

She made regular trips from Germany to visit Steven in Wichita Falls, Texas, a city about two hours' drive from Dallas, flying out to see him as often as possible.

Their relationship reached a significant milestone on Valentine's Day this year when he gave Cora the key to his home. 'He gave me the key to his apartment and to his heart,' she said at the time.

Things moved so quickly that Steven even discussed marriage, with the couple making plans for a dramatic life change.

'Steven really wants us to get married. We're also talking about buying a farm together,' Cora revealed in February, adding: 'It's possible I'll move to America soon and leave my life in Germany behind.'

Cora's friends were delighted to see her looking so happy and hopeful about the future. But it wasn't long before Cora started noticing signs that all was not as it seemed.

'I increasingly noticed parallel communications on his phone with other women during our relationship, such as in December, when I was with him in Texas, from Stephanie G.,' Cora told Bild newspaper this week.

'I began to realise that while he was planning our wedding, he was apparently keeping at least one other woman in the shadows.'

Cora is now 'heartbroken' as she comes to terms with the fact that the man she had trusted and loved was not who he claimed to be.

She added: 'He made my heart shine again. I wanted to believe Steven, I wanted to trust him, I wanted to finally feel at home.

'I long for a love that is honest and equal, a love where we can grow old together. I thought Steven was that man. But no, unfortunately, he isn't.'

Cora said she has now deleted all photographs of them together from her social media accounts and blocked his phone number, cutting off all contact.

Her latest heartbreak comes amid continued upheaval in her personal life. When her ex-husband came out as gay, Cora said she had been kept in the dark about his sexuality during their marriage.

The racing driver announced his engagement to Étienne in February this year.

The former couple share a son David, 24, a racing driver, with whom Cora has a famously strained relationship.

David publicly sided with his father after he came out as gay, asking his mother to 'leave us alone' and let them live their lives in peace following her public backlash.

He also claimed that when his parents divorced in 2015, his mother threatened that if he didn't live with her, she would destroy his racing career dream by refusing to sign necessary documents due to custody requirements.

Cora was devastated recently when she wasn't invited to his wedding in February to fellow racer Vivien Keszthelyi, 25, in an intimate civil ceremony at Salzburg's Schloss Mirabell.

She told the Daily Mail at the time that she was 'deeply saddened' at missing her son's big day.

She added: 'David said "Mama" to me thousands of times a day when he was still a little boy. Every time he called out "Mama", my heart would beat just that little bit faster, with nothing but joy and love. I believe every mother can understand that feeling.

'I wish nothing but the very best for my son. That has always been the case and it will always remain so. I hope he experiences the most beautiful day of his life to the fullest, and above all, that he is happy.

'As a mother, I am not angry with my son - I am simply deeply saddened that things are the way they are.'

Steven Bo Bekendam has responded to Cora's allegations he might of been unfaithful.

He told the Daily Mail: 'While I disagree with the interpretation of ambiguities, and have the records to clarify the facts, I prefer to keep my private life private. I have nothing further to add, other than that I truly wish Cora the best in her journey and future goals.'