Gina Lollobrigida, who died on Monday aged 95, became engaged to Spanish businessman Javier Rigau in 2006 when she was 79 and he was 54. They split in 2007 before the Italian actress accused Javier of faking a marriage ceremony in which he “married” an imposter pretending to be her.
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Javier always denied the claims and was acquitted of any wrongdoing by courts in Barcelona and Rome.
The Vatican also annulled their marriage in 2019.
Now, Javier has claimed that Gina asked to see him before her death despite their tumultuous history.
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He reportedly told Spanish publication ABC: “It’s all very sad. Gina had me contacted through her son and last Friday we were able to say goodbye to each properly with her son and grandson.
“From that day I’ve been staying at a hotel a few feet away from the clinic.
“I’ll stay with her son and grandson to organise the funeral where I will be in the front row.”
Gina was previously married to Slovenian doctor, Milko Skofic, from 1949 until 1971. They had one son, also named Milko.
When her acting career slowed down, Gina became a photojournalist in the 1970s and later turned to politics.
In 1999, she unsuccessfully ran for election to the European Parliament as a candidate for the Italian Democrats.
Just last year, at the age of 95, Lollobrigida attempted to win a seat in the Senate of the Republic by standing as candidate for the Sovereign and Popular Italy (ISP).
However, she was unsuccessful after garnering just one percent of the constituency vote.
Additional reporting by Gerard Couzens.
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