Ex-Malaysian Monarch Gives Triple Talaq To Former Miss Moscow; Wife Says Couple Still Married 

The former king of Malaysia Muhammad V has divorced his Russian supermodel wife Rihana Oxana Gorbatenko by way of ‘triple talaq’, a controversial Islamic practice through a which a man can divorce his spouse by uttering the word ‘talaq’ (divorce) three times to her, reports AFP.

Gorbatenko has however rejected such reports, and claims the two continue to remain married. The Russian supermodel, who was crowned Miss Moscow in 2015, continues to share pictures of the couple together through her social media accounts.

Muhammad V has abdicated the Malaysian thrown in January this year after his marriage to Gorbatenko became public; the couple had tied the knot when the then monarch was on official medical leave.

The former king’s lawyer, Koh Tien Hua, issued a statement confirming the news, saying that Muhammad V "has irrevocably divorced Ms Rihana Oxana Gorbatenko on 22 June 2019 by three talaqs in accordance with syariah (sharia) laws."

Gorbatenko claims that no direct statement of divorce has been made to her. She also gave birth to a child during her short-lived marriage with the royal, although the latter’s lawyer claims there is no “objective evidence” about who the biological father of the child is.