Summer, that time of year meant for family reunions and healing wounds, has arrived for the Urdangarin family with a bitter taste. Far from being a balm, it has become the setting for a new and painful rift that shows the deep fracture that persists after the highly publicized divorce of infanta Cristina and Iñaki Urdangarin.
The protagonists of this latest chapter are the former Duke of Palma and his youngest daughter, Irene Urdangarin, whose relationship is going through its most critical moment.
The calm that seemed to have settled in Iñaki's life alongside Ainhoa Armentia has turned out to be just an illusion. When it comes to his children, the past continues to cast too long a shadow, and Irene seems the least willing to forget and forgive. The situation has erupted again, making it clear that there are wounds that, far from closing, continue to fester.
A summer marked by rejection and disappointment
With the intention of building bridges and encouraging his daughter after a difficult year, Iñaki Urdangarin suggested to Irene that they spend a few days together during the summer holidays. This paternal gesture was meant to comfort the young woman, who has just returned home after a bittersweet experience volunteering in Cambodia and, above all, dealing with the feeling of failure for not having found her academic path.
This is a situation that, meanwhile, worries Infanta Cristina. The second daughter of the emeritus Kings of Spain fears that Irene wants to follow in the footsteps of her cousin Victoria Federica as an influencer. This is a profession that, it must be said, is making her a lot of money.
However, Irene's response was a resounding "no." According to various specialized media, the condition for that reunion was clear and non-negotiable: the absence of Ainhoa Armentia.
For Irene, her father's girlfriend remains a persona non grata, the person who symbolizes the definitive breakup of her family unit. What is Iñaki's present and his new normality is, for his daughter, a constant reminder of pain.
Ainhoa Armentia, the insurmountable obstacle in the father-daughter relationship
This is not a new conflict, but the continuation of a tension that has been building up. The turning point was the visit Iñaki tried to make to his daughter in the past, showing up accompanied by Ainhoa.
That meeting, which was intended to be a step toward normalization, ended in an emotional slam of the door. Irene's coldness was so evident that the former athlete had no choice but to turn around and return to Vitoria, leaving behind an even greater rift.
For Irene, Armentia's presence is not a minor detail, but the epicenter of the problem. In her view, she is the direct cause of her family's collapse, a figure who came between her parents' marriage.
The relationship between Urdangarin and Armentia was a surprise, especially considering the support Cristina gave him during the legal proceedings and his time in Brieva prison.
This unwavering loyalty to her mother, infanta Cristina, has led her to build an almost insurmountable wall with her father, at least as long as his new partner is present. Communication between the two, according to sources close to them, is at a minimum, limited to what is strictly necessary.