Before King Felipe VI found in Queen Letizia his life partner, his youth was marked by some romances that caught the public’s attention.
Among them, the one that stood out the most was his relationship with Isabel Sartorius, an aristocrat of noble origin who, in the late 80s, became his first great love.
Who was the first girlfriend of King Felipe of Spain?
The story of Felipe and Isabel began in a close circle, as she was a friend of a cousin of the then Prince of Asturias.
However, the real crush happened during a dinner, as she herself recounted in her autobiography ‘For you I would do it a thousand times’, “It was a real crush, the truth. That very night I started to love him”.
The connection between the two was immediate, and soon their relationship became the center of attention of the press.
For two years, Felipe and Isabel lived a romance that aroused the curiosity of Spanish society.
However, the media pressure and the differences in their environments ended up wearing down the relationship.
Despite this, the young aristocrat has always spoken respectfully of the royal family and even mentioned that Queen Sofia treated her with great kindness in the meetings they had at the Zarzuela.
What happened to King Felipe VI’s first girlfriend?
Far from royalty, Isabel Sartorius has built a life of her own based on her interests and academic training.
With a degree in Political Science, she worked at the United Nations headquarters in New York and later went into consulting and coaching, helping people overcome personal and professional challenges.
In 2012, she decided to tell her story in her autobiography, where she revealed intimate details of her life and her relationship with Felipe VI.
Throughout her life, Isabel has faced difficult moments, such as the loss of her father in 2002 and that of her mother in 2009, who struggled with addiction for years.
These experiences led her to go through episodes of depression, about which she has spoken openly to make visible the importance of seeking emotional help.
On a personal level, she had a daughter, Mencía, the result of her relationship with Javier Soto, Count of Montalvo. Although they never married, they maintained a cordial relationship after their separation.
She was also romantically linked to César Alierta, former president of Telefónica, until shortly before his death in 2024.
Today, Isabel Sartorius leads a discreet life in Madrid, away from the media spotlight.
Although her name will always be linked to the sentimental history of King Felipe VI, she has chosen to follow her own path, focused on her family and her personal projects.